Winning the lottery is often seen as a life-changing event, but it doesn’t always lead to a happily ever after. There are stories of lottery winners who squandered their fortunes due to poor financial decisions.
For instance, Evelyn Marie Adams won $5.4 million in the New Jersey lottery in 1985 and 1986, only to lose it all due to excessive gambling. By 2012, she admitted in an interview with The New York Post that she was completely broke.
In 1990, Rhoda and Alex Toth won $13 million in the lottery, choosing to receive payments of $666,666 annually for 20 years. Unfortunately, they ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2006 after facing significant legal expenses from family disputes and living a lavish lifestyle in Las Vegas. The couple also ran into trouble with tax evasion, leading to Rhoda being fined $1.1 million and receiving a two-year prison sentence.
Janite Lee also fell victim to the pitfalls of sudden wealth after winning an $18 million lottery jackpot. She generously donated most of her winnings to the Democratic National Committee and Washington University, including their law school. However, Lee lost $350,000 to gambling and by 2001, she was left with a mere $700 of her once substantial fortune.
