The world of lottery winners is littered with ex-millionaires who have burned through their fortunes and gone broke. Take Jay Somers. In 1988, he won about $5 million in the Michigan state lottery. Just 20 years old at the time, he was the state’s youngest winner and a flashy boy for easy riches. These days? “There’s no money left,” Sommers, now 54, told The Post. From bad investments, to divorces and affairs, the lottery has ruined many lives for some across the country. Composite photo of New York post “I put money into a trust fund and the trustee embezzled $2 million from me. I went to NASCAR and that was fun but expensive — costing me $200,000 a year. I raced at Daytona and finished fourth. I dropped out of college, which was stupid. I ended up suing the admin and won [in excess of $1 million], but threatened to go bankrupt. So I settled for $800,000. My lawyers got $380,000. I spent about $200,000 on the lawsuit, which I didn’t know I would be responsible for.” In 1988 Jay Sommers (right) won $5 million in the Michigan lottery. He made some foolish investments and lost much of them in a legal battle. These days, Sommers said, “I work as a marine engineer, repairing boats. I’m a normal guy, I work 9 to 5.” Winning the lottery, he added, “ruined my life.” But it could have been worse. At least Somers isn’t dead or in jail. Jeffrey Dampier won $20 million in the Illinois state lottery in 1996. He promptly divorced his wife, gave her half the winnings, remarried, had an affair with his new sister-in-law — and was shot to death. Jeffrey Dampier earned $20 million in 1996. He divorced his wife, remarried, had an affair, and was killed by his mistress. Ronnie Music Jr. won $3 million in the Georgia state lottery in 2015, only to invest some of his cash in 11 pounds of the crystal substance and find himself behind bars for it. Evelyn Adams won $5.4 million through two winning tickets in the 1985 and ’86 New Jersey State Lottery. Then he blew it all on slots and risky investments. He is reportedly currently living in a trailer. One thing many unfortunate lottery winners have in common is taking advice from less knowledgeable people while being lured by greedy friends and family. “Everybody expected money from me,” Somers said. “I had uncles who were waiting and friends [wanting money] that I don’t even speak anymore”. Ronnie Music earned $3 million in 2015 – only to spend some of it on crystal intoxicants and end up in jail. Michael Minter, a financial advisor who founded Mintco Financial, remembers getting a call from a lottery winner with a million-dollar prize. Minter helped the winner create a plan that seemed reasonable and expected a call back in two weeks once the money arrived. “Then,” he told The Post, “a year or two later, the call came. Her brother was involved in the investment of the money, it became a bad situation [with significant losses] and asked what I could do to help her. I told her to hire a lawyer.” Between pushy family members and strangers with get-rich-quick schemes, it can be difficult for lottery winners to stay solvent. Robert Pagliarini, author of “The Sudden Wealth Solution” and founder of Pacifica Wealth Advisors, has worked with a handful of lottery winners and fielded calls from dozens who fail to follow through. Part of the problem, he has come to believe, is an unrealistic expectation of what can be done in the long term with the money they have. “You go from zero to a million and you think you’re rich,” Pagliarini told The Post. “Then a financial planner tells you the money should be invested and you can get a conservative $2,000 a month for the rest of your life. Then the winner says, “What do you say? I’m a millionaire.’ After this conversation, he leaves and spends all his money.” Added Minter: “I’ve seen the nouveau riche spend $200,000 in two weeks of parties and I remember one entertainer getting her a Bentley.” Meanwhile, sterile liners can be their own form of puff pastry. “I had a suddenly rich client invest in a pay-phone company when everyone had cell phones,” Scott Hanson, founder and CEO of Allworth Financial, told The Post. “He lost his money on it.” Evelyn Adams earned $5.4 million in 1985 and 1986. She gave the money to risky investments and now reportedly lives in a trailer. Steve White While a lump sum can be tempting for lottery winners, financial experts say taking a smaller annual payment is often a smarter decision.REUTERS Pagliarini points out that whoever wins the billion-dollar lottery on Friday should do everything possible to slow the deterioration. One way to do this is to set a limit on cash outflows. “In strictly financial terms, it’s a better deal to get your money in a lump sum,” he said. “But for people who are not financially sophisticated, the annuity [spread through 30 payments over the course of 29 years] it allows you to make financial mistakes without losing. You can lose them every year and then start over, with a new infusion of money, the following year. I hope that by year seven or eight, they will understand things and make good financial decisions.”
