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American Morning

Hitting it Big, Playing it Smart

Aired August 22, 2001 - 11:29   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The lure of instant riches is leading a lot of people to stand in long, long lines today because they are after Powerball tickets and a jackpot worth $200 million.

Well, somebody could -- emphasis on could -- win it tonight.

CNN's Skip Loescher is standing by with some people who want to win it. He's in Washington this morning -- Skip.

SKIP LOESCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Leon.

You are right. The lines just keep getting longer and longer and longer -- these people all hoping to win the second biggest jackpot in Powerball history. But not everybody actually is buying one or two tickets just for themselves. There are people who have actually formed pools or groups.

How many people do you have in yours? And how many tickets are you buying?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have about 35 people and we're buying 192 tickets.

LOESCHER: One hundred and ninety-two tickets.

Now, are you sharing, so if one of them wins, you all split the money? Or how do you do that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We decided to take about $40. And if those tickets win, then we're sharing. Everybody else has individuals.

(LAUGHTER)

LOESCHER: So everybody else is out of luck if that happens, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess.

LOESCHER: Good luck to you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

LOESCHER: Take care.

And, by the way, everybody isn't from the Washington, D.C. area, or even Maryland or Virginia. These folks have come all the way from Seattle, Washington.

Not just for this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. We are here from Seattle tap dancing. And we're enjoying the sun and getting ready to buy us some tickets.

LOESCHER: You want to win some.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to win some tickets -- we are going to win the money.

LOESCHER: You know, they say buying one ticket is as good as buying 100 tickets in terms of the odds. Do you believe that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so. But we are going to buy 107 right about now -- 107, 107.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the money is going back to the state of Washington.

LOESCHER: There we go. OK.

It's going back with all three of you, I can see that!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!

LOESCHER: Meanwhile, we'll know sometime around, oh, 11:00 tonight Eastern time just what those winning numbers are. They'll continue to sell tickets until 9:00 tonight and then suspend for tonight's drawing.

And, of course, if no one wins here tonight, well, they'll be another drawing on Saturday. And that's likely to be close to $300 million -- Leon.

HARRIS: Oh, my goodness.

I can't get over these weird numbers of tickets people are buying: 107, 132.

Hey, Skip, can you give us a shot and see how long the line is right now?

LOESCHER: Yes.

Coyle (ph), can you pan the line?

It comes out of Rodman's Pharmacy (ph) here on Northwest Washington. It goes down to the sidewalk and then up to the corner. The manager actually, in trying to move things along, has done a lot of the machine picks. And he walks around with a whole bunch of them and sells them to people in line, because if they're not looking for specific numbers, that gives them a chance, then, to get out of here and not have to stand in line. It's a nice service and it really has moved some people through quickly.

HARRIS: Good grief. It's a good thing it's not, what, 103 degrees or raining up there today, Skip.

LOESCHER: You got it.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: All right. All right, thanks, Skip. We will check back with you later on, all right?

LOESCHER: OK. Thanks, Leon.

HARRIS: All right.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, those people actually have a lot of dreams, but believe it or not, winning a big jackpot can come with a bank vault full of problems.

You have to learn the ins and outs of financial planning. You can become an instant celebrity. And you have to find out who your instant friends are. In fact, you might not have even known you had these friends.

Larry Sturtz is an attorney who represented 13 Powerball winners. They split a $286 million jackpot three years ago. He's in Columbus, Ohio. And lucky Linda Williams won $13 million in the Virginia State Lottery back in 1992.

Welcome to both of you.

LARRY STURTZ, ATTY. FOR LOTTERY WINNERS: Hi, how are you?

LINDA WILLIAMS, $13 MILLION LOTTERY WINNER: Thank you.

KAGAN: Linda, let's start with you. You hear all these stories of people winning the lottery and then it ruins their life. Terrible things happen.

How did it work out for you?

WILLIAMS: So far, it's been wonderful. I'm basically still the same as I was. I was frugal before. And I'm still sort of frugal.

KAGAN: Really? How much did you walk away with after taxes?

WILLIAMS: Well, I'm still getting payment. I get it over a 20- year period.

KAGAN: So did you quit your job? What did you do?

WILLIAMS: I quit my job.

KAGAN: Good for you.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAMS: That was the real good part.

KAGAN: Yes, I bet it was.

WILLIAMS: But...

KAGAN: But in terms of being smart, what was the smartest thing you think you did when you won?

WILLIAMS: I took some time before I went and claimed the money and got a CPA, an attorney, a financial planner. And all of those people were in place before I even claimed the money.

KAGAN: Really? OK, Larry, let's bring you in. It sounds like Linda was a smart lady.

STURTZ: She was right on. That's what you have got to do. You have got to plan and decide what you want to do.

KAGAN: What's the biggest mistake people make when they win big?

STURTZ: I think the biggest mistake is coming out of closet.

KAGAN: So to speak.

STURTZ: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

STURTZ: I think what we went through with the Powerball winners three years ago, with $286 million, was incredible with the media frenzy that was around that Powerball. And the 13 people elected to stay private and not have their lives changed overtly. And so they stayed private. And they've stayed private now for three years.

KAGAN: And all these years later, no one from that "Lucky 13" has come forward and given any interviews.

STURTZ: That is correct. None have ever come...

KAGAN: And they are happy with that.

STURTZ: They are all very, very happy with that decision.

KAGAN: Well, the Lucky 13 brings up an idea -- and also some of those people that we just saw in line in Washington, D.C. -- when a group of people buy tickets together. That seems like that can cause some problems. What are some things people need to take into account when that happens?

STURTZ: Well, the problem you run into is people saying they were 14, not 13, or: There were 15. I had a part of it.

That's usually isn't too hard to deal with. There's other things where people said: Wait a minute. When you made the investment, it was our money -- husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, those kinds of things. Those are where the issues come up.

KAGAN: And, again, have legal counsel for that is the best idea? STURTZ: That's the best thing you can do.

KAGAN: Without revealing their identities, can you give us an update on the Lucky 13: how they have done, if this has turned out to be a good thing for them in their lives?

STURTZ: It's been a wonderful thing for all of them. Twelve of them had quit their jobs. One still works at the same plant, the same job. All of them -- over half of them have retired, totally retired. One has gone back to college, got the degree they wanted to get -- or working on the degree -- bought vacation homes in Florida and Arizona, those kinds of things. But, otherwise, they're living on the income. They're not touching their principal.

KAGAN: Ah, good for them.

And, Linda, I'm just wondering, do you still buy lottery tickets?

WILLIAMS: Oh, yes.

KAGAN: You do?

WILLIAMS: Yes. I don't live in a state where they have a lottery right now. But whenever I go to other states that have it, I buy it. It's still fun to play.

KAGAN: Have you won since you won big?

WILLIAMS: Just small amounts: $5, $10.

KAGAN: And what would be your best advice to somebody -- because somebody, if it's not tonight, probably Saturday night, is going to win -- what would you tell them to do? If I had known now -- if I knew then what I know now?

WILLIAMS: Take your time. The money is not going to run away. But once you do something with it, it's gone. And even though this is a huge amount of money, it is not infinite. You know, you can't buy everybody a car or a home or whatever. And you just need to take care of it and it will take care of you.

KAGAN: Larry, she makes a good point. You have to learn to say no because you can blow through any amount of money.

STURTZ: That's correct. Two-thirds of lottery winners in two years are bankrupt.

KAGAN: No.

STURTZ: And that's a published figure.

KAGAN: Really?

STURTZ: Yes. They have lost all of it and the rest of their wealth. So it takes some rationality. It takes some planning. KAGAN: Hey, and how about the guy, I think it was a couple of months ago or last month, the guy in New Jersey who mailed in his lottery ticket...

STURTZ: Very risky.

KAGAN: ... just under the deadline? That's not what you want to do.

STURTZ: No, that's not what you want to the do. You want to get good counsel. You want to plan. You want to think about what you want to do.

KAGAN: And, Larry, I imagine you are ready for hire for whoever wins on the big Powerball?

STURTZ: Yes. I have represented two other groups, not Powerball winners, Ohio lottery winner groups. We've done the same thing. They have stayed private. They've been very happy also.

KAGAN: Very good. Well, good luck to all the people who are playing out there.

Larry, thanks for your advice.

And, Linda, congratulations. Keep enjoying the good luck.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

KAGAN: Good to have you all with us.

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