Just about everyone has dreamed of winning the lottery at some point. It?s hard to fathom that just a couple dollars invested in a piece of paper with some numbers on it could turn you into a multi-millionaire ? but that is exactly what happened to these five people. Whether they accepted an extended payout or took a reduced prize in exchange for being able to receive it as a lump sum, these individuals? lives were changed when their lucky numbers were drawn.
Merle and Patricia Butler
The only winners to come forward publicly, this couple held one of three lucky tickets in a $656 million Mega Millions Jackpot. After choosing to forego almost $60 million of their prize in exchange for receiving a lump sum payment ? which left them with $157 million ? they said only that they would invest the money wisely and use it to do good.
Con Agra Meatpacking Plant Workers
It?s a common practice for co-workers to pool their money on lottery tickets. This group of eight hit it big when their numbers hit in a $365 million Powerball drawing. Surprisingly, five of the eight winners reported to work as usual ? for the graveyard shift ? after learning of their big win.
Louise White?
This winner of $336 million kept her ticket in her family Bible until she was able to secure it in a safe deposit box. After collecting her winnings, she established a trust for her family ? naming it after the product she had bought along with her lucky ticket, Rainbow Sherbet.
Erika Greene
Learning from the experiences of lottery winners before her, Greene showed up in a limo to collect her winnings but vowed to use her windfall wisely. Her $331 million helped her to buy a new house and car; the rest, she invested under the advice of financial experts.
Dennis Klaus and Maryann Daino
This couple?s jackpot was much more modest than the rest, but their journey was the stuff of fairytales. After each had lost everything in Hurricane Sandy and subsequently moved to neighboring trailers in Connecticut, where they eventually met and fell in love, they won over a quarter of a million dollars in the 5 Card Cash lottery ? enough to purchase a new home together.
These winners are proof that lottery dreams really do come true.
