I won the lottery – I feel like my family’s cash machine & got called ‘stingy’
A WOMAN has revealed that she won big on the lottery, but now feels like her family’s cash machine.
The anonymous lottery winner explained that the money has changed her life and enabled her and her partner to buy a home and treat her family, but she’s been called ‘selfish’ for not giving out more cash.
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Posting on Reddit, under the @OpulentWords username, on the ‘offmychest’ thread, the woman explained that she and her partner have quit their jobs since their payout, but are now left feeling ‘hurt’ at how people have treated them since hearing of their win.
Opening up about the situation on social media, the lottery winner, who didn’t confirm the exact amount she had won, captioned her post ‘Won the lottery but my family has ruined the good vibes’.
She then shared: “I won money that is life changing and it’s stressing me out.
“My partner and I placed half of the winnings in properties (one where we currently live and the other in the city I grew up in).
Read more real life stories
“We have given $2 million [£1.5 million] to my sister and $2 million [£1.5 million] to my mum.
“We have another $1 million [£762,500] aside for close friends we want to help out.
“We have $1 million [£762,500] in our mutual bank account for property taxes and living expenses since we have quit our jobs.
“The rest of the millions is in a high yield savings account and we will be able to live off of interest for the rest of our lives (it is a more modest sum than you think) without touching the original winnings.
“We want the original winnings to go to our future children.
“Our financial adviser has been great.”
But despite having millions of pounds to play with and hand out, the woman revealed that her family are begging for more.
She continued: “The issue is. My sister and mum think we’re being selfish for not giving them more money.
“They’re asking for a family beach home on top of the money we’ve given but we frankly don’t want to do this.
I guess it just makes me sad that prior to our winning, it seems like my family and I had a better relationship
Lottery winner
“They have also told other aunts and uncles of mine of my lottery winnings and they are constantly asking me for money and it has caused me great anxiety.”
The woman confirmed that her sister has a good job and her mother has retirement savings, but they are still causing issues.
She added: “Just for background, my family is neither poor nor rich.
I don’t want to keep feeling like I’m the family’s ATM machine
Lottery winner
“My family, for the most part, have good to great jobs and my sister is a VP in her department for a well known tech company.
“My mum has retirement savings beyond the money I’ve given her.
“I am just torn and now I know why they say more money means more problems.
“I don’t want to keep feeling like I’m the family’s ATM machine.
Everything you need to know about Lottery and EuroMillions
“I’ve heard them say I am stingy and this is extremely hurtful.
“I am also expected to pay for all dinners which is ok. But I’m not sure why winning money makes people treat you this way versus when someone inherits it from family?
“Everyone feels like they’re entitled to my partner’s and my money.
“And tbh, what we won isn’t like Succession crazy rich money (referring to HBO show).”
UK’s biggest lottery winners
By Ethan Singh
- Anonymous winner – £195,707,000
A UK ticket-holder scooped the record EuroMillions jackpot of £195 million on July 19 2022 – the biggest National Lottery win of all time.
The holder, who remains anonymous to this day, amassed the fortune with just one lucky ticket.
- Joe and Jess Thwaite – £184,262,899.10
Britain’s previous EuroMillions record holders were Joe and Jess Thwaite.
The couple won a record-breaking £184million jackpot in May 2022 and shared hopes of a Hawaiian holiday and a new horse box for their children’s ponies.
Joe bought his winning ticket online on May 10, 2022, and the following morning received an email with good news.
As he learnt of the huge win, he was in disbelief and initially kept it for himself as he did not want to disturb his wife, who was sleeping.
Joe, a communications sales engineer, and Jess, who runs a hairdressing salon with her sister, have been married for 11 years and have two children.
- Colin and Chris Weir, £161,653,000
Colin and Christine Weir landed the colossal prize money in 2011 and were Europe’s second-biggest winners until someone in Italy won a jackpot worth £193m in 2019.
They splashed the cash at an astounding rate of £100,000 a week before tragedy struck.
But at the time of Colin’s death in December 2019 his share of the prize money had dwindled by around £40m.
He spent the millions living a life of luxury, forking out for sports cars, property and the football club he supported.
Colin and Christine divorced shortly before his death after being married for 38 years.
He left money for their children Carly and Jamie.
- Adrian and Gillian Brayford – £148,600,000
Adrian and Gillian won 190 million euros in a EuroMillions draw in August 2012, which came to just over £148 million.
But Adrian split from Gillian the following year because of the stress of the win.
The couple bought a Grade II listed estate in Cambridgeshire, complete with cinema and billiards room, but it was sold in 2021.
After divorcing in 2013, he failed to woo ex-sausage factory worker Marta Jarosz — but fell for stable girl Sam Burbidge.
She left him in 2017, taking 30 prize horses Adrian bought.
It might have worked out in the end for Adrian though as the former postman was seen smiling with ambulance worker Tracey Biles last year.
- Frances and Patrick Connolly – £114,969,775
Former social worker and teacher Frances set up two charitable foundations after she and her husband hit the jackpot.
They scooped almost £115 million on New Year’s Day 2019.
She estimates that she has already given away £60 million to charitable causes, as well as friends and family.
- Richard and Debbie Nuttall – £61,000,000
The couple from Colne, Lancashire, took home £61 million on January 30 2024.
Both 54, they were enjoying a holiday in Fuerteventura, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary.
But they then discovered the big EuroMillions win.
Richard revealed they originally thought they had won £2.60, but then received another email telling the pair to check their account.
Other eye-watering anonymous winners:
Another anonymous winner scooped up a prize of £123,458,008 in the June Superdraw rollover.
Following nine rollovers, one ticketholder bagged the £122,550,350 jackpot last April.
The successful participant chose to remain anonymous.
Another anonymous winner found their fortune during the Superdraw jackpot rollover in April 2018, securing £121,328,187.
REDDIT USERS LEFT STUNNED
Reddit users were left gobsmacked by the woman’s claims and many took to the comments to express this.
Many advised her to “draw the line” with her ‘entitled’ mother and sister, and praised her for giving them so much money in the first place.
They’re asking for a family beach home on top of the money we’ve given
Lottery winner
One person said: “So lemme get this straight. You were the lottery winner, therefore you can choose where it goes. You chose to give EACH of them $2 million which is already a f*****g lot.
“And now they demand more from you and call you the selfish one? You’ve already given them more than enough out of the kindness of your wap, and you have the right to draw the line.”
Another added: “I think $2 million each is more than enough and probably too much. You’re either going to have to shut it down and set some firm boundaries or move and change your number. If you don’t, this will never stop.”
Why the f**k do they feel entitled to more?
Reddit user
To this, the poster replied: “I guess it just makes me sad that prior to our winning, it seems like my family and I had a better relationship.
“You’re right, gotta have stronger boundaries and remind them that I gave them a great amount before… it’s their choice to burn through it or be smart about it.”
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 prize of £1,489 and £95, respectively.
Chances of winning the Thunderball
Thunderball is another game run by 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.
A third commented: “I’m with a few other people here. You were already a really nice person and gave them $2 million – more than most people dream of getting from nowhere. Why the f**k do they feel entitled to more?”
At the same time, someone else wrote: “I always wondered what I would do if I won the lottery and I think I would not tell anyone to be honest.
“Congratulations though! Really! Manifesting that luck my way.”
If I can win, you can win. Seriously. I’m a regular Jane who got lucky
Lottery winner
To this, the anonymous lottery winner explained: “So we were planning to keep the winning a secret… but in the state where we live, all lottery winner’s names have to be announced to the public.
“But even then, my family didn’t know for a while because they don’t live in the same state as us.
“It was only when we bought our home….. we had rented all of our lives and for us to all of a sudden buy a home that was beyond our means (judging by the last jobs we had), we had to explain… and I’m a bad bad bad liar.
“But I do wish I did something like tell them it was a promotion, but any Google search would have enabled them to see my name winning the lottery…..
“If I can win, you can win. Seriously. I’m a regular Jane who got lucky.”
