Why do so many lottery winners complain that having all that money has ruined their lives?

We have had several local winners of various amounts of money and they all seem to have had a rough time ever since. Everyone they know seems to think they owe them something. When they go to dinner with friends they are always expected to pick up the bill, no matter how big or small. People who didn't even know them would find out they were winners and said they should buy a round of drinks for everyone.

One winner split his winnings with his fiancé - she took it and left him.

A local teacher that won was forced out of his job. He loves to teach and would have done it for free, but his coworkers made him feel guilty by saying he was taking a paying job from someone who needed it. When he offered to replace the school track, the board refused the offer unless he would pay for ALL of the tracks to be replaced.

Each of the winners had to get an unlisted number and change it several times due to solicitors and charity seekers. Many of them have to move away so their neighbors don't know about their fortune and pester them.

I've seen even small inheritances tear families apart. My brother, sister, and I stand to possibly inherit something from my father's mother and I fear that my divorced mother will feel cheated.

Money really does not buy happiness. They usually quit their jobs and lose their sense of purpose in life. People who suddenly get a large sum of money don't know how to manage it. They may try to live the "high life" of fancy clothes, cars, and homes, the best restaurants and expensive drinks. They are likely to gain weight and drink too much. Many of them go on outrageous spending sprees and sometimes end up in worse debt than ever.

It would be nice if the lottery was broken down into many more, much smaller winners. Maybe enough to get them out of debt to reduce life's stress. Think of how many people could be helped rather than one large winner whose life will likely be destroyed. Instead of picking winning numbers, it should be a random drawing - two winners for every million dollars in prize money. The odds of winning would be much higher and the winnings would be spread around more evenly boosting the local economies. Mega winners are likely to move away and take the money with them.

To Relsqui - quote: "Great idea, but not profitable. Lotteries don't exist for the sake of their winners, after all."

Why wouldn't it be profitable? The government would still take their share off the top and give the rest away like they do now, except it would be a random drawing of however-many names rather than matching a set of numbers. When the pot is up to 40 million, draw 80 winners of $500,000 each. I think more people would buy tickets because of the better odds... including me.