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FOR THE FIRST time in decades, the weekly National Lottery draw had to be postponed last week.
Panic ensued across the nation, naturally.
Given the extra a day, a few more people were likely to have chanced their luck, but it was won by one happy player in Kildare.
However, you might not feel so jealous after reading some of these stories:
Before they won a $2.76m (€2.42m) lottery jackpot in 2005, Lara and Roger Griffiths hardly ever argued.
Then they won, and bought a million-dollar house and a Porsche.But six years after their win, Roger drove away in the Porsche after Lara confronted him over emails suggesting he was interested in another woman.
Their 14-year marriage was over, a freak fire gutted their house, and every penny of their fortune was gone.
William “Bud” Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but was $1 million in debt within a year.
“I wish it never happened,” Post said. “It was totally a nightmare.”
A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings and his brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him in the hopes he’d inherit a share of the winnings.
After sinking money into various family businesses, Post sank into debt and spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector.
Bud now lives quietly on $450 (€400) a month and food stamps.
Martyn Tott, 33, and his 24-year-old wife from the UK missed out on the fortune after losing their ticket.
They were able to convince officials, but since there is a 30-day time limit on reporting lost tickets, the jackpot became the the largest unclaimed amount since the lottery began in 1994.
“Thinking you’re going to have all that money is really liberating. Having it taken away has the opposite effect,” Kay Tott told The Daily Mail. “It drains the life from you and puts a terrible strain on your marriage. It was the cruelest torture imaginable.”
In 2004, Sharon Tirabassi, a single mother who had been on welfare, cashed a check from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. for $10.5m (Canadian, €7.4m)).
She subsequently spent her winnings on a “big house, fancy cars, designer clothes, lavish parties, exotic trips, handouts to family, loans to friends” and in less than a decade she’s back riding the bus, working part-time, and living in a rented house.”
Luckily Tirabassi put some of her windfall in trusts for her six children, who can claim the money when they turn 26.
Against all odds, in the mid-1980s, Adams won the lottery twice, once in 1985 and again in 1986.
The New Jersey native won a cool $5.4m (€4.7m), but AskMen.com reports she gambled it away at Atlantic City.
Today she resides in a trailer park
A former Waffle House waitress named Tonda Lynn Dickerson got served a big plate of karma when she refused to split her winnings with ex-colleagues and was forced to pay the tax man $1.1 million (€970,000).
How did it happen? Dickerson placed her winnings in a corporation and granted her family 51 percent of the stock — qualifying her for the tax.
In 1998, Gerald Muswagon won the $10m (€8.8m) Super 7 jackpot in Canada.
But he blew it all on drinking and partying in only seven years.
Filled with remorse, Muswagon hanged himself in his parents’ garage in 2005.
Construction worker Americo Lopes won the New Jersey lottery, quit his job, and then lied about it, claiming he needed foot surgery.
After coming clean to an ex-colleague, he and a few others ganged up on Lopes for not splitting the winnings as promised.
The court ordered Lopes to split the prize.
When Mullins won the US lotto in 1993, she opted for yearly payouts instead of a lump sum, reports MSN.
She quickly found herself in debt, using future payouts as collateral for a $200,000 (€175,000) loan.
Mullins later switched to a lump sum payout, but never paid back the debt. The loan company filed suit and won a $154,000 (€135,000) settlement that was all but worthless — Mullins had no assets.
Ontario resident Ibi Roncailoli walked away with $5m (€4.4m) in a 1991 Lotto 649 drawing, but she didn’t tell her husband how she decided to spend it.
When Joseph Roncailoli, a gynecologist, found out Ibi gave $2m (€1.76m) of her fortune to a secret child she’d had with another man, he poisoned her with painkillers, the Toronto Star reports.
He was found guilty of manslaughter and reportedly asked Ibi’s family to help foot the bill for her funeral.
Michael Carroll was at his peak when he won Britain’s £9.7m (€13.1m)) jackpot in 2002, The Daily Mail reports.
But a penchant for life in the fast lane — cocaine, parties, hookers, and cars — put him back at square one in five years.
Last we heard, the ex-garbageman was hoping to get his old job back.
A Pentecostal preacher working as a stockboy at Home Depot got his prayers answered when he hit the $31m (€27.2m) jackpot in 1997.
At first, life was good with Billy Bob buying a ranch, six other homes, and some new cars.
But like many others who win the lottery, he just couldn’t say no when people asked for a handout.
Later in life he divorced and eventually committed suicide.
In 2002, West Virginia building contractor Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr. walked away with $114m (€100m) on a multi-state Powerball draw.
That was just about his last stroke of good fortune.
In two separate instances, thieves ran off with $745,000 Whittaker stashed in his car. Later on, he was sued by Caesar’s Atlantic City for allegedly bouncing $1.5 million in checks.
Within four years, his fortune was gone.
In 1989, Willie won a $3.1m (€2.7m) jackpot in the Michigan Lottery.
Fast-forward two years later and Hurt got divorced, lost custody of his children, was charged with attempted murder, and picked up a crack-cocaine addiction.
The habit was so bad, it sucked away his entire fortune.
When Denise Rossi won $1.3m (€1.1m) in the California lotto, she left her husband without a word, reports People magazine.
Thomas knew something was up, but agreed to divorce her anyway.
Two years later, he intercepted a letter at his new Los Angeles home revealing the truth.
He sued Denise for not disclosing her winnings in the divorce, and the judge awarded Thomas every cent.
After winning an $18m (€16.6m) lottery jackpot in 1993, Janite Lee’s earnings were gone within a decade.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that Lee, a wigmaker from South Korea, blew her winnings on, of all things, charity.
A reading room was named after her at Washington University’s law school, and she was a major donor for the Democratic Party.
But her giving hand, coupled with a little gambling and a lot of credit card debt, allegedly did her in. She filed for bankruptcy in 2001.
Welsh-born Luke Pittard won a £1.3 million jackpot (€1.7 million) in 2006, but spent it all on a trip to the Canary Islands, a wedding, and a house.
A year-and-a-half later, Pittard was forced to take a job at McDonald’s flipping burgers.
He says he’s happy, and his leftover winnings collect interest.
Alex and Rhoda Toth hit the $13m (€11.4m) jackpot in Florida in 1990. Within 15 years they were destitute.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the couple declared bankruptcy and were eventually accused of tax evasion by the IRS.
Alex passed away before his case went to trial and Rhoda eventually served two years in prison.
Daily Mail UK reports Vivian Nicholson got a taste of the good life when she won a fortune — £152k (€205k) — in Britain’s football pools in 1961.
Too bad she blew it all filling her closet with haute couture.
Years later, Nicholson is jobless, a newly-minted Jehovah’s Witness and a widow. She’s also been married five times.
Callie Rogers was just 16 years old when she won £1.9 million in the U.K.’s lottery (€2.6m) in 2003 — too young to know how to manage her money or where it would lead her, according to Gawker.
Rogers had two children then blew the rest on partying, vacations, and gifts for her friends.
Now Rogers works as a cleaning woman and is reportedly facing bankruptcy.
Barry Shell won $4m (€3.5m) Canadian dollars in the Ontario lottery in 2009 after he used the last of his cash to buy a ticket.
But there was a warrant out for his arrest on charges of theft and possessing stolen property, and police figured out where he was after seeing a photo of him with his prize.
He gave his winnings to a relative.
- Michael B Kelly, Pamela Engel, and Mandi Woodruff
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Remember kids, D’s get degrees.
@Sean Fahey: superb, thanks Sean
@Sean Fahey: and Fs?
@Sean Fahey: I got E lol
@Optimus Prime: Remember Bill Gates,when he said he didn’t pass all subjects in his exams, his friend did and became an engineer,working for Microsoft, Bill just owned the company.
@Honeybee: Now Bill’s a world leading virus expert
@lelookcoco: I believe he’s anti virus now.
@Sean Fahey: I got dismal, but when there are questions are about the 2nd best or 3rd largest/smallest, it’s just click bait and yes, I clicked with the best of them..
@Optimus Prime: F all
@Sean Fahey: and AS get honours degrees
I left school at 12 went back when I was 24 did my junior cert and was taught by the most amazing lady ever sandy you are one in a million i got 6 right not bad for me
@Marty Lawless: fair play, takes a lot more to do that when you are older, but it’s also more rewarding….great stuff
@Marty Lawless: that was some lie-in.
Only joking, fair play Marty.
@Dan: just to let you know I was a junkie at 12 to 17 and got free from it I couldn’t read nor write but this remarkable lady called sandy from sligo kept pushing me on telling me that I was able for more my life meant more I owe this lady so much I’m drug free years now and I can read and write
@Marty Lawless: that’s just genuinely superb. Well done dude and keep it up.
@Marty Lawless: That is so good, Marty. You are a great example to the people who write off anybody who has had difficulty in their life. Your post is more literate than 90% of the people on this forum. Keep it up; you’re a winner!
@Marty Lawless: Give yourself a pat on the back as well, Marty. She was fantastic but you supplied both ability and motivation!
Correction:
The County Town of Waterford is Waterford not Dungarvan
@Micheál:
Phil Hogan amalgamated the City and County in 2015
@Micheál: Thanks
@Micheál: are you by any chance an avid south Kilkenny person that calls Waterford a town and Kilkenny a city!!
@Micheál: Waterford is a City not a town
I got the Lough Allen question correct, but Galway which is in Connaught has a shoreline on Lough Derg in around Portumna.
@Val Doyle: I might just point out that it’s Connacht and not Connaught as stated in the quiz.
@Val Doyle: shuddup val ya bleedin lick
@Val Doyle: With the positioning of the lakes in the question, I would say it’s Lough Derg in Donegal.
@Val Doyle: and lough derg is in Connacht ,unless they moved it ?
@Aonghus OReilly: Mind your manners. Val is right. ‘Connaught’ is the British colonial spelling. Were you in the RIC?
Why is Dungarvan the county town of Waterford – when the Council offices are in Waterford?
@Grainnewhale: cos it is, that’s why.
@Grainnewhale:
Dungarvan has blaagin’ rights on that one, Grainne!
@Grainnewhale: Waterford’s a city.
got them all wrong!
@Pauline Gallagher: it’s ok. Me too.
@Pauline Gallagher: Don’t worry Pauline, horses for courses as my mother used to tell me and remember strong people don’t put people down,they lift them up .If you didn’t get them right first time round..you’re normal, try again and I bet you get an A.
Second biggest county is Cork 7500 sq km. Galway is 6149 sq km. So The answer Galway is wrong.
@Bob Dalchan: Cork is the biggest county
@Bob Dalchan: 2nd biggest was the question. That is why you got an F..hahahha.
@Bob Dalchan: OMG are you for real?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Irish_counties_by_area
@Mary O’ Shea: I selected cork and it showed Red. Galway simultaneously went green.
@Bob Dalchan: that’s because Cork is the biggest and galway second and the question was the second biggest
@Bob Dalchan: because galway is the right answer. It’s the second biggest. Cork is the biggest. You just misread the question.
@Bob Dalchan: always take your time and read the question!!!
@Mary O’ Shea: Donegal is the biggest
@Aaron Jones: only 4th I’m afraid!
@Joe Kennedy: since when?
@Joe Kennedy: na Donegal is the biggest county and Galway 2nd then Cork
@Bob Dalchan: yes, the second biggest county is Mayo or it was when I was going to school. Maybe Galway is after leaking a bit into Roscommon, all that flooding etc
@HuffnPuff: cork is the biggest county in Ireland now use to Donegal was it not?
@Joe Kennedy: your right:-/
@HuffnPuff: well it’s 3rd now so it must have shrunk since you were in school! Maybe some of it fell into the sea there up around Belmullet?! Wild country up there!
@Bob Dalchan: My mistake! Read the question wrong. I’ll stick to geography of the Caribbean.
@Aaron Jones: Donegal is only the biggest county when the tide is out
@Optimus Prime:
I opted for Tyrone. …but it wasn’t there
@Frank Dwyer:
Nice one Frank!
@Bob Dalchan: cork is the biggest,galway 2nd,thats what was bet into us ?
@Gerry Campbell: I thought donegal was the biggest for years and years done a wee google nearly fall of me chair when the answer came back it wasn’t to be!
@Frank Dwyer: yeah really so the biggest county differs on the tide interesting fact mmmmm
Primary school? are ye bleedin messin’ bud? Ah here….
Don’t feel bad folks I’m a mechanical engineer but according to this quiz I’m a bit of a dim wit. I’m actually happy with a two Haha.
5/10 Brother Carberry would have cut fcuk out of me for that.
@Patrick Agnew: Br. Patrick would have given me a kick in the whole 7/10
@Patrick Agnew: what would he do if you got them all right?
@Dizzy: better than a fist
@Macus Mc Mahon: ignored you
Woeful spelling of Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr
Share the results with friends,,,, Not a chance
Everyone should be given full marks
Spelled Connacht wrong twice.
@Paddy Reid: it’s TheJournal. Beyond the M50 may as well be Khartoum for all they know or care.
It’s like been a teenager again, got a E
@: how much?
5.. that’s all I need.
B, not too shabby for someone who left Primary in 1977
@AA Brady: your no spring chicken
@Aaron Jones: shurrup, ya wee pup
@Aaron Jones: Maybe not,but I know the correct use of your/you’re, ya pup
@AA Brady: I left primary in 1976 and got a B also, I did better than you really on age grounds but I’m not boasting.
@AA Brady: yeah I see that!
Last one was way to easy. Come on, who the hell would want to live in Leitrim
@Alan Lynch: me! I would. Lived there for 7 months. Would love to go back.
@Alan Lynch: Would live there in a heartbeat. One of the most beautiful places on earth and filled with equally beautiful people.
Malin not loop head is the most northern point in Ireland
@CoraG: true the tide most of been out tho,I call for this competition to be null and void
35 years ago and still got 6 yeppe
Bonus point for the writer of the article: What is the correct spelling of Connacht?
5 outa 10 a D
I got a B. 7 of 10. I expected 5. So im happy
Great idea
not irish, got 3/10 but most of this knowledge is useless anyway once you leave school
@Soeren Kuehling: yes, knowledge in general is useless Soeren!! And no value whatsoever in knowing the geography of one’s own country!
Oh you’re welcome Gráinne!
just got the Dublin 1s right didn’t know there was anything outside Dublin. I thought the roads just stopped once they got outside the big capital
That is incorrect, Lough Derg opens at Portumna
County Athlone wasn’t on the list!!
5/10, got half of them wrong!
When I was in primary school, Loop Head was in Co. Clare… I suppose they must have moved it…
@Colm de Cleir: aaggh sorry about the dupe, it looked like it didn’t work the first time
When I was in primary school, Loop Head was in Co. Clare…. I suppose they must have moved it or something…
Zero.
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