If you guys won $750 million from your state lottery. Would you take the large lump sum or spread out your winnings? For me personally I'd prefer a monthly payment spread out over several years and decades. Even if I don't live to see the end of it. So that the cash flow is always there but doesn't overwhelm me all at once. I'm worried I'd be like that guy, Terrance Watanabe, who went homeless and couldn't afford health insurance after losing over $200 million gambling at the Las Vegas casinos. He was estimated to have lost $127 million in just one year gambling at only two casinos.
He was a compulsive gambler. I'm a compulsive gambler. I wouldn't play the casino games though. I'm not into all that roulette and blackjack stuff. Slot machines bore me as well. I'm all about that 24-7 sports betting if given an opportunity to do so. I'm still frustrated that sports betting hasn't been legalized in Texas yet. But hopefully we'll see it cross the finish line in 2027. Sports betting should be legal in every state. With the state providing a safe and easy way to bet on sports both in person and on-line.
Here's the fascinating story of Terrance Watanabe. It's heartbreaking but also serves as a reminder of what gambling can cause.
Some people will say the casinos should've cut him off after a certain point. But that's like taking somebody's joy and vice away.
If you see a 400-pound man smiling and enjoying some Big Macs and Fries at McDonald's. It's cruel if McDonald's cuts him off right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvT-OS9g_7E
It's not even so much being a compulsive gambler. You think logically. You have good intentions. You simply get caught up in the excitement is all.
You feel alive mostly. Like your important. It's hard to describe. But this man inherited the wealth. If you find wealth overnight it's a new experience.
I'd probably do the monthly payments for the same reason, though I guess if I took the lump sum and put it into savings for each of my kids they'd at least get to have it in the event I passed