Unbelievable lottery curse stories

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William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but was $1 million in debt within a year.

"I wish it never happened," Post said. "It was totally a nightmare."

A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings and his brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him in the hopes he'd inherit a share of the winnings.

After sinking money into various family businesses, Post sank into debt and spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector.

Bud now lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps.

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In 2004, Sharon Tirabassi, a single mother who had been on welfare, cashed a check from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. for $10,569,00.10 (Canadian).

She subsequently spent her winnings on a "big house, fancy cars, designer clothes, lavish parties, exotic trips, handouts to family, loans to friends" and in less than a decade she's back riding the bus, working part-time, and living in a rented house."

Luckily Tirabassi put some of her windfall in trusts for her six children, who can claim the money when they turn 26.

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Michael Carroll was at his peak when he won Britain's £9.7 million ($15 million) jackpot in 2002, The Daily Mail reports.

But a penchant for life in the fast lane — cocaine, parties, hookers, and cars — put him back at square one in five years.

Last we heard, the ex-garbageman was hoping to get his old job back.

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In 2002, West Virginia building contractor Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr. walked away with $114 million after taxes on a $315 million multi-state Powerball draw.

That was just about his last stroke of good fortune.

In two separate instances, thieves ran off with $745,000 Whittaker stashed in his car. Later on, he was sued by Caesar's Atlantic City for allegedly bouncing $1.5 million in checks.

Within four years, his fortune was gone.

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A Pentecostal preacher working as a stockboy at Home Depot got his prayers answered when he hit the $31 million jackpot in 1997.

At first, life was good with Billy Bob buying a ranch, six other homes, and some new cars.

But like many others who win the lottery, he just couldn't say no when people asked for a handout.

Later in life he divorced and eventually committed suicide.

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In 1989, Willie won a $3.1 million jackpot in the Michigan Lottery.

Fast-forward two years later and Hurt got divorced, lost custody of his children, was charged with attempted murder, and picked up a crack-cocaine addiction.

The habit was so bad, it sucked away his entire fortune.

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Alex and Rhoda Toth hit the $13 million jackpot in Florida in 1990. Within 15 years they were destitute.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the couple declared bankruptcy and were eventually accused of tax evasion by the IRS.

Alex passed away before his case went to trial and Rhoda eventually served two years in prison.

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Barry Shell won $4 million Canadian dollars in the Ontario lottery in 2009 after he used the last of his cash to buy a ticket.

But there was a warrant out for his arrest on charges of theft and possessing stolen property, and police figured out where he was after seeing a photo of him with his prize. He gave his winnings to a relative.

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When you’re already a millionaire, why would you bother playing the lottery? Probably for the same reason the rest of us do – to win. But for one particular millionaire, Andrew Jack Whittaker, that extra $315 million from a Powerball ticket appears to have done more harm than good.

After winning the big jackpot, Whittaker’s life slowly unravelled before his eyes. There were legal issues, as there almost always are with money, and there were his own personal demons like drinking and a love of strippers that helped send Whittaker down a black hole of despair. In fact, while he was visiting a strip club one night, he claims almost half a million dollars was stolen from his car. Yes, you read that right – he didn’t merely lose his car stereo or his loose change, he lost half a million dollars. Those must have been some ecstatic burglars. He later said that thieves also emptied his bank accounts.

But not only did he lose all the money he won, his life was filled with other tragedies as well. In 2004, his granddaughter died of a drug overdose and her mother – his daughter – died five years later. At the time of her death, he seemed to blame the ticket for all the bad fortune in their life. Sobbing to reporters, he said, “I wish I’d torn that ticket up.”

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If you’re like most people, at least one item on your “If I won the lottery” list is probably founding a charitable organization of some kind. Others might even say they’d give most of it to charity. Janite Lee, 60, belonged in that latter group. She spent a large chunk of her yearly $620,000 installment payments on philanthropic causes. One would think karma would pay her back for the kindness, but karma can only do so much when you’re bad at money management.

Lee later sold the rights to her annual payment for one lump sum. This lump sum buyout option seems to engender a lot of horror stories. And in Lee’s case, she did eventually have to file for bankruptcy, not even 10 years after she won $18 million.

In 2001, she only had $700 to her name. If that was the end of the story, however, she may not be worse than she was before the lottery. But alas, it doesn’t end there. Lee was also in debt to the tune of over $2.5 million, leaving her in worse shape than she would have been had she never won the lottery in the first place

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