Big money, bigger problems.
The winning $432 million Mega Millions lottery ticket that was bought in a Manhattan pizza joint Tuesday night is the largest jackpot in Big Apple history.
The lucky winner, who has yet to come forward to claim their prize, is set to take home about $192 million in cash after taxes.
Previous jackpot winners from New York have seen their fortunes change in major ways after their lotto wins — from broken marriages and lost riches to lavish lifestyles and financial security for their families.
“So many of them wind up unhappy or wind up broke. People have had terrible things happen,” financial consultant to lotto winners and author Don McNay told Time in 2016. “People commit suicide. People run though their money. Easy comes, easy goes. They go through divorce or people die.”
“It’s just upheaval that they’re not ready for. It’s the curse of the lottery because it made their lives worse instead of improving them.”
A bitter battle
Juan Rodriguez, of Ozone Park, Queens, was a bankrupt parking garage attendant who had just been thrown out by his wife of 20 years when he won the $149 million Mega Millions jackpot in 2004.
His wife took him back briefly after he claimed his winnings, but she filed for divorce just 10 days later. She got an injunction that stopped Rodriguez from getting his jackpot — about $59 million after taxes — until they could reach a divorce settlement.
What ensued was a public court battle that ended with the estranged couple splitting the winnings 50-50.
‘Do the right thing’
Robert Bailey, a retired government employee, claimed his $343.8 million Powerball jackpot back in November 2018.
Bailey, who had been playing the same numbers for 25 years, purchased his winning ticket at the deli across the road from his Harlem apartment and ended up taking home a whopping $125,396,690 after taxes.
The then-67-year-old contacted a lawyer and financial planner following his win, which was the largest in New York state history at the time.
He said at the time the jackpot was “a good life changer” and planned to “do the right thing” with his winnings, including taking a trip to Las Vegas and dodging the New York winter in the Bahamas.
Bailey also had plans to buy land for his mom.
Overwhelming changes
David Yax, who lives in North Evans in upstate New York, was the sole winner of the $80 million Powerball jackpot back in September 2019.
Taking home $38,498,567 after withholdings, Yax immediately called his financial adviser.
“Winning this amount of money is fantastic, but a little overwhelming. Our lives have changed 100 percent,” Yax said at the time.
He planned to set up a trust and invest, adding: “We also plan to travel and just have fun.”
