Did you know that the average American spends almost $90 a month on lottery tickets? Over time, that can amount to a lot of money down the drain if you aren’t playing smart. While there are plenty of losers in this game, there is also an awesome set of inspiring winners. This is especially true in the state of Florida. Are you wondering who has managed to win big in the sunshine state? Keep reading to learn all about the 5 craziest Florida lottery wins.
1. Malcolm Ramsey
When it comes to winning lottery tickets, Ramsey’s story is unique because not only was he living in an assisted-living facility at the time but he was also considered non compos mentis. This fancy Latin phrase means that Ramsey was regarded as mentally unsound.
Aside from even buying a ticket, you may be wondering how Ramsey was able to go through the ropes in order to cash it in the first place. You’ll have some of your faith in humanity restored when you hear about the cab driver who helped Ramsey out.
This cab driver went out of his way to make sure the 55-year-old Ramsey had his birth certificate. This was required to get his Florida driver’s license, which was then required to cash the ticket. The car driver’s kindness didn’t stop there either, because he also drove Ramsey all the way to the capital of Florida so that the ticket could be officially claimed by the winner.
Are you wondering how much he won? Ramsey got a whopping $500 not once, not twice, but every week for the rest of his life. With that in mind, you shouldn’t be surprised if you see Ramsey driving a Lambo in Miami and bathing in champagne.
2. Kenneth Morgan
Kenneth Morgan’s crazy story comes with a couple of related lessons. The first is that you should clean your home on a regular basis. The second is that you should be careful about what you throw out when you do spruce up. The last thing you’d want to do is send your lottery winnings to the garbage dump.
Morgan may have forgotten that he bought a Powerball ticket from Publix a few months back, but he was at least mindful enough to check out the numbers before trashing it during a routine house cleaning. He was astonished to discover that the ticket had winning numbers on all of the white balls.
While he missed out on the Jackpot number, he was still entitled to a cool million bucks. At 54 years old, Morgan’s life has been changed forever. One thing’s for sure, Morgan will probably maintain his cleaning routine after such an amazing win.
3. Bill Kelly’s Pet Dog
If you want more lottery stories, then you’ll love this one that happened during the holidays. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannukah, or something else, you probably have at least a few fun traditions. While Christmas trees and dreidels can be festive, they don’t often end in a huge lotto win.
Kelly was celebrating Christmas with his family when it came time for everyone to see what was stuffed in their stockings. The Kelly family had put a fun twist on the tradition by making a stocking for their dog too. Somehow, a lotto ticket was put in the dog’s stocking.
Looking at it that way, Kelly’s dog ended up winning $3 million. Seeing as a dog is man’s best friend, the furry guy shared his winnings with his human family members, of course.
4. Abraham Shakespeare
Not all Florida man lottery wins have a happy ending. Take the story of Abraham Shakespeare as an example. He was lucky enough to win a $30 million jackpot but his luck starting running out when all kinds of family members started begging him for financial help.
A few years later, he went missing. Eventually, his body was found under concrete in the backyard of someone he knew. Dorice Moore was convicted of first-degree murder even though she did everything she could to lie her way out of it, including saying that she killed him out of self-defense or even that her son was the culprit.
The reality of what happened was that she had been trying to get to Shakespeare’s money and the situation escalated to deadly proportions. That’s why you should learn who your real friends are when you start winning the lottery.
5. Sheelah Ryan
Are you wondering what other crazy lottery stories are out there?
You might shed a few tears when you hear the tale of Sheelah Ryan, who won a massive jackpot amount to over $55 million. Instead of living it up with expensive cars, designer clothes, and other material things, she decided to help others.
She worked with an accountant to set up the Ryan Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to doing a wide range of charitable works, from paying for poor children’s surgeries to taking care of stray cats.
Although Ryan passed away from cancer later, her legacy lives on as the money continues to do the most good.
Are You Ready to Get Lottery Wins?
Now that you’ve learned all about the 5 craziest Florida lottery wins, you can start getting inspired to win your own pile of cash. Even games of luck have a logic behind them that you can use to your advantage.
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