Today's New Posts
Posted Image

Wanted: New forum members!
Do you have the right stuff to be an arch-angel member?

Must be:
  • willing to talk trek
  • able to have fun
  • open to geekiness in all it's glory
  • willing to make new friends and be overwhelmed by our welcoming members
  • open to particpating in lots of activities and contests
Do you have what it takes? Then what are you waiting for? Register now and start posting right away! Register Now!

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Wild Willie wants his old life back
Topic Started: Wed Sep 25, 2013 1:17 pm (298 Views)
wissaboo
Member Avatar

Admin
see? winning the lottery isn't such a good thing


Quote:
 

'The drama is nonstop': Powerball winner 'Wild' Willie wants his old life back

Tony Dokoupil / NBC News

Willie Seeley poses for a photo outside his home in Manahawkin, N.J., on Sept. 20, with the new GMC pick-up truck he bought with winnings from a Powerball jackpot he shared in August.
By Tony Dokoupil, Senior Writer, NBC News

“Wild” Willie Seeley of Manahawkin, New Jersey, has one piece of advice for the winner of last week’s $400 million Powerball pot in South Carolina: Run. “Just disappear,” he said, speaking from hard-won experience. “Get lost while you still can.”

After Seeley and 15 co-workers from Ocean County's vehicle maintenance garage shared part of an even bigger Powerball jackpot last month, $450 million, the "Ocean's 16" celebrated the win at a press conference where Seeley stole the show with a cascading beard, tinted shades and a battered straw hat. “We are very happy, happy, happy,” he said to hoots and hollers from the crowd. “I’m going to continue to watch NASCAR races on Sunday. Maybe I’ll be at a log cabin on multiple acres of land.”
Advertise | AdChoices

The next morning, he and his wife, Donna, appeared on NBC’s TODAY, where Willie (no one calls him Seeley) pledged to fish, hunt and generally do as he pleases. “I can do what I want,” he told Matt Lauer, turning warmly toward his smiling wife. “We can do what we want.”

Now, however, that sense of infinite freedom has curdled into regret. In their first interview since being thrust into the national spotlight, Willie and Donna appear less like the “happy, happy, happy” recipients of a blessing than the weary parents of a problem child. “There are days I wish we were back to just getting paid every two weeks,” Willie said last Friday from inside his modest, antler-adorned home. “You have to change your whole way of life, but we didn’t want to change the way we lived. We liked the way we lived.”

Donna goes even further, calling their winnings “the curse.” And while they wouldn’t go so far as to give the money back, they’re more than happy to pass the spotlight to an as-yet-unidentified dupe in the Gamecock state, a man who, according to South Carolina lottery officials, pulled off the road for hotdog buns and bought the winning ticket on a lark. “He doesn’t understand,” Willie said. “The drama is nonstop.”

And it’s a drama more Americans may experience as state lotteries expand, setting records for revenue and exciting politicians desperate for cash but loathe to raise taxes. A decade ago, jackpots rarely cracked $100 million, but now, thanks to more expensive ticket prices, new games and added retailers, they routinely soar to three times that princely sum.

In the last eighteen months alone, states have awarded the five biggest lottery prizes of all time, all of them north of a quarter-billion dollars, and those purses are likely to grow still larger as states experiment with allowing people to buy tickets with smartphones and credit cards, the hoped-for tools of perpetual gaming.

Eduardo Munoz / Reuters file

Seeley, one of the Powerball lottery winners known as the "Ocean's 16," regrets how his life has changed since he hit the jackpot.

“There are a lot of zeros in this money," said Paula Harper Bethea, executive director of the South Carolina Education Lottery, at a press conference announcing her state’s winner last week. “It’s a life-changing event.”

But as Willie’s story makes clear, a life-changing ticket is also a complicated windfall. Willie’s share of the $450 million pot was divided by two other winning tickets, and further divided by 15 coworkers, all of whom bought a ticket through a pool at the county garage where Willie worked as a warehouse manager. After taxes he had less than $4 million to call his own, which, as he put it, “ain’t sh-t in today’s economy.”

Still, it was enough money for Willie and Donna to leave their jobs, Willie saying sayonara to the county, Donna resigning a dangerous nursing post at a psychiatric hospital.

She and Willie paid cash for new vehicles: a black GMC pick-up for him, a shiny purple Chrysler for her. Their neat one-story house had been battered by Hurricane Sandy, so they put a new roof on it, paid the mortgage off and made the backyard sparkle. Inside they gutted the bathroom, tossing out their old washer and dryer in the process.

Then they helped family, funding a house for one kid, a master’s degree for another. Willie’s father, a retired artist who gave Willie his country-peacock sense of style, has cancer — so Willie helped fund his second round of chemo, watching as his old man’s prognosis improved in the process. “I do good deeds every day,” he said, “just like Dale Earnhardt. And just like him I don’t like bragging about it.”

He also did something big for himself, making one of his press conference pledges come true by buying a cabin on 15 acres of land, about 30 minutes away. Willie plans to move there next month, full-time, a move driven as much by his hunting-and-fishing dreams as by his need to slam the door on a world of hucksters, criminals and professional show runners that opened up the day he won Powerball.
Advertise | AdChoices

They arrived after his TODAY appearance, a cavalcade of long-lost relatives, sympathetic beggars and what felt like every reality TV producer in the country. “I pulled a .357 magnum on the last fellow who came walking up the driveway,” he said. That seemed to work, but the phone won’t stop ringing. National Geographic, A&E, Ryan Seacrest Productions — Seeley said he’s heard from them all.

“They put me in the National Enquirer, next to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. I mean I ain’t into all that.”

Not even for money? “Not for anything,” Willie said. “Would you want a camera following you around all day when you finally have the time to go hunting and fishing and do all the things you wanted to do?”

Before all this happened, he and Donna had bills but at least they could be themselves, watching Duck Dynasty, a finger looped over a bottle of Moosehead Lager, friends on the way over. He says he bought a shotgun “for protection” and still can’t act like a rich guy anyway. “I get cheap attacks,” he said. “You never heard of a cheap attack? It’s when you look at something you need, and think: Hell, I can’t afford that.”

“We’re simple people,” he said, posing for a picture next to his new truck, a shotgun in one hand, a practiced middle-finger extending from the other.

You got that world? Willie has a message for you too: Run.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/25/20663854-the-drama-is-nonstop-powerball-winner-wild-willie-wants-his-old-life-back?lite
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Mojochi
Member Avatar
...........................

Fuck fame. Fame is for the emotionally disabled

Quote:
 
Get lost while you still can

I would be like a blip on the radar that just stopped blipping that day. If they forced an interview on me, & asked "What do you plan to do?" my answer would be "Stop talking to people... Right now". Then I'd walk away
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
stigmata
Member Avatar


wissaboo
Wed Sep 25, 2013 1:17 pm
After taxes he had less than $4 million to call his own, which, as he put it, “ain’t sh-t in today’s economy.”
It's a hard life
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Thy'lek Shran
Member Avatar
Iron Kang. A general of the House of Kang

I would try to invest wisely and move away.
The Andorian Imperial Guard Rulz
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
AWOLangel
Member Avatar


that's why they shouldn't anounce the names of the winners.
the guy in south carolina (or wherever) that won last week is
wisely staying anonymous.
All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.--Abraham Lincoln
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
wissaboo
Member Avatar

Admin
I don't think you have the option of staying annonymous in Canada.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
AWOLangel
Member Avatar


wissaboo
Wed Sep 25, 2013 4:27 pm
I don't think you have the option of staying annonymous in Canada.
it's the same in some states here too.
All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.--Abraham Lincoln
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
spocklet
No Avatar
Live long and prosper.....!!

Quote:
 
“There are days I wish we were back to just getting paid every two weeks,”


Easy enough - just work out what the amount would be, then make sure you only spend that amount. Really, those people who chase fame deserve all the crap that goes with it !!
R.I.P. Gummy, we'll miss you bro
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
wissaboo
Member Avatar

Admin
:confused: I'm not sure how winning the lottery really equals chasing fame..
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
spocklet
No Avatar
Live long and prosper.....!!

It's the same thing, every winner has the opportunity to remain anonymous. When you see them with the winning ticket or whatever, on tv, it's because they themselves have wanted the fame and notoriety that goes with it !!
R.I.P. Gummy, we'll miss you bro
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
wissaboo
Member Avatar

Admin
Like I said above, winners here are not allowed to remain annonymous. And awol said it's true in a lot of states too. It's good advertising for the people running the lottery.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
jespah
Member Avatar
Published Sentient Marsupial Canid

No matter what, Wild Willie (I keep calling him Wet Willie in my head) can just, I dunno, bank his $$ and have a certain # of $$ transferred from savings to checking every other week, and pretend he's back on a regular old paycheck.

I bet his bucks are tied up in investments he doesn't understand, or maybe it's stuffed in his Posture-pedic.

Notoriety? Oh, cry me a river.

If it's so dang burdensome, he can also give what's left to charity. He'll be in the papers for a day until the next crisis. There ya go, problem solved.

You're welcome.

And get off my lawn!
Once Ixalla was ready, Tathrelle cornered her. “Before we leave for work, I just want to tell you, I’m sorry. I guess I sort of shut down last night. I know you were in pain and I wasn’t too terribly supportive.” There was a wall covering in the main part of their chamber, something that Tathrelle hadn’t noticed before. She stared at it for a second and then shook her head.

Outside, a disembodied voice announced from a hidden speaker, “It is time to travel to all daytime places of employment. Transportation sleighs are available and ready. Citizens are encouraged to thank the sleigh drivers at the end of a successful transport. The government recommends haste, and requests that all pregnant persons be given preference for seating in their designated areas.”

A little distracted, Ixalla just asked, “Pain?”

Untrustworthy - by me, actually. It's for sale on Amazon
- Yeah, I'm a published author
jespah
My author page on Facebook
Author of Untrustworthy



Posted Image Posted Image I blog about Startrek fanfiction..

Honk if you love silence.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Mojochi
Member Avatar
...........................

Actually, once the initial hype is done, for the sake of advertising the lottery & such. He can choose to drop out of the limelight at any time

Famous people stop being famous all the time. It might not be easy & it's a commitment, but ultimately, lots of money does not equal fame. It's not like he's Michael Jackson or Elvis. I don't even know what he looks like. Going off the radar is not impossible

As far as tons of distant relatives, or old "Friends" coming out of the woodwork to mooch... you have a choice there too, you can help or tell them to fuck off. Guess which group the majority will fall into if it were me. I'll donate to legitimate charities, thank you. All the glommers were not even in your life a week earlier, so wtf do you care if they think you're an asshole? & the would be moochers who were in your life just got bumped up to the "get lost" list

Maybe it's dickish, but winning the lottery doesn't suddenly mean my full time job just became donating to every person who ever knew my name. Nowhere on my birth certificate do I get referred to as "Gravy Train"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
wissaboo
Member Avatar

Admin
my brother in law won a lottery. It was less than a million dollars, but quite a sum. His name was published on the lottery website. He has an unlisted number but my husband has the same first initial as him. We got a letter from some woman in california asking hi to pay off her student loans.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Mojochi
Member Avatar
...........................

Right. That'll happen to anyone that is publicly known to have come into money, but look at it statistically. How many people hunted either of you down? between 1-6? & those in a piece of mail you can ignore, and has no real impact on your life. So statistically (Because the money was more), he could perhaps have maybe 5-10 times that many, if he lived the same way you all do

Even being listed & campaigned around for a short time, you can still make it out without dramatic life altering consequences, if that's what you truly want

But dude here is doing an interview about the rigors of his famous life. Isn't that kind of a double standard? They also paid him for that interview. I'm sure he's been paid for more than just that one. One thing some lottery winners do is make appearances & do interviews as a way to make more money. Ride the gravy train to all stops

Ultimately, fame is damn tempting. You can make money really easily, & people are eager to treat you special, & the price is that people wants things in return

If I won big lottery dollars, apart from my nuclear family & like 1 or 2 close friends, no one would know about it, unless they happen to find out from some list or mandatory appearance I was forced into, & I'd be diligently looking to distance myself from that kind of stuff post-haste

Step one would be to be as uninteresting as humanly possible. After reading this thread, I googled this dude, & did in fact find a picture of him with his big truck & big gun & big Duck Dynasty beard, doing a little bit of showing off. You wouldn't see me doing that crap. I would not like the attention

Step 2, if you have the resources, relocate... quietly. Step 3, bank or invest. Don't be captain life of the party. Ultimately, we'll never know how many people win lottery stakes & never go through this dude's issues... because we don't even know who they are. I'd be one of those
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
wissaboo
Member Avatar

Admin
Oh this isn't the sort of thing you can keep a secret. Word spreads fast. Even with a small win
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
spocklet
No Avatar
Live long and prosper.....!!

In the UK you can specify no publicity, and I understand it's all done very quietly. That would be us, nobody would know about it. But considering the life we already have, that wouldn't be too much of a problem !!
R.I.P. Gummy, we'll miss you bro
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Join the millions that use us for their forum communities. Create your own forum today.
« Previous Topic · Matter Stream · Next Topic »
Add Reply


Today's New Posts

Wissaboo's Arch AngelsArch-Angels on TwitterArch-Angels on Facebookarch-angels on PinterestWissaboo channel on YouTube Arch-Angels Board Feed

Theme by Sith of Outline
Special thanks go out to CaptDennyCrane for making all star trek images for the default skin, and to Jadzia20 for making our welcome banner

FreeButtons