The Fortune and Misfortune Surrounding Big Lottery Jackpot Winners

By Inside Edition Staff

Updated: 2:10 PM PDT, October 23, 2018

America will be holding its collective breath ahead of Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing.

America will be holding its collective breath ahead of Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing, and while the top prize is often seen as a blessing, it can also be a curse.

If you hit the $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot, you could buy 40 amazing mansions in the sky inside a Manhattan high-rise.

Attorney Ann-Margaret Carrozza told Inside Edition that there can be risks with becoming an overnight billionaire.

"70 percent of all lottery winners will be dead broke off the big win. So, the most important thing to do is not spend your money like a drunken sailor," she said. "Don’t make loans to everyone who asks, because they all will."

Mary and Brian Lohse won $202 million in 2012. They're great examples of sharing good fortune with others. They built a grocery store in their hometown in Iowa where there hadn't been one before.

Jacki and Gilbert Cisneros of San Diego, California, won $266 million and are also paying it forward with an educational foundation.

But winning the jackpot can also go the other way.

Rhoda Toth blew her entire $13 million Florida lottery jackpot she won in 1990. She also wound up in prison for tax fraud.

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America will be holding its collective breath ahead of Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing.

Tags:

The Fortune and Misfortune Surrounding Big Lottery Jackpot Winners

How a Florida Woman Who Won $13 Million Lottery Jackpot Ended Up in Prison

Expensive Eyeglasses Are the Latest Targets for Smash-and-Grab Thieves

92-Year-Old Crossing Guard Retires and Other Stories About the Last School Day of the Year

The World’s Most Expensive Cup of Joe and Other Coffee-Related Stories

Megan Thee Stallion in Tears as She Relives 2020 Shooting

Twin Sisters on What Living With Diamond-Blackfan Anemia Is Like

Alabama Prison Escapee Casey White May Have Been Spotted in Indiana

Artist Recreates Picasso’s Guernica on Destroyed Bridge in Ukraine

California Contractor Uses Apple Air Tag to Track Down Stolen Truck

Senior at Christian College Says She Was Forced to Drop Out After Reporting Rape

2 Men Fall Onto Subway Tracks in Brooklyn During Fight That Left 1 Slashed

Colorado Woman Falls Into Manhole While Walking Her Dog

Ashley Judd Shares Details of Mom Naomi’s Death with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer

Nationwide Baby Formula Shortage Leaves Families With Young Children Desperate

Ukrainian Comedian Does Stand-Up in Bomb Shelters to Raise Money for Army

Biden Plans to Go to Correspondents Dinner Despite COVID Cases All Around Him

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America will be holding its collective breath ahead of Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing.

Tags:

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