Man Wins 2nd $1 Million Scratch-Off Game Man Wins 2nd $1 Million Scratch-Off Game

MacNut · May 8, 2004

Man Wins 2nd $1 Million Scratch-Off Game

DEXTER, Mich. (May 7) - Russell Tanner better stay inside during a thunderstorm, because if somebody has a chance of being struck by lightning, it's him.

The 78-year-old Dexter resident won his second $1 million scratch-off lottery game last week - the only known two-time winner of the game in Michigan.

The retired custodian and factory worker who still lived in a manufactured home following his June 2002 winning ticket, said he was stunned to win again.

"I couldn't believe that I could be so blessed. It just feels great to win," he said.

The odds to win the game just once are one in 623,825.

Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters said odds of winning twice haven't been calculated. No one at the state lottery office can remember someone winning $1 million twice, he said.

"We have so few $1 million winners from instant games as it is, but to have one gentleman win twice is really extraordinary," Peters told The Ann Arbor News for a story Friday.

Tanner is divorced and lives alone. He has no plans to move, he said. Tanner said he sent his four grown children, who are scattered across the country, some of his winnings.

"They were pretty happy, but my daughter wouldn't believe me. I had to convince her heavily," he said. "Charity starts at home."

He said his new fortune isn't likely to change his lifestyle, except that he has bought a new Buick and some life insurance.

"I get older, and I am pretty all set. I am pretty happy about it."

Peters said the state has 71 types of instant lottery tickets. Tanner's most recent win was with a "$1 Million Dream" ticket, he said.

"Now I'm going for three!" Tanner said.

Information from: The Ann Arbor News, http://www.mlive.com/aanews

evoluzione · May 8, 2004

why???

he doesn't need it or even want it. it's a bit mean to take that chance away from someone who may actually need and/or deserve it more than him. fair play to the guy though, i'm happy for him, but he won a million already, can't he be happy with that???

GorillaPaws · May 8, 2004

He should've donated it to charity. Period.

MongoTheGeek · May 8, 2004

Well the dice don't remember. I wouldn't be surprised if he wins again. Likely he is one of those people who buy and buy them.

P-Worm · May 8, 2004

MacNut said:
The odds to win the game just once are one in 623,825.

So basically if he buys 623,825 more, he should win again. I'm sure he could afford it.

P-Worm

Vlade · May 9, 2004

GorillaPaws said:
He should've donated it to charity. Period.

I am going to try not to flame you, but that makes me chuckle on how you think you know what he should with HIS money that HE made. Period.

MillieWales · May 9, 2004

I hope the tickets don't just cost a dollar or the game promoters have their sums wrong. If every 623,825 tickets someone wins a $million, and the tickets cost a Dollar, they lose over $375,000!

Maybe the odds are not correct, or maybe the tickets are more than a Dollar. Or, maybe the promoter likes losing money!

wdlove · May 9, 2004

GorillaPaws said:
He should've donated it to charity. Period.

I was disappointed that there was no mention of donating to charity. He didn't even mention how he actually won the money. My prayer is that he actually is aware and chose not to mention this in public. Although he did say that he felt blessed.

dobbin · May 9, 2004

MacNut said:
Man Wins 2nd $1 Million Scratch-Off Game
...
The odds to win the game just once are one in 623,825.

Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters said odds of winning twice haven't been calculated.

Gary isn't too bright is he? The odds of winning twice are simply 1 in (623,825*623,825), or 1 in 389,157,630,625.

Sparky's · May 9, 2004

dobbin said:
Gary isn't too bright is he? The odds of winning twice are simply 1 in (623,825*623,825), or 1 in 389,157,630,625.

What part of "the dice always forget" did you not understand. The odds of him winning twice are still one in 623,825. After he wins once, the odds are right back where he started. The Lotto tickets don't know if he won or not!!

rainman::|:| · May 9, 2004

Sparky's said:
What part of "the dice always forget" did you not understand. The odds of him winning twice are still one in 623,825. After he wins once, the odds are right back where he started. The Lotto tickets don't know if he won or not!!

This is true. Combining odds are tricky, you should only combine them in certain situations, to answer certain questions. But the odds of winning will always be 1:623,825, whether you've never won the game, or have won a dozen times. To find the odds of one *person* winning more than once, you'd need to know the number of tickets sold for each game, how often the full $1 million jackpot is hit, etc etc. But "the odds of one person winning twice" is a misleading statement, since it only shows the stat from outside of the system.

or, i've confused myself. where are the good staticians when we need them?

I'm also confused about why he needs to donate this to charity? Was he *playing* for charity? I don't think so...

paul

MacRumorSkeptic · May 9, 2004

P-Worm said:
So basically if he buys 623,825 more, he should win again. I'm sure he could afford it.

Not after the government steals their share.

Mr. Anderson · May 9, 2004

MacRumorSkeptic said:
Not after the government steals their share.

Actually, I thought these games had a 25 year payoff, so you only get $40k a year over 25 years.

Winning 2 he's got a good salary to live on, but nothing that lets him get *rich*.

Besides, at his age, he'll be lucky to live 25 years.

D

wdlove · May 9, 2004

paulwhannel said:
I'm also confused about why he needs to donate this to charity? Was he *playing* for charity? I don't think so...

paul

I agree, no one has to donate to charity. I just happen to think that for me personally giving back is important. Can do it of my own free will. It's one of the few things that I'm not forced to do.

QCassidy352 · May 9, 2004

Having already won the first time, his odds of winning again were 1 in 623,825, same as anyone else. However, the odds of any person winning twice *starting from scratch* are in fact 1 in 389,157,630,625. Now of course, given that he probably played more than 2 tickets to win twice, his odds were higher than that. But the odds of buying two tickets and winning on both of them are in fact 1 in 389,157,630,625. This isn't Lotto, so it doesn't matter how many tickets are bought or anything like that.

Squire · May 10, 2004

Mr. Anderson said:
Actually, I thought these games had a 25 year payoff, so you only get $40k a year over 25 years.

Winning 2 he's got a good salary to live on, but nothing that lets him get *rich*.

Besides, at his age, he'll be lucky to live 25 years.

D

I'm not sure, but I think they've changed that system in a lot of US lotteries. It used to be that winning the lottery was like winning another salary.

As far as the charity comments are concerned, yeah, it would be nice if he donated some to charity but the guy has family. Not to sound like a greedy bastard, but a million bucks just isn't what it used to be. In fact, for the average person, I bet a million would not drastically change your lifestyle. Add kids into the equation (assuming he wants them to be taken care of) and their kids...that doesn't leave a whole lot of the first million. Throw in a new house in the country, a Lexus, and a cruise on the QE2 and that takes a bite out of the second million.

Of course, if you beat the odds twice, you might think that the fella upstairs is really taking care of you and might, therefore, be more apt to donate a bit. But to think that the guy should throw the whole second million at a charity is a bit much. Maybe if he had won a ludicrous amount of money but, again, a million dollars isn't that much.

Squire

<edit> After re-reading his comments, I'd bet he gave some to charity. He doesn't come across as a spendthrift. I just wonder why he'd buy tickets after having already won. Must be some sort of morning routine or something.

<edit #2> Mr. Anderson, I just got this info from the Michigan lottery site:

About Instant Games

Instant games are the Michigan Lottery's fastest-growing product, and with good reason -- nearly one new game is introduced every week.* Instant game enthusiasts have their choice of a number of different play styles and top prizes that include $1,000,000 instantly or $1,000 a week for life!

And here's another article about Mr. Tanner and his good fortune.

http://www.michigan.gov/lottery/0,1607,7-110--92309--,00.html

Here's an excerpt:

According to Tanner, the best thing about winning is having the opportunity to use the winnings to help out his family and friends.

Its a wonderful feeling to be able to help others, said Tanner.* And now, I can do even more thanks to the Michigan Lottery.

Mr. Anderson · May 10, 2004

Squire said:
<edit #2> Mr. Anderson, I just got this info from the Michigan lottery site:

About Instant Games

Instant games are the Michigan Lottery's fastest-growing product, and with good reason -- nearly one new game is introduced every week.* Instant game enthusiasts have their choice of a number of different play styles and top prizes that include $1,000,000 instantly or $1,000 a week for life!

cool - was just going to go and look myself. So after taxes he should have just over 1 million total...not too bad.

D

Mantat · May 10, 2004

Giving money to charity is IMHO a very bad action if you look on the long term. The best social investment he could make would be in education, more specificaly, in the teaching of statistics...

And to be serious, a million is not much. Taes take about half of it so you are left with 500k. Buy a house (250k) a nice car (50$) give money to childrens/parents (150k) and you only have 50k$ left for retirement.

TimDaddy · May 10, 2004

I think the Bible says to give 10% to your church. I'm not very religious, nor do I like the way the churches around here handle their money. (One church on Main St., that the Bush's attend when in town, likes to brag about there $200,000 stained glass window.) I would try and give 10% to charity. I can say that now because I haven't won a million bucks. Who knows what would go through my mind if it really happened. I currently give 1% to the United Way, but I think 10% is a good number to go by. As I pay off debts and get raises, I am trying to slowly step up the amount that I am giving. I am fairly sure, thought, that if I ever won that much money, I'd never buy another lottery ticket. I rarely buy one now, anyway.

MongoTheGeek · May 10, 2004

TimDaddy said:
I think the Bible says to give 10% to your church. I'm not very religious, nor do I like the way the churches around here handle their money. (One church on Main St., that the Bush's attend when in town, likes to brag about there $200,000 stained glass window.) I would try and give 10% to charity. I can say that now because I haven't won a million bucks. Who knows what would go through my mind if it really happened. I currently give 1% to the United Way, but I think 10% is a good number to go by. As I pay off debts and get raises, I am trying to slowly step up the amount that I am giving. I am fairly sure, thought, that if I ever won that much money, I'd never buy another lottery ticket. I rarely buy one now, anyway.

Its actually 10% of farm yields. Money earned other ways doesn't have to be tithed. In one of the gospels a pharisee is bragging on his righteousness under the law and wondering what else he should do to gain entry to heaven. One of his boasts is that he tithes 10% of all he earns.

The tithes were to be gathered and then redistributed to the people. This was a kinda of welfare system and balances out good and bad harvests. Everyone got a piece so Richguy Goodharvest got the same sized piece as Toughluck Badharvest and Slacker Lazyman. These pieces might not have been enough for slacker to live on but it could mean the difference for Toughluck.

Every third year though the money was to go to the priests and Levites.

One of the many things that make Deuteronomy and Leviticus a long read.

wdlove · May 10, 2004

God prefers a cheerful giver. Jesus himself said that giving should be done in secret, then your reward will be in heaven. It is not correct to brag, the Pharisees were rebuked for that.

Mantat · May 10, 2004

Actually, never is it told in the bible that you should give 10% of your revenu. IF I am wrong, please point me where it is writen.

On the other hand, CHURCH asked people to give 1/11 (or is that 1/9 ?) of the farm production to the church.

Another thing we should point out: we are already taxed over 60% of our revenu by the governement* and this money IS used to help other people in need (ok, also used to buy aircraft and missile...) so I personnaly think that I contribute enough to the wellfare of society on a financial point of view.

If you want / can afford to give your money to charity, bravo!, but dont try to force your standards to other people. I dont feel like giving money to a church who will use that money to improve its architecture rather than help people in need...

*less in the states but here (Québec, Canada) it can go even higher than that.

Mr. Anderson · May 10, 2004

I think its silly to argue over what he should do with his money. Its his to do with as he pleases....

Manat - he get's over 1 million total, since he won twice. That's what I said before above...1 million at his age is a nice sum.

D

TimDaddy · May 10, 2004

wdlove said:
God prefers a cheerful giver. Jesus himself said that giving should be done in secret, then your reward will be in heaven. It is not correct to brag, the Pharisees were rebuked for that.

I hope I didn't sound like I was bragging. After all, I am only giving 1% to charity. I was just saying that the 10% figure sounds like a good goal, if given to worthy causes. I would like to start giving 10% some day. I earn every dime I make, but my employer wouldn't be here if not for millions of dollars in tax breaks. Those dollars could have been spent to feed the poor, but instead they were used to lure in a great job. I want to help the less fortunate more as soon as I get my debts (other than my house) paid off. Anyone ever read or listen to Dave Ramsey? I like his system, though it is difficult to follow to a T. Working in an auto plant, I am in a perpetual state of new car fever. When I am lusting over a new car, I'll just listen to Dave on the way home telling people how stupid it is to finance a new car, and I get over it. I like his "baby step" system of taking control of your money. Personally, I think he gets a little extreme sometimes, but he has filed bankruptcy in the past, so he just wants his listeners to learn from his mistakes.

I don't care what this guy does with his money, I was just saying what I think I would do if it were me.

TimDaddy · May 10, 2004

MantatIf you want / can afford to give your money to charity said:
I'm not sure if that was directed at me, but I said that this is what I would do, based on MY current state of mind.

Man Wins 2nd $1 Million Scratch-Off Game Man Wins 2nd $1 Million Scratch-Off Game

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