The winner, if there is one, of Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot will have a lot to deal with.
Is it you? The magic numbers were: 25, 11, 54, 13 and 39, and the Power Ball was 19.
It will be hard to generate much sympathy for anyone who wins more than a half-billion dollars — the estimated prize went up to $564.1 million before taxes.
Still, it might pay to think about what comes with winning. Consider the elderly Florida woman who won nearly $600 million in 2013.
Sure, reports have noted, she was able to buy a seaside mansion as well as give the money needed to fix up her old high school building. And she’s probably also able to help out any family or friend she cares to, in whatever amount she chooses.
But, along with one of her sons with whom she split the jackpot, she’s been hounded since then by media who’ve followed and photographed her shopping at Wal-mart (Imagine!) and dining at lowbrow eateries. It’s like she’s a celebrity or something.
The woman and her son have avoided, from day one, talking publicly and even hid out for a good bit of the time after winning.
The next Powerball winner, particularly if it’s a sole winner, may want to get used to being in the spotlight, like it or not.
Angela Orange, 35, was buying tickets at a gas station on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. She says when (not if) she wins, she’ll avoid the spotlight by traveling. Her first stop will be Mauritius, that island nation in the Indian Ocean that is “exotic and far away,” she says. Her plans also include helping her favorite charity, MUST Ministries, and to pay off student loans.
The Powerball jackpot has grown since Dec. 3 and has rolled 20 times. Powerball tickets are $2 per play.
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