I made MASSIVE mistake when I won life-changing lotto jackpot & I’ll never forgive myself – I watched it trickle away
A LOTTO winner has revealed how he made a huge mistake after winning a life-changing jackpot – and can never forgive himself.
The anonymous man, 32, posted on Reddit about his massive windfall.
However, the man said he made a massive mistake by telling his family about his lotto win.
He told his fellow users his family has always been “a bit irresponsible” with finances – and always turns up to him to get cash handouts every time they have money problems.
The lotto winner said he should have never told his family about the huge jackpot and revealed his reasons for not wanting to split his winnings with his relatives.
The Reddit user shared: “My family has always been a bit… let’s say, financially irresponsible.
“They’ve never been good with money, and they’ve always relied on others to bail them out of their financial troubles.
“I’ve helped them out in the past, but it’s always been with the understanding that they would try to improve their financial habits.
“When they found out about my lottery win, they immediately started asking for handouts.”
He said that his relatives said it’s only fair that he gives them cash as they are family and he has “more than enough to share.”
The lottery winner continued: “They’ve even gone as far as to say that I owe them because they’ve helped me out in the past [which is not true, I’ve always been the one helping them].
“I’ve tried to explain to them that I want to use this money to secure my future and that I can’t just give it away, but they’re not listening.”
He added he will never be able to forgive himself for sharing the jackpot news with his family.
“They’re calling me selfish and ungrateful, and it’s starting to cause a lot of tension in the family.
“I feel like I’m in the right here, but the constant guilt-tripping is starting to get to me.”
In an update to his post, the lotto winner now says he wants to take some time off from his family and needs some space to think about what he is going to do with the massive windfall.
He wrote: “Reality is starting to set in and I’ve realized the magnitude of the situation I’m in. I’ve decided to take a step back from everything.
“I’m going to take some time for myself, away from my family and the pressures they’re putting on me. I need to clear my head and figure out my next steps without the constant guilt-tripping and demands.”
People were quick to chime in and give their views, and many people said he shouldn’t give them a penny.
One wrote: “Don’t give out money. I don’t know what you won but it’s never enough to last you through retirement.”
Another added: “It’s your money, not theirs. They don’t get to decide how you spend it.”
Meanwhile, a third commented: “You should never have told them.”
The lottery winner agreed, saying: “I’ve seen a lot of comments suggesting I should have kept my winnings a secret, and in hindsight, you’re absolutely right.
What are my chances of winning the lottery?
EVERYONE wants to know how to beat the odds and win the lottery.
But unfortunately, the lottery is a game of luck and there are no tips or tricks that can guarantee you’ll take home a top prize.
The odds show how likely you are to win any particular prize – the lower the number, the better the odds.
For example, odds of 1 in 10 are better than odds of 1 in 100 or 1 in 1,000.
There are several major lottery games in the UK including Lotto by the National Lottery, Camelot’s EuroMillions and Thunderball.
Chances of winning the Lotto
Lotto by the National Lottery is a game where you pick six numbers from 1 to 59. You can play up to seven lines of numbers on each slip.
The game costs £2 to play per slip.
The odds of winning any prize on the Lotto are 1 in 9.3.
But to win the jackpot on the Lotto, the odds are considerably slimmer.
To bag the top prize, you need to have six matching balls. The odds of doing this and scooping the jackpot are currently 1 in 45,057,474.
The next highest prize of £1,000,000 is for getting five main matching balls plus the bonus ball.
The odds of taking home the million-pound prize are 1 in 7,509,579 – far higher than the jackpot, but still unlikely.
The odds of taking home £1,750 for getting five main numbers without the bonus ball are 1 in 2,180, while you have a 1 in 97 chance of bagging £140 for getting four main numbers.
Your chances of taking home £30 for getting 3 main numbers are much better at 1 in 97.
And you have a roughly 1 in 10 chance of getting a free lucky dip for 2 matching numbers.
Chances of winning the EuroMillions
The EuroMillions costs £2.50 to play and is open on Tuesdays and Fridays.
To play, you must pick five numbers from 1-50 and two “Lucky Stars” from 1-12. Players with the most matching numbers win the top prizes.
Your chance of bagging the EuroMillions jackpot is even slimmer than winning the top Lotto prize.
This is because it generally has higher jackpots on offer, meaning it attracts more attention.
Currently, the odds of matching five numbers and two lucky stars – the top win – stand at 1 in 139,838,160.
The average jackpot prize is £57,923,499, according to EuroMillions.
The odds of winning the second top prize for matching 5 balls and a lucky star, which is typically around £262,346, are 1 in 6,991,908.
The chances of taking home the third prize for five matching balls, with an average payout of £26,277, are 1 in 3,107,515.
For four matching balls with two lucky stars, it’s 1 in 621,503, and for four balls with one lucky star, it’s 1 in 31,076. These come with an average price of £1,489 and £95, respectively.
Chances of winning the Thunderball
Thunderball is another game run by the National Lottery where you pick five numbers and one “Thunderball”. It costs just £1 to play and you can enter up to four times a week.
The jackpot of £500,000 for matching five balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 8,060,598.
Your odds of bagging the next highest prize of £5,000 for matching five balls is currently 1 in 620,046, while the chances of winning £250 for four balls plus the Thunderball is 1 in 47,416.
You have the best chance of winning £3 for matching the Thunderball, with odds of 1 in 29.