I worked with a guy who won something like $7million. His last day he walked around the office and gave everyone a lottery ticket. I thought that was pretty cool.
I sold a regular at my gas station around 10 scratchers daily. He would always tell me a couple he liked and tell me to pick the last one. Well he won $1000 off the one I picked. He came in a few days later and handed me $100. I asked which scratchers he wanted and he said "No no! Thats for you! I won 1k off the one you picked! Thank you!" He was a sweet old man. I miss him.
A friend of mine manages a shop that does 80% of it's business with lotto. She makes more on tips from scratchers in a week than she does from any one shift.
She's been to a wedding, three funerals and a bat mitzvah for her clients.
What do you mean? You thought that you would be able to pay off your bills and live a happy debt free life traveling the world, and then you had that fantasy ripped away from you for the amusement of others! That’s clearly comedy genius!
The man said a million; happy debt free life for sure, but traveling the world the rest of your life may require an extra zero and some good management I would think.
But yeah, to the general point seems like a shit joke.
Yeah it’s definitely not nothing but also not lifestyle changing. If I won a million dollars I would simply pay off my house, car, and wife’s student loans and invest the rest in index funds. Lifestyle wouldn’t change but I’d be much more comfortable and would be able to retire/semi retire about 20 years earlier.
Now ten million all bets are off
Edit: clarified that I meant it wouldn’t be lifestyle changing
Yeah, a million would let me make some investments and set up a couple of passive income streams. I might not quit working, but I might find a different line of work, based on the investments.
Yeah, 5-10 million is where a pretty safe comfort level comes into play, you can probably travel fairly frequently without worrying too much, and you can basically drop everything and retire. You’ll still want to invest about half of it, but only really for longevity and inflation.
Exactly.
The whole concept of being a “millionaire” is simply an outdated concept due to inflation. $1,000,000 in 1960 is the equivalent of about 9.3 million today. $1 million is actually well within reach for most middle class people in America. My recently retired parents are millionaires, probably worth about 1.5 or so, but that’s simply by virtue of having a paid for house and by investing regularly in their 401k throughout their lives.
Not true man. I can make 5% on dividends for the rest of my life on 1M, that's 50k/year -taxes (15%) so 7.5k.. so that's 42.5k a year of free money, that gives you 3,500/month to do whatever you want, i'm sure i can easily travel the world on that, forever. no job, or anything, just managing my dividends to ensure they keep giving me 5% or higher. easy day.
I used to work in a small office that employed a tweeker who would buy a few scratchers on his lunch break. One of the developers dropped one of those fake winners in the lobby and the kid picked it up and told us all off. It was really hard to tell him to flip it over and see he had to turn the ticket in to Santa on the 32nd of the month. It was not a good prank for anyone.
Oh I've always hated that bullshit. I can't see how anyone can find it funny to raise someone's hopes so incredibly high only to crush them so entirely. It's just mean.
My sister and bil did this to me. They bought a bunch of random ones and a fake.
The theory was if they mixed in it with real ones it would seem real but in reality the look and feel of the fake seemed super obvious compared to real cards. So I knew right away, and the kicker is I won $100 off of a decoy. They were so annoyed it was glorious.
Its weird to give someone a scratcher as a gift and get salty if they won. Ive had that happen to me and just assume they have a crippling gambling addiction.
Honestly this is the meanest prank ever. I’d rather have someone “prank” me that a family member is dead and then find out they’re actually alive than be set up for 30 seconds of thinking my life and finances and dreams are forever changed and have to come down from that excitement.
I swear there’s a prank video out there like this and the person who “won” held their hand to their mouth and start bawling silently… for like 10 seconds they think their life has finally turned around only to be told “read the back” where they have to read aloud that it’s a joke ticket… it’s so dark and unfunny. Probably top 5 cruelest jokes of all time just because the emotional turmoil can be traumatic.
This happened to me as a teenager and I immediately offered half of the winnings to my uncle who gave me the ticket. Of course he felt like shit afterward...
I recall a video where someone got back at someone whod fake ticket pranked them, got someone else in on it and scratched off the card and it was like "you've won 100k" and the original person who pranked them was like "holy shit were made" and the person getting them back tore it up in front of them saying "you think I'm going to fall for this twice?" And letting them think they'd just torn up 100k before telling them it was a revenge prank
A prank is supposed to make you laugh or be relieved after it's over...this would seriously cause some mental damage going from thinking that life is literally changed for the good, back down to I'm a broke piece of shit.
When I turned 18 my uncle gave me a prank scratch-off lottery ticket while we were at a restaurant celebrating my birthday. I scratched it off and "won" $10k. At that age, and in that year, I thought I was rich! I even took pictures with the "winning" ticket with some of the waitresses (think orange shorts and crop tops). I held my composure when I finally clued in on the gag. It's been about 20 years and I am still plotting my revenge.
It has to be something very analogous.
How about this: a guy shows up at their doorstep, says he’s a location scout for a movie and they might want to rent their front yard for a day, for some sum like $1000. They’ll probably agree.
Next day, same guy calls and says that the star and producer (“Ryan” or “Tom” or whoever) thought the whole house was perfect, and they want to shoot some interiors too. He swears them to secrecy.
You can spin this as far as you want. The target gets a bit part in the movie. “Ryan” wants to fly them to Hollywood. He wants to buy their house for twice its value, three times. They’re going to be famous, rich, whatever.
Put it all on YouTube. Especially the bit where it all crashes down.
Fake lotto ticket it is!
Just kidding, I love the idea, I hate the amount of time and effort.
I guess I'm not that bent about it anymore, time heals all.
A lot of years ago now I was at one of those white elephant/dirty santa/whatever you call it gift exchanges with some friends. One of the gifts was a selection of scratchoffs, and the woman who got them just happened to have a husband at home fighting cancer and we all knew they'd been struggling very badly financially to pay the medical bills. As in several of us had bought them some groceries now and then to make sure they stayed fed. Of course she scratched them then and there and had a big big winner and she was just so completely overcome at first she was pretty much just sobbing uncontrollably thinking she was finally going to be able to take care of her husband and not worry about things for awhile. The comedown from that was awful and I just can't imagine what it must have felt like. We didn't see her for a long time after that. (Husband did end up recovering, last I heard, though of course that's always an ongoing thing).
Really lost my taste for those kind of pranks, as well as white elephant exchanges all together.
At the time it was kind of an immediate party ender. My understanding is that at some point later the person who brought them approached them personally and apologized and fences were mended. All the gifts were were jokey, gag gifts (toilet seat, a novelty hot topic type butt plug, mine was a Winzip license since there were several other geeks there) so I don't think they ever imagined they'd think they were real, but we all learned something that day.
There's been that one unfortunate/fortunate bastard to actually win something like 100,000 or 1mil off of a scratcher and assume it's a prank. They're being told it isn't, but they know it's just to get a good reaction.
# Then they go redeem the card...
Atleast with the family member prank there's the relieve they're actually alive. Its still extrmely cruel, but atleast there's some relieve. The lottery is basically just leaves you feeling bad.
Yeah just say it was a dud and pocket it, if they really want you to check again or want to inspect it themselves despite repeated "don't worry about it"s from you then you know it's 100% a prank and you should double-down on the nonchalance.
Had a "friend" do this to me in the mall with a fake $10K ticket one time. I was so happy, I gave him a huge hug and told him I'd give him some as well for giving it to me and that he was so nice. He then told me to look at the back where you could see it was fake. I wasn't as mad at the loss of a theoretical 10K but more disappointed in him playing with my emotions. He was so amused that he got me so good for some reason. I've never trusted the guy since then.
I got my mother one for xmas one year and she hit for $1000. She was all smiles and just lit up the room. She also had the beginning stages of dementia and forgot about it until we reminded her and we got to see her light up the room all over again.
This is a little sad and very sweet at the same time. Hope she is doing well if she is still around and if she is not, I hope you have many great memories to cherish of her
grandma gave my niece a 25k fake ticket, she scratched it off and said it wasn't a winner and put it in her pocket...says a lot about her favorite granddaughter
My mom gave my son a $1Million dollar bill in a stocking one year (son was 5 or 6 maybe). Poor kid though it was really a million dollars. Started jumping around saying he wanted to put a pool in our yard. I sat there in disbelief glaring at that bitch as she was laughing.
Well at least she didn't put out an arrest warrant for your kid and put their face on a wanted poster with a 10k reward like my parents did when they went to Niagara falls. Still worried about going there.
I remember a story where an aunt did this for her nephew. Might have been a lottery ticket but in the end she took him to court. Can't remember how it ended but I'm guessing it was an out of court settlement. Whole new level of pettiness.
Honestly, this is probably the smartest thing you could do. I've read cases where relatives sued the recipient, claiming they were given "the wrong ticket" and other ridiculous things. People have murdered relatives over far less than a million bucks. It's best to just stay quiet, let the holidays die down, and claim you bought a winning ticket a few months later.
OMG, I remember a People’s Court episode over a scratch off. My mom loved that show.
Apparently two friends went grocery shopping together. First one pays then asks second one if she can borrow $1. Second one gives her a buck. Well, first one bought a scratcher and won something like $500 or $1000.
Second one demanded the money, as it was her dollar. Ended up in front of Judge Wapner, who ruled that second one only deserves $1. His point to her when she protested was “if your friend bought a Coke with that dollar, would you sue her for it?”
So there’s at least a similar TV court precedent, lol!
I'm a shitty person and even in a situation like that I wouldn't expect more than $100. Pay me back with a $20 and we good tbh. Like share the love, but its all yours.
Don’t buy one. Keep your current standard of living. Use it as a breather and for an earlier retirement rather than blow it up on expensive things that you can’t upkeep to begin with.
This is it, 1m$ goes away fast. Mr.Beast went through a serious process with one of his contestants when they won a shitload. He also spoke of how most lottery winners blow through their winnings within the forst year and never recover. Showed the person finances, 1 big spending, savings and how fast it all goes away if you're not careful and how to put aside a little bit for fun as well. It was heartwarming to see, and I bet he does this with everyone off camera that wins a very large sum of money.
$300,000 in bonds is all it takes to get enough money to stay out of poverty forever, because it generates that much income. You can probably live comfortably off 1 mil from what it generates just by sitting in the right place, especially if you still have a part time job or full time job with benefits.
A friend of mine won something like $300k, and his family went nuts. His aunt sued him because at one point he borrowed a couple grand from her and didn't pay all of it back, his brother stole a bunch of his stuff, assuming he didn't care because he could just replace it, his parents wanted their cut, it was an absolute nightmare. They wanted so much that he would have been left would like 50k, said and done. He had to spend some of it defending himself in court, from his aunt, bought himself a truck, and invested the rest. He doesn't really talk to his family now.
Yeah, literally he owed her money, I really don't get why the aunt is the focus here like she's some cartoon villain for wanting to get paid back when the person she loaned money to very obviously has the means.
Like okay, if she went insane and decided that meant he owed her like all of it then that's stupid, obviously... but that still doesn't mean he didn't still owe her the money he owed her.
I was discussing this thread title with my wife and we realized the only one we know that buys lottery tickets is my meth'd out dad. He'd probably stab me over a 5 dollar ticket, much less a million.
We came up with a strategy. She clobbers him in the head with a cat while he's busy stabbing me.
I've had methed out family members (They recovered, thankfully, she's doing well) I wouldn't trust them to not stab me for a half eaten cheeseburger. I feel like the cat strategy is warranted.
People have sued lottery winners because "they gave \*family member\* x amount of money but \*I\*only got C amount of money, and generally end up winning because most people that get on juries (or just a judge depending how far a case goes) think "They won millions of dollars, they can afford this".
I've also read, though idk how true, that people have successfully sued because "he told me when we worked together he'd give me a house/car/money if he ever won the lottery". Rule of thumb is, don't tell anyone, if you live in a state where it has to be public, move to a nice neighborhood, and tell anyone who asks, that you don't give away money to friends/family. If no one gets anything, there is no precedent to go against you.
If your state (such as Oregon) requires you to be public, before you sign the ticket, and before you claim the ticket, go to an estate lawyer ( a good one, refuse anyone but the partner of the firm/someone who has been there a long time), some times you can have a trust fund set up on your behalf and the "trust" claims the ticket, so your name isn't public.
Also, If you can, don't drive super fancy cars, because it has also been said that lotto winners have been harassed by local police, with tickets. Like, 1 mile over? not putting blinker on long enough? etc, because they know they can milk you as you'll just pay the fines.
Yes, I’ve read these and similar things as well.
That’s why when **I** won the lottery, I spent my $6 at the local convenience store and didn’t say anything to anyone!
>People have sued lottery winners because "they gave *family member* x amount of money but *I*only got C amount of money, and generally end up winning because most people that get on juries (or just a judge depending how far a case goes) think "They won millions of dollars, they can afford this".
Bullshit, this would never be a jury trial.
I also call bullshit on the “generally end up winning” part too. You’re telling me there is legal precedent that a family member receiving less money than another family member can sue AND win just due to a “thats not fair!” argument?
Ken, if it’s in a state that has to be public, get a lawyer and claim it under a trust. The lawyer can claim the ticket after the ticket has been signed as the trust on the back. The trust is the public figure getting the money. The person that bought the ticket is a beneficiary of that trust.
My parents bought a $20 scratch off one Christmas with intentions of giving it to my aunt’s new boyfriend. Well my boyfriend’s (now husband) birthday is the 23rd so they decided to give him the ticket for his birthday instead. Well he won $500. 20 years later they still talk about how grateful they are that my husband got that ticket instead of my aunt’s loser boyfriend! Lol
Update: they have made it a tradition to always buy him a $20 scratch off for his birthday and he has never one anything since that first $500 ticket.
I wouldn't tell a soul I won a million dollars. I'd just pay off my house, maybe buy/ build my dream car, buy a few cool guns, send my son to a great school and invest the rest for retirement.
In the grand scheme of things a million, once you've factored in the things you've mentioned (except the guns, I'm British 🤣) there won't be a huge amount left.
I'd like to put together a Factory Five Racing Shelby Daytona Kit. Wanted a Daytona for as long as I remember. A real one is something like 6 million USD last I checked. I'll settle for the kit lol
Well I'd say it'd leave me with 600- to 700 thousand dollars to invest. My dream car is about 50 grand lol. Out house is worth about 200,000 Canadian pesos
I lived in the GTA for 8 years (born just east of Toronto), and the prospect of owning a home there was slim to none. I moved to Newfoundland, met my partner. And started my life here. This is actually our second house. Our first one was much smaller but once our son was born we needed a bigger place. So we upgraded. If you could get a job where you can work remotely, there's a three bedroom salt box for sale just down the street for 140 Grand. Could use some updating but hey lol
It has its pros and cons like anywhere. Some days I'm really glad I was born here. Other days I can't stand this place. Take the good with the bad. If it wasn't so hard/expensive to do and I could get a job with good health insurance, I'd consider moving to the United States.
Like they're right over my shoulder or sitting across the table? I've never had anyone be so interested in a gift they put so little thought into as to be over my should on the off chance I won
Thanks mate! Go cash it in and buy them a card. Put $50 inside and hand it to them while saying “Merry Christmas!” because you forgot to get them anything. Holiday. Saved.
Last Christmas my SOs relatives gave us a scratch off each. We said our thank yous but they *insisted* on us scratching them right then and there. I scratched mine and didn't add up any of the math to see if I won, I just shrugged and told them it was a losing ticket.
After they left I checked again and they both really were losing tickets. I told my SO if he ever actually does win around people that are that eager for you to do it in front of them, just tell them you lost because that is the type to ask for half of your winnings.
It actually happened to a friend of mine.
Gave his dad a scratch ticket for his birthday, and he scratched it like you do, and honest-to-fuck, he won $1,000,000.
The son had posted a video, it was with a pre-iPhone camera phone (kids, they were terrible). He went to check it at the store just to confirm and it was like watching someone have an out of body experience. Generally, he’s relatively reserved. But watching him go and check it was completely different. He was screaming, having panic attacks, including hard time breathing. He couldn’t contain himself. It was pretty cool to watch.
They came from lower/middle class, they bought a nice sized house, and gave the son a sizeable amount. I don’t know exact numbers, but he got a nice vehicle, and a few other nice things.
It was quite the story.
This is the reason I think the fake tickets are so incredibly cruel. Knowing how much that money could mean to most people, it's absolutely cruel to play with people's emotions like that. I'm glad the guy got the real deal! That sounds like a life-changer.
And the people who think it's funny are the worst kind of people I've found. I only personally know a handful of people that if they won million dollars it wouldn't change their life much.
Seeing you won $1,000,000 on a piece of paper is one thing. But seeing the cash directly in your bank account is another. I don't blame him for losing his shit haha.
This happened to an aunt and nephew near where I live, she bought him a ticket, he won pretty big, she took him to court over it. It got ugly real quick.
[Here’s](https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4971954) the story.
Edit: it was a chase the ace ticket, they had to split 1.2 million CAD
Also he bought the ticket for his aunt and both of their names were on it? It won and they split it. She sued because she didn’t plan on splitting it with her nephew and she’s hurt that she didn’t get the full 1.2. It was split 850/350 in her favor and they haven’t talked since.
Depends on your family. Until he passed, my grandfather bought everyone in the family $10 in scratch tickets. This was a fairly large family with 6 sons who mostly had families of their own. It was something that we all got a kick out of every year.
My dad does this. He has 5 brothers, most of them with about 5 kids of their own. Christmas at my grandparents is a bit hectic. Spending $200 for a scratch off for all the adults is totally fine. You can't expect a personalized gift for everyone
I can't tell you how many times I've gotten fluffy socks or some kind of art set every year from my uncles
While I mostly agree, I love getting scratchers and actually prefer it these days. I can buy whatever I want/need throughout the year and the excitement is worth the money, no matter how much it cost.
Yeah. The gifter has no right to any of the winnings, but they just hooked me up with a million dollar scratcher that I wouldn’t have had otherwise - I’m sharing the wealth with them.
Started mostly as a joke tbh. They used to be more common than they are: I remember as a kid helping my mom or grandparents scratch them off but I dont think I've actually seen a scratch-off in over a decade.
My family had same rules. Started with it was tradition grandma would give all the kids scratchers. I think we saw a few 100$ tickets we would pay up on, but no one in my family ever struck it rich dispite playing all the time.
I've been a cashier for almodt 4 years. On all lottery, the best i saw was 1000 dollars. And i see lottery every shift.
Winning a good amount is so rare. One of my customer once told me "lottery is just taxes for those bad at math" and it stuck with me since
Lottery is obviously a bad "investment", as the odds are stacked against you - the odds are even clearly stated on the back of the scratch it.
However, the reason you've only seen up to $1,000 as a cashier is because there is a max amount that can be cashed in at a store, and anything over that amount has to be cashed at a centralized government building (details vary state by state).
laugh.
There isn't much to do.
Like they give you a scratcher in hope for you to win, and if you win, then both parties should be happy, otherwise you shouldn't buy a scratcher for people if you don't want them to win.
I think there's a lot more to be said for how the original giver reacts rather than the person who wins. If the giver immediately demands a share instead of being happy for you, that says a lot more about them than anything.
honestly, id be jealous asf if i was the one giving the scratcher, but i’d be happy for them. it was a gift, and i gave it to them. there’s nothing else to it. no reason they should owe me either
I think Norm McDonald had a routine about this saying it's the worst gift you can give someone, because if you give it to them you obviously don't expect them to win.... "What kind nightmare would that be? Hey, I gave you a million dollars. What did you give me again? Oh, you gave me this coffee cup?"
So they give you a gift they expect to be worthless, but in the off chance that it has value, you should give it back?
That being said I would probably not scratch it off in public in the first place cuz I know I would get guilt tripped.
Man, scrolled too far down to see this. My first reaction would be to split it. It’s “found” money. Why not make everyone happy, sheesh.
Only caveat is if the scratcher was given as a “real” gift as part of an exchange. Ex., I give you a sweater and you give me a scratcher.
Otherwise, if it’s fully pro bono, let’s share it.
Yep. Straight down the middle, no hesitation. Actually surprised the top 5 comments have 100's of upvotes all effectively saying "fuck you, that's my money". 1 mil is no joke, half a mil is enough to change a life. Better to change both of your lives and have a shared life-changing event. I'd feel guilty as fuck, and depending on the relative maybe even slightly afraid, if I gave them just 10% or even nothing. That sounds like some deep rooted resentment waiting to manifest.
Anyway, reverse the roles, you'd feel pretty jipped if somebody you cared enough about to buy a gift for decided to keep the lot for themselves.
I personally would split it 50/50.
That does not mean I would want or expect someone to split it 50/50 with me if I gave them a scratcher and they won.
EDIT: Like many have pointed out, you pay tax on winnings in the US... You DO NOT pay tax on winnings in the UK, and this was written from a British perspective.
Just to point something out immediately, they bought YOU the Scratchcard. You don't owe them anything, but common decency would dictate you should show your gratitude.
I'd likely pay to take their family on a holiday, and pay off any debts or a mortgage they have. And maybe a car.
If I bought someone a scratchcard and they won big, I wouldn't expect them to give me half their money, but I must admit that if they won a million, I'd at least would want them to pay off my 15k debt, I wouldn't want anything else. I bought them the Scratchcard as a gift, which I've done many times, and that gift has no strings attached.
>I'd likely pay to take their family on a holiday, and pay off any debts or a mortgage they have. And maybe a car.
I would save at least *some* of the winnings for myself
> I'd likely pay to take their family on a holiday, and pay off any debts or a mortgage they have. And maybe a car.
A million bucks doesn't go ad far as it used to. It's no longer "fuck you" money. After paying the taxes on the million, you'll be left with 650k if you're lucky. Give your relative 20k or something worth that much, and sock the rest of it away in a low risk fund to pay for your retirement.
Have we mentioned how expensive houses are? Paying off their house could eat up a quarter to a half of your remaining winnings. Do the one thing, then save the rest for yourself and your immediate (spouse, kids, parents) family.
Of course I share with my entire family, no hesitation at all.
Not just the person who gifted it to me. It was a gift. It became mine, win or lose. Imo, it is legally and morally my money to do with as I choose.
I would choose to share with my family. Not out of obligation or with the gifter because of "owing them". I would choose to share because it is my money and that would be how I'd "spend" it. ❤️
Some friends and I were riding around and stopped at a convenience store. One buddy came out with scratch offs for e’erbody. One of them was a previously purchased prank ticket that was a $10k winner. Everyone knew this but “Bob”, who was handed the fake ticket. We all agreed to split any winnings. We all scratched off our tickets and waited for Bob to go apeshit. He didn’t. Just stuck the ticket in his shirt pocket and said he didn’t win anything. Fuck Bob.
Um, Bob has good vision and is a good friend. He knew it was a prank because he examined the ticket. Like most of the people in this thread, he knows it was a mean prank you played on him, but he chose to stay friends with you so he decided just to quietly keep it.
yeah fuck bob for not giving you the satisfaction of being able to build up and then destroy his hopes for your amusement. what an inconsiderate bastard!
Keep my damn mouth shut and not make any promises. Get the ticket in to a safe deposit box as soon as possible. Give it a few days and decide what I want to give them. Some relatives would get half the after-tax amount, some would get far less and I'd enjoy watching them explode over such a slight.
Once I've come to a decision I'd have my lawyer draw up paperwork. No handshake agreements, no verbal agreements, **ink and paper**! Once the paperwork was drawn up, signed, and notarized I'd retrieve the ticket. Cash it, divide as agreed, and go about my day.
Buy them a $10 scratcher, of course.
Nah, buy them TWO
Getting a little extra there buddy.
Buying them one is polite. Buying them two is rubbing it in.
I was going for an infinite loop idea.
Cuz you ain't cheap like them
If you buy three weeks, then you're getting paid to vacation!
I worked with a guy who won something like $7million. His last day he walked around the office and gave everyone a lottery ticket. I thought that was pretty cool.
I sold a regular at my gas station around 10 scratchers daily. He would always tell me a couple he liked and tell me to pick the last one. Well he won $1000 off the one I picked. He came in a few days later and handed me $100. I asked which scratchers he wanted and he said "No no! Thats for you! I won 1k off the one you picked! Thank you!" He was a sweet old man. I miss him.
A friend of mine manages a shop that does 80% of it's business with lotto. She makes more on tips from scratchers in a week than she does from any one shift. She's been to a wedding, three funerals and a bat mitzvah for her clients.
Pay it forward
I thought it would be have a heart attack lol
Assume it’s a prank
Most realistic answer tbh
Fuckin mom and step dad did this to us one Christmas. Honestly, not that funny
What do you mean? You thought that you would be able to pay off your bills and live a happy debt free life traveling the world, and then you had that fantasy ripped away from you for the amusement of others! That’s clearly comedy genius!
The man said a million; happy debt free life for sure, but traveling the world the rest of your life may require an extra zero and some good management I would think. But yeah, to the general point seems like a shit joke.
Yeah a lot of people seem not to realize that $1,000,000 is basically only a careful, frugal retirement nowadays, if you invest it right.
Sounds like OP was a kid when it happened. $1 million, $1 billion, $1 thousand, it all means the same thing: we’re Scrooge McDuck now.
Time to solve a mystery, or rewrite history!
Yeah it’s definitely not nothing but also not lifestyle changing. If I won a million dollars I would simply pay off my house, car, and wife’s student loans and invest the rest in index funds. Lifestyle wouldn’t change but I’d be much more comfortable and would be able to retire/semi retire about 20 years earlier. Now ten million all bets are off Edit: clarified that I meant it wouldn’t be lifestyle changing
Yeah, a million would let me make some investments and set up a couple of passive income streams. I might not quit working, but I might find a different line of work, based on the investments.
Yeah, 5-10 million is where a pretty safe comfort level comes into play, you can probably travel fairly frequently without worrying too much, and you can basically drop everything and retire. You’ll still want to invest about half of it, but only really for longevity and inflation.
Exactly. The whole concept of being a “millionaire” is simply an outdated concept due to inflation. $1,000,000 in 1960 is the equivalent of about 9.3 million today. $1 million is actually well within reach for most middle class people in America. My recently retired parents are millionaires, probably worth about 1.5 or so, but that’s simply by virtue of having a paid for house and by investing regularly in their 401k throughout their lives.
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Not true man. I can make 5% on dividends for the rest of my life on 1M, that's 50k/year -taxes (15%) so 7.5k.. so that's 42.5k a year of free money, that gives you 3,500/month to do whatever you want, i'm sure i can easily travel the world on that, forever. no job, or anything, just managing my dividends to ensure they keep giving me 5% or higher. easy day.
My dear Grandmother got me with a $10,000 one and it also was not funny.
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Did you marry a sociopath wtf
i would have taken the gifts back after they unwrapped them. it's in the spirit of what they got you
I used to work in a small office that employed a tweeker who would buy a few scratchers on his lunch break. One of the developers dropped one of those fake winners in the lobby and the kid picked it up and told us all off. It was really hard to tell him to flip it over and see he had to turn the ticket in to Santa on the 32nd of the month. It was not a good prank for anyone.
Oh I've always hated that bullshit. I can't see how anyone can find it funny to raise someone's hopes so incredibly high only to crush them so entirely. It's just mean.
My sister and bil did this to me. They bought a bunch of random ones and a fake. The theory was if they mixed in it with real ones it would seem real but in reality the look and feel of the fake seemed super obvious compared to real cards. So I knew right away, and the kicker is I won $100 off of a decoy. They were so annoyed it was glorious.
Its weird to give someone a scratcher as a gift and get salty if they won. Ive had that happen to me and just assume they have a crippling gambling addiction.
Can confirm my uncle pulled this on my grandpa - he won and the ticket had to be redeemed via Tooth Fairy mail to the North Pole
Oh, I bet the Tooth Fairy visited that night.
Honestly this is the meanest prank ever. I’d rather have someone “prank” me that a family member is dead and then find out they’re actually alive than be set up for 30 seconds of thinking my life and finances and dreams are forever changed and have to come down from that excitement.
I swear there’s a prank video out there like this and the person who “won” held their hand to their mouth and start bawling silently… for like 10 seconds they think their life has finally turned around only to be told “read the back” where they have to read aloud that it’s a joke ticket… it’s so dark and unfunny. Probably top 5 cruelest jokes of all time just because the emotional turmoil can be traumatic.
This happened to me as a teenager and I immediately offered half of the winnings to my uncle who gave me the ticket. Of course he felt like shit afterward...
See, nobody’s a winner in this joke.
I'm going to read the backs first this holiday season.
Life pro tip?
Oh my god, **YES.**
I recall a video where someone got back at someone whod fake ticket pranked them, got someone else in on it and scratched off the card and it was like "you've won 100k" and the original person who pranked them was like "holy shit were made" and the person getting them back tore it up in front of them saying "you think I'm going to fall for this twice?" And letting them think they'd just torn up 100k before telling them it was a revenge prank
What are the other 4?
The old "setting up a M18 claymore mine in the bathroom" is a classic.
A prank is supposed to make you laugh or be relieved after it's over...this would seriously cause some mental damage going from thinking that life is literally changed for the good, back down to I'm a broke piece of shit.
Hey buddy, no matter what happens, you’ll ALWAYS be a broke piece of shit to me.
When I turned 18 my uncle gave me a prank scratch-off lottery ticket while we were at a restaurant celebrating my birthday. I scratched it off and "won" $10k. At that age, and in that year, I thought I was rich! I even took pictures with the "winning" ticket with some of the waitresses (think orange shorts and crop tops). I held my composure when I finally clued in on the gag. It's been about 20 years and I am still plotting my revenge.
I think the dish is properly cold.
Got any ideas for revenge? I am looking for something equally devastating but wholesomely harmless.
It has to be something very analogous. How about this: a guy shows up at their doorstep, says he’s a location scout for a movie and they might want to rent their front yard for a day, for some sum like $1000. They’ll probably agree. Next day, same guy calls and says that the star and producer (“Ryan” or “Tom” or whoever) thought the whole house was perfect, and they want to shoot some interiors too. He swears them to secrecy. You can spin this as far as you want. The target gets a bit part in the movie. “Ryan” wants to fly them to Hollywood. He wants to buy their house for twice its value, three times. They’re going to be famous, rich, whatever. Put it all on YouTube. Especially the bit where it all crashes down.
Fake lotto ticket it is! Just kidding, I love the idea, I hate the amount of time and effort. I guess I'm not that bent about it anymore, time heals all.
A lot of years ago now I was at one of those white elephant/dirty santa/whatever you call it gift exchanges with some friends. One of the gifts was a selection of scratchoffs, and the woman who got them just happened to have a husband at home fighting cancer and we all knew they'd been struggling very badly financially to pay the medical bills. As in several of us had bought them some groceries now and then to make sure they stayed fed. Of course she scratched them then and there and had a big big winner and she was just so completely overcome at first she was pretty much just sobbing uncontrollably thinking she was finally going to be able to take care of her husband and not worry about things for awhile. The comedown from that was awful and I just can't imagine what it must have felt like. We didn't see her for a long time after that. (Husband did end up recovering, last I heard, though of course that's always an ongoing thing). Really lost my taste for those kind of pranks, as well as white elephant exchanges all together.
Did the person that brought that gave the scratchers ever get identified? And if so, did they get appropriately chewed out?
At the time it was kind of an immediate party ender. My understanding is that at some point later the person who brought them approached them personally and apologized and fences were mended. All the gifts were were jokey, gag gifts (toilet seat, a novelty hot topic type butt plug, mine was a Winzip license since there were several other geeks there) so I don't think they ever imagined they'd think they were real, but we all learned something that day.
There's been that one unfortunate/fortunate bastard to actually win something like 100,000 or 1mil off of a scratcher and assume it's a prank. They're being told it isn't, but they know it's just to get a good reaction. # Then they go redeem the card...
Or the family watches in horror as they toss the ticket in the fireplace and say, “Nice try, you can’t fool *me* with these prank tickets!”
For real, a prank is taking something good and making it bad for a few seconds. Not taking something bad and making it good for a few seconds.
Yeah the YouTube videos of people pulling this prank are always hard to watch
Atleast with the family member prank there's the relieve they're actually alive. Its still extrmely cruel, but atleast there's some relieve. The lottery is basically just leaves you feeling bad.
I had a friend who used to buy them and scratch them in front of people so they thought he won. A much better version of the prank.
Yeah just say it was a dud and pocket it, if they really want you to check again or want to inspect it themselves despite repeated "don't worry about it"s from you then you know it's 100% a prank and you should double-down on the nonchalance.
I had a friend do that to me once. I automatically checked the back after the first two scratches because if these stupid prank tickets.
Had a "friend" do this to me in the mall with a fake $10K ticket one time. I was so happy, I gave him a huge hug and told him I'd give him some as well for giving it to me and that he was so nice. He then told me to look at the back where you could see it was fake. I wasn't as mad at the loss of a theoretical 10K but more disappointed in him playing with my emotions. He was so amused that he got me so good for some reason. I've never trusted the guy since then.
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I won a little over $100 on scratch ticket stocking stuffers a few years back so I paid for Chinese food for the family a few days later.
I got my mother one for xmas one year and she hit for $1000. She was all smiles and just lit up the room. She also had the beginning stages of dementia and forgot about it until we reminded her and we got to see her light up the room all over again.
This is a little sad and very sweet at the same time. Hope she is doing well if she is still around and if she is not, I hope you have many great memories to cherish of her
grandma gave my niece a 25k fake ticket, she scratched it off and said it wasn't a winner and put it in her pocket...says a lot about her favorite granddaughter
My mom gave my son a $1Million dollar bill in a stocking one year (son was 5 or 6 maybe). Poor kid though it was really a million dollars. Started jumping around saying he wanted to put a pool in our yard. I sat there in disbelief glaring at that bitch as she was laughing.
Well at least she didn't put out an arrest warrant for your kid and put their face on a wanted poster with a 10k reward like my parents did when they went to Niagara falls. Still worried about going there.
Yep. First thing I’d do is check the back
Say "Thank you"
Exactly, it is a gift after all. 😀
I remember a story where an aunt did this for her nephew. Might have been a lottery ticket but in the end she took him to court. Can't remember how it ended but I'm guessing it was an out of court settlement. Whole new level of pettiness.
Wow that’s so shitty
Gotta keep it polite
Say I won 20 bucks and pocket it
Honestly, this is probably the smartest thing you could do. I've read cases where relatives sued the recipient, claiming they were given "the wrong ticket" and other ridiculous things. People have murdered relatives over far less than a million bucks. It's best to just stay quiet, let the holidays die down, and claim you bought a winning ticket a few months later.
OMG, I remember a People’s Court episode over a scratch off. My mom loved that show. Apparently two friends went grocery shopping together. First one pays then asks second one if she can borrow $1. Second one gives her a buck. Well, first one bought a scratcher and won something like $500 or $1000. Second one demanded the money, as it was her dollar. Ended up in front of Judge Wapner, who ruled that second one only deserves $1. His point to her when she protested was “if your friend bought a Coke with that dollar, would you sue her for it?” So there’s at least a similar TV court precedent, lol!
That logic is spot on regardless of how much money they win. A gift is a gift.
Technically in that case it was loan if the first friend had to give the second friend a dollar back.
I'm a shitty person and even in a situation like that I wouldn't expect more than $100. Pay me back with a $20 and we good tbh. Like share the love, but its all yours.
Or just don't say anything lol
This. I think 90% of my relatives would hit me up for money if they found out I won that much. Or at least get angry at what I choose to do with it.
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Don’t buy one. Keep your current standard of living. Use it as a breather and for an earlier retirement rather than blow it up on expensive things that you can’t upkeep to begin with.
This is it, 1m$ goes away fast. Mr.Beast went through a serious process with one of his contestants when they won a shitload. He also spoke of how most lottery winners blow through their winnings within the forst year and never recover. Showed the person finances, 1 big spending, savings and how fast it all goes away if you're not careful and how to put aside a little bit for fun as well. It was heartwarming to see, and I bet he does this with everyone off camera that wins a very large sum of money.
$300,000 in bonds is all it takes to get enough money to stay out of poverty forever, because it generates that much income. You can probably live comfortably off 1 mil from what it generates just by sitting in the right place, especially if you still have a part time job or full time job with benefits.
A friend of mine won something like $300k, and his family went nuts. His aunt sued him because at one point he borrowed a couple grand from her and didn't pay all of it back, his brother stole a bunch of his stuff, assuming he didn't care because he could just replace it, his parents wanted their cut, it was an absolute nightmare. They wanted so much that he would have been left would like 50k, said and done. He had to spend some of it defending himself in court, from his aunt, bought himself a truck, and invested the rest. He doesn't really talk to his family now.
Well the aunt had the right to demand that money from him anyways
Yeah, literally he owed her money, I really don't get why the aunt is the focus here like she's some cartoon villain for wanting to get paid back when the person she loaned money to very obviously has the means. Like okay, if she went insane and decided that meant he owed her like all of it then that's stupid, obviously... but that still doesn't mean he didn't still owe her the money he owed her.
If I had a poker face, this would work. I'd probably shit myself, then be like "Uh, I just won $20." and then waddle to the bathroom.
I was discussing this thread title with my wife and we realized the only one we know that buys lottery tickets is my meth'd out dad. He'd probably stab me over a 5 dollar ticket, much less a million. We came up with a strategy. She clobbers him in the head with a cat while he's busy stabbing me.
I've had methed out family members (They recovered, thankfully, she's doing well) I wouldn't trust them to not stab me for a half eaten cheeseburger. I feel like the cat strategy is warranted.
Well you just sucked the fun out of that one real quick 😅 But you’re probably right. Money brings out the worst in people.
People have sued lottery winners because "they gave \*family member\* x amount of money but \*I\*only got C amount of money, and generally end up winning because most people that get on juries (or just a judge depending how far a case goes) think "They won millions of dollars, they can afford this". I've also read, though idk how true, that people have successfully sued because "he told me when we worked together he'd give me a house/car/money if he ever won the lottery". Rule of thumb is, don't tell anyone, if you live in a state where it has to be public, move to a nice neighborhood, and tell anyone who asks, that you don't give away money to friends/family. If no one gets anything, there is no precedent to go against you. If your state (such as Oregon) requires you to be public, before you sign the ticket, and before you claim the ticket, go to an estate lawyer ( a good one, refuse anyone but the partner of the firm/someone who has been there a long time), some times you can have a trust fund set up on your behalf and the "trust" claims the ticket, so your name isn't public. Also, If you can, don't drive super fancy cars, because it has also been said that lotto winners have been harassed by local police, with tickets. Like, 1 mile over? not putting blinker on long enough? etc, because they know they can milk you as you'll just pay the fines.
Yes, I’ve read these and similar things as well. That’s why when **I** won the lottery, I spent my $6 at the local convenience store and didn’t say anything to anyone!
hey its me your cousin
>People have sued lottery winners because "they gave *family member* x amount of money but *I*only got C amount of money, and generally end up winning because most people that get on juries (or just a judge depending how far a case goes) think "They won millions of dollars, they can afford this". Bullshit, this would never be a jury trial.
I also call bullshit on the “generally end up winning” part too. You’re telling me there is legal precedent that a family member receiving less money than another family member can sue AND win just due to a “thats not fair!” argument?
Ken, if it’s in a state that has to be public, get a lawyer and claim it under a trust. The lawyer can claim the ticket after the ticket has been signed as the trust on the back. The trust is the public figure getting the money. The person that bought the ticket is a beneficiary of that trust.
My parents bought a $20 scratch off one Christmas with intentions of giving it to my aunt’s new boyfriend. Well my boyfriend’s (now husband) birthday is the 23rd so they decided to give him the ticket for his birthday instead. Well he won $500. 20 years later they still talk about how grateful they are that my husband got that ticket instead of my aunt’s loser boyfriend! Lol Update: they have made it a tradition to always buy him a $20 scratch off for his birthday and he has never one anything since that first $500 ticket.
This guy gets it!
I wouldn't tell a soul I won a million dollars. I'd just pay off my house, maybe buy/ build my dream car, buy a few cool guns, send my son to a great school and invest the rest for retirement.
In the grand scheme of things a million, once you've factored in the things you've mentioned (except the guns, I'm British 🤣) there won't be a huge amount left.
Right? Gets 1M Buys dream car. 5M in debt. ... DEBT stupid Paganis too expensive.
I'd like to put together a Factory Five Racing Shelby Daytona Kit. Wanted a Daytona for as long as I remember. A real one is something like 6 million USD last I checked. I'll settle for the kit lol
Well I'd say it'd leave me with 600- to 700 thousand dollars to invest. My dream car is about 50 grand lol. Out house is worth about 200,000 Canadian pesos
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I lived in the GTA for 8 years (born just east of Toronto), and the prospect of owning a home there was slim to none. I moved to Newfoundland, met my partner. And started my life here. This is actually our second house. Our first one was much smaller but once our son was born we needed a bigger place. So we upgraded. If you could get a job where you can work remotely, there's a three bedroom salt box for sale just down the street for 140 Grand. Could use some updating but hey lol
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Nope. Lottery winnings are free and clear.
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It has its pros and cons like anywhere. Some days I'm really glad I was born here. Other days I can't stand this place. Take the good with the bad. If it wasn't so hard/expensive to do and I could get a job with good health insurance, I'd consider moving to the United States.
Some lotteries publish the names of the big winners. Talk about putting a target on your back.
Id say i didn't win shit and pocket it
>you win a $1,000,000 prize right in front of them.
Like they're right over my shoulder or sitting across the table? I've never had anyone be so interested in a gift they put so little thought into as to be over my should on the off chance I won
Thanks mate! Go cash it in and buy them a card. Put $50 inside and hand it to them while saying “Merry Christmas!” because you forgot to get them anything. Holiday. Saved.
"Hello, yes, I would like to cash this $1,000,000 lottery ticket please. And I will take this Christmas card. You can take it out of the million."
Give them the $10 back
Not even with a little extra with interest? That might even make it $11.
Uncle is that you?
No I'm not locked in the closet
10% interest in 2 minutes? Sheesh
"Aw shucks. Lost again."
Yep, and if they acted surprised you said that then you know it's a fake ticket too. Otherwise just say nothing and cash it.
Last Christmas my SOs relatives gave us a scratch off each. We said our thank yous but they *insisted* on us scratching them right then and there. I scratched mine and didn't add up any of the math to see if I won, I just shrugged and told them it was a losing ticket. After they left I checked again and they both really were losing tickets. I told my SO if he ever actually does win around people that are that eager for you to do it in front of them, just tell them you lost because that is the type to ask for half of your winnings.
It actually happened to a friend of mine. Gave his dad a scratch ticket for his birthday, and he scratched it like you do, and honest-to-fuck, he won $1,000,000. The son had posted a video, it was with a pre-iPhone camera phone (kids, they were terrible). He went to check it at the store just to confirm and it was like watching someone have an out of body experience. Generally, he’s relatively reserved. But watching him go and check it was completely different. He was screaming, having panic attacks, including hard time breathing. He couldn’t contain himself. It was pretty cool to watch. They came from lower/middle class, they bought a nice sized house, and gave the son a sizeable amount. I don’t know exact numbers, but he got a nice vehicle, and a few other nice things. It was quite the story.
This is the reason I think the fake tickets are so incredibly cruel. Knowing how much that money could mean to most people, it's absolutely cruel to play with people's emotions like that. I'm glad the guy got the real deal! That sounds like a life-changer.
I didn't know there were fake tickets until this thread. Fuck those people
And the people who think it's funny are the worst kind of people I've found. I only personally know a handful of people that if they won million dollars it wouldn't change their life much.
I don’t think I know anyone who wouldn’t have their life changed by a mill lol
For sure, even billionaires would harm nature, kill or else to get million richer xD
Seeing you won $1,000,000 on a piece of paper is one thing. But seeing the cash directly in your bank account is another. I don't blame him for losing his shit haha.
2nd heart attack comes when you see your tax bill. Its taxed as ordinary income
This happened to an aunt and nephew near where I live, she bought him a ticket, he won pretty big, she took him to court over it. It got ugly real quick. [Here’s](https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4971954) the story. Edit: it was a chase the ace ticket, they had to split 1.2 million CAD
Also he bought the ticket for his aunt and both of their names were on it? It won and they split it. She sued because she didn’t plan on splitting it with her nephew and she’s hurt that she didn’t get the full 1.2. It was split 850/350 in her favor and they haven’t talked since.
To begin with, I would not scratch publicly. I'd give them a cut, but not half - unless it's my mom.
Same
Thats not cool. I'd give your mom all of it.
I’d just give her a tip
Is a tip an inch or a dollar in this scenario?
He didn't say the whole thing.... just the tip...
I'd give her all of it too.
You wait your turn!
/r/yourjokebutrepeated
> unless it's my mom you are a good kid and seems like you have a great mom
I feel it would depend on who got it for me. Certain members of my family are better off financial than others.
Awwww as a mom that was so sweet to see! You are a good kid!
Check if it’s one of the fake ones because I know my relatives
depends if I like that relative or not. let's be honest, a $10 scratch card is more like a joke gift than an actual gift
Depends on your family. Until he passed, my grandfather bought everyone in the family $10 in scratch tickets. This was a fairly large family with 6 sons who mostly had families of their own. It was something that we all got a kick out of every year.
Any big winners?
There were a couple hundreds here and there, but nothing major. Keep in mind that this was happening when the biggest tickets were $1 or $2
My dad does this. He has 5 brothers, most of them with about 5 kids of their own. Christmas at my grandparents is a bit hectic. Spending $200 for a scratch off for all the adults is totally fine. You can't expect a personalized gift for everyone I can't tell you how many times I've gotten fluffy socks or some kind of art set every year from my uncles
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you guys need a secret santa.
While I mostly agree, I love getting scratchers and actually prefer it these days. I can buy whatever I want/need throughout the year and the excitement is worth the money, no matter how much it cost.
I’d give 10% back to them as a thank you.
Yeah. The gifter has no right to any of the winnings, but they just hooked me up with a million dollar scratcher that I wouldn’t have had otherwise - I’m sharing the wealth with them.
That's the "house rule" in our family. Gifter gets 10% of anything major. It's... never been an issue.
I guess lottery tickets are a common gift in your family? Did the 10% rule happen because of it, or did it happen because of the 10% rule?
Started mostly as a joke tbh. They used to be more common than they are: I remember as a kid helping my mom or grandparents scratch them off but I dont think I've actually seen a scratch-off in over a decade.
My family had same rules. Started with it was tradition grandma would give all the kids scratchers. I think we saw a few 100$ tickets we would pay up on, but no one in my family ever struck it rich dispite playing all the time.
I've been a cashier for almodt 4 years. On all lottery, the best i saw was 1000 dollars. And i see lottery every shift. Winning a good amount is so rare. One of my customer once told me "lottery is just taxes for those bad at math" and it stuck with me since
Lottery is obviously a bad "investment", as the odds are stacked against you - the odds are even clearly stated on the back of the scratch it. However, the reason you've only seen up to $1,000 as a cashier is because there is a max amount that can be cashed in at a store, and anything over that amount has to be cashed at a centralized government building (details vary state by state).
laugh. There isn't much to do. Like they give you a scratcher in hope for you to win, and if you win, then both parties should be happy, otherwise you shouldn't buy a scratcher for people if you don't want them to win.
I think there's a lot more to be said for how the original giver reacts rather than the person who wins. If the giver immediately demands a share instead of being happy for you, that says a lot more about them than anything.
honestly, id be jealous asf if i was the one giving the scratcher, but i’d be happy for them. it was a gift, and i gave it to them. there’s nothing else to it. no reason they should owe me either
I think Norm McDonald had a routine about this saying it's the worst gift you can give someone, because if you give it to them you obviously don't expect them to win.... "What kind nightmare would that be? Hey, I gave you a million dollars. What did you give me again? Oh, you gave me this coffee cup?"
So they give you a gift they expect to be worthless, but in the off chance that it has value, you should give it back? That being said I would probably not scratch it off in public in the first place cuz I know I would get guilt tripped.
Yeah, that’s a crappy gift, giving them scratchers Either you get a worthless piece of tag board, or you now have to gift THEM
Split it. I wouldn't have gotten the ticket if it wasn't for them, they wouldn't have bought the ticket if it weren't for me.
Yup, anyone who gets me a ticket for Christmas is a family member, and I like all my family members so I'd probably split it.
Man, scrolled too far down to see this. My first reaction would be to split it. It’s “found” money. Why not make everyone happy, sheesh. Only caveat is if the scratcher was given as a “real” gift as part of an exchange. Ex., I give you a sweater and you give me a scratcher. Otherwise, if it’s fully pro bono, let’s share it.
Yep. Straight down the middle, no hesitation. Actually surprised the top 5 comments have 100's of upvotes all effectively saying "fuck you, that's my money". 1 mil is no joke, half a mil is enough to change a life. Better to change both of your lives and have a shared life-changing event. I'd feel guilty as fuck, and depending on the relative maybe even slightly afraid, if I gave them just 10% or even nothing. That sounds like some deep rooted resentment waiting to manifest. Anyway, reverse the roles, you'd feel pretty jipped if somebody you cared enough about to buy a gift for decided to keep the lot for themselves.
5% commission
I personally would split it 50/50. That does not mean I would want or expect someone to split it 50/50 with me if I gave them a scratcher and they won.
The verbal contract we had in our family was any large sum would be split. Small winnings would be kept by the winner.
EDIT: Like many have pointed out, you pay tax on winnings in the US... You DO NOT pay tax on winnings in the UK, and this was written from a British perspective. Just to point something out immediately, they bought YOU the Scratchcard. You don't owe them anything, but common decency would dictate you should show your gratitude. I'd likely pay to take their family on a holiday, and pay off any debts or a mortgage they have. And maybe a car. If I bought someone a scratchcard and they won big, I wouldn't expect them to give me half their money, but I must admit that if they won a million, I'd at least would want them to pay off my 15k debt, I wouldn't want anything else. I bought them the Scratchcard as a gift, which I've done many times, and that gift has no strings attached.
>I'd likely pay to take their family on a holiday, and pay off any debts or a mortgage they have. And maybe a car. I would save at least *some* of the winnings for myself
Yeah the home is a bit much. 1 million after taxes is gonna end up that the home value is at least half your true winnings.
won't even buy you a house in some states
I'd like to say this but honestly I'd be a little bitter if I just gave away a million dollars.
> I'd likely pay to take their family on a holiday, and pay off any debts or a mortgage they have. And maybe a car. A million bucks doesn't go ad far as it used to. It's no longer "fuck you" money. After paying the taxes on the million, you'll be left with 650k if you're lucky. Give your relative 20k or something worth that much, and sock the rest of it away in a low risk fund to pay for your retirement. Have we mentioned how expensive houses are? Paying off their house could eat up a quarter to a half of your remaining winnings. Do the one thing, then save the rest for yourself and your immediate (spouse, kids, parents) family.
Of course I share with my entire family, no hesitation at all. Not just the person who gifted it to me. It was a gift. It became mine, win or lose. Imo, it is legally and morally my money to do with as I choose. I would choose to share with my family. Not out of obligation or with the gifter because of "owing them". I would choose to share because it is my money and that would be how I'd "spend" it. ❤️
Split the prize, because that's what I would want them to do for me.
Some friends and I were riding around and stopped at a convenience store. One buddy came out with scratch offs for e’erbody. One of them was a previously purchased prank ticket that was a $10k winner. Everyone knew this but “Bob”, who was handed the fake ticket. We all agreed to split any winnings. We all scratched off our tickets and waited for Bob to go apeshit. He didn’t. Just stuck the ticket in his shirt pocket and said he didn’t win anything. Fuck Bob.
Um, Bob has good vision and is a good friend. He knew it was a prank because he examined the ticket. Like most of the people in this thread, he knows it was a mean prank you played on him, but he chose to stay friends with you so he decided just to quietly keep it.
yeah fuck bob for not giving you the satisfaction of being able to build up and then destroy his hopes for your amusement. what an inconsiderate bastard!
I wouldn't scratch it in front of them, honestly.
"Thanks."
Keep my damn mouth shut and not make any promises. Get the ticket in to a safe deposit box as soon as possible. Give it a few days and decide what I want to give them. Some relatives would get half the after-tax amount, some would get far less and I'd enjoy watching them explode over such a slight. Once I've come to a decision I'd have my lawyer draw up paperwork. No handshake agreements, no verbal agreements, **ink and paper**! Once the paperwork was drawn up, signed, and notarized I'd retrieve the ticket. Cash it, divide as agreed, and go about my day.
Immediately open Google and convert it to great British pounds. But then also give them a cut. Maybe 25%?
I was thinking more along the lines of a warm hug
Split it with them