I hope she remembers that I am a long lost favorite relative. :)

Good for her. I hope she's a Democrat.

Be very careful what you say about the woman I love!

81 years old! Living proof that someone out there has a sense of humour. :-)

Hey Siobhan, Who says 81 is old? I know eighty year olds with more energy and courage than teenagers. You're here BECAUSE of those "old people". Sounds to me like Louise is a hardworking mother who will do wonderful things for her family with this money. Sad thing to me is there are so many jealous, negative comments. Stop hating.

marinmom;

Wow, Clearly one of the stupidest comments I've heard. What does her political party or lack thereof have to do with anything? You won't see a dime of the money regardless. She'll have all she can do fending off all the long lost 22nd cousins, fifty times removed that will coming out of the woodwork now. If your looking for a hand out, call your congressman. I'm sure your favorite liberal will be more than happy to write you a check, NOT!

Here's hoping to see Louise and her 'Sherebert or Sherbet Trust on the program "How the lottery changed my life". After seeing so many completely blow their winnings, I'm sure she'll make wise decisions that will make everyone happy. She looks like a wise lady that has great plans for her family. Stayed tuned.

RC-1244080; Your comment has started my husband and my day off, with a wonderful belly laugh!!

If I won I'd live in squalor, panhandling. Pretending I was dirt poor. Then when someone got into an argument with me on a corner and said something like, 'why don't you get a job, you bum?!" I could say, 'I DON'T NEED A JOB'

and they'd be like, 'You're the reason people like me have to pay so much in taxes!"

and I'd say, 'Like You! I've paid more taxes than you!'

and they'd say, 'oh really? Why don't you just shut up, you stupid homeless guy!"

and I'd say, 'I'll have your job!'

and then they'd say, 'what do you mean by that?'

and I'd say, 'I'll have you fired and then you'll be here on the corner, just like me. So you'd better be nice!"

and they'd say, 'yeah, right. Whatever.'

And then the next day I'd go to their boss and offer them something outrageous to buy the company the schmuck works for. He'd sell and then announce there's been a management shift. I'd be announced as the new owner. Or course that guy would see me in my bum clothes and be pretty nervous, shifting on his feet. He might even consider sucking up to me. So I'd say to my new employees.

'Please, pay no attention to my raggedy clothes. I was just panhandling. And don't worry, things will mostly stay the same around here, but I have some business to attend to first.'

I'd then walk over to the guy who smart mouthed me the day before. I'd walk really slowly. He'd be sweating bullets. And then I'd say,

YOU! YOU'RE FIRED! NOW GET OUT! GET OUT ON THE STREET, HOTSHOT! IT'S YOUR TURN!

I'd then order a sherbeRt and enjoy my new position as boss of the guy's crappy company.

THAT'S what I'd do. But see, I'm not like other lottery winners. I have vision.

lol

Just FYI...Ms. White has a very nice family. I went to high school with her granddaughter, and her son has been actively involved in the community for years and years. They do lots of good things in Newport. I've spoken with several others who know the White family, and everyone is (to the person) really happy for them. I'm sure Ms. White will make wise decisions with her money, one of the benefits of being 81 years old. Good for her and her family!

Yeah, good for her but it is kind of funny how it always seems to be a senior citizen who wins these big lottos! Keep buying the tickets...

Maybe because they have proven through a liftime of good work they can HANDLE it? I AGREE 100% with Baboosmom. Good for you Ms. Louise. Live and be well. Enjoy the money and forget the haters.

At her age she will need very little of it personally and has had nearly a life time to witness who does. Hopefully she will be able to do great things in her community.

cdbdvm- very well put! I'd venture to say, she's been a hard working lady who has always given to her family...

cdbdvm ~ I hope she hangs on to a lot for herself. As the caretaker for two nearly 90 year-old parents, I can tell you that she may need more than "very little." I pray her children will take care of her and provide the best care possible for her. Sounds like she deserves it!!!

I hope she leaves all the money to her generous cat. I then hope the cat revitalizes the dwindling entertainment district in Rhode Island, bringing a renaissance of art and talent to the area. And, in a twist of fate someone suggests they revive the musical 'Cats!' and then the cat goes mad, remembering the time she tried out for the Broadway spectacular and was told, 'don't call us, we'll call you.

At that point the cat pumps money into the local mafia scene and, with influence and contacts, becomes head of a prominent crime family, intent on destroying the state, illegally pumping toxic sewage into the streets.

And this spurns an outcry of 'WHY?!!!!' from the citizens, which turns the cats' heart, who then disassociates herself with the mob (having to rub out a few characters to fully break free) and starting a new, humble, wiser life we can all learn from.

Why shouldn't she give to her church and why WOULDN'T her kids/grand kids be smart with the money?

She shouldn't give to the church because religion sucks enough money away from other, better causes. Her kids might not be smart with the money because they could be suckered into giving their money to THE CHURCH!

Her choice, just hope she doesn't give more to local, state and federal governments than what is legally required. That would be just like going out back and burning it.

What a sad lot of people above who bash religion, and the majority of our population who are church goers. Sour minded people of this ilk only wish to insult for insulting's sake and throw dispersions on people they don't even know. What is sadder is that they are living a life without hope of having a soul after their death.

Aside from being, it's actually pretty disguting to use an article about a nice lady winning some lottery money to push their agenda. Pitiful, and what is wrong with out country today.

Jimee, your clearly just trying to offend people. God or not, you still look like a dumbass.

Hey, 420 Frees the Mind. I get your tag. So don't be a pompous ass, especially when you're wrong. I had a feeling you were, so I checked the dictionary. "Sherbet" refers to "a cold drink of sweetened and diluted fruit juice," with Persian and Turkish origins; "sherbert" refers to "an ice with milk, egg white or gelatin added," which is what we buy in the market. Try not to fit into the mold I see so often on posts like this, of people without integrity or minimal politeness. (I have showed you a minimal politeness, and I had the integrity to confirm my suspicions.) Represent.

Just stopped by and felt moved to say this for the benefit of readers who might have wondered.

I appreciate those who give to their church/religion....but those who are okay with giving 10% or more to their church and then file bankruptcy because they can't pay their doctor, electricity, CELL PHONE, INTERNET...is mind-boggling. Does "God" think it is okay to pay to the church yet neglect the services they WANT and abuse??? Sorry....this is a VERY common thing I encounter in my career...those who donate to their religion yet throw their creditors under the bus to eat the costs they discharge in their bankruptcies...Is this acceptable?? Really?

I would say at 81, she's old enough to decide what to do with HER money. If she gives it to the ASPCA would you bitch about that? Even given the fact that 88% of the animals they "rescue" are euthanized? I hope she builds a couple of new churches, just so some of you born again atheists blow a freaking gasket and die.

Hey Richard, 420 Freesthemind is correct - it is SHERBET not SHERBERT. This has been a pet peeve of mine my whole life and I know I am correct. I don't know which dictionary you looked in but mine and the internet say it is SHERBET.

Congratulations to her for her good fortune.

I'm glad I didn't win it. I'd only have a lifetime to spend and enjoy it, whereas this lady has only a couple of years.

Also, everyone has a great idea in that she should give the money to charity and other helpful organizations. Because they continue to solve all the world's problems and all. When I think of a problem bothering people today I think, 'Government, Churches, Charity' and I know the problem is solved.

I'm sure they will run a documentary on her winning on PBS, commercial free, because there's no corporate sponsorship or commercials on PBS. That's the great thing about public service, and charity. Very self-sustaining and problem solving. Yeah, we should all just sign over our paychecks to someone smarter like that and be good people.

At 81, birth control is probably the least of her health care worries, no?

My grandmother had uterine cancer, sometime in her 60's. Rush would have refused her treatments as they dealt with the reproductive system, just same as he would for a 20 year old woman with ovarian cysts, and called her names while doing so.

And the totally irrelevant political B.S. just keeps coming from the idiots of the world. Why don't you just keep making these moronic statements so the rest of the world see's how stupid you truly are?

No one is trying to deny any one of medical help. The left if trying to get the younger women angry at the right, and they are doing a really good job. Women please do not allow them to use you for their agenda. Right now they have brought a 31 year old attorney, who by the way is in practice in California, to lie to the American people about her needs. Just why should we pay for her bedroom recreation. This pill cost $9.00 a month and can be gotten from any Planned Parent office free. Youth of America please do not allow them to use you. It is your tomorrows that this whole situation is truly destroying. Please bring back decent respect, morality and virtue. Allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry into your bedroom is not respecting one's self.

I am so happy this lady, at 81, will have finicial freedom at the sunset of her life. God Bless her and her family.

a

Any of you libys watch the view? Oreily was on it telling those polite ladies about title X(10), ever heard of it?

htt p: // latimesblogs . latimes . com/showtracker/201 2/03/ bill-oreilly-the-view . html

First few minutes.

yay for her i say! Why can't everyone just be happy for her!

@ Kim

I honestly am happy for her, but to be fully honest, I'd be happier for me if I won it. I'm selfish that way.

But really, doesn't that kind of balance things out? I'm happy for her right now but I don't think she's happy for me at all. I'm not the one who won so you'd think she could spread some of the happiness around. But does she even think about me? Not a wit! True, we've never met, but still...

I think we're all better people for knowing that. Thank you.

I agree with TL, I was kinda worried just what the hell you might do with a win like that. I thank you 2..

dano

It probably dont matterhow she takes the $ , poor thing will probably kill over due to the stress from bumming by her family and freinds

Bobby, I used to think the same thing, but as it turns out, she'll pay fewer taxes taking the lump sum.

lmao

Thats just gross...but funny...LOL

You kidding me? If I was 81 and won the lottery, I'd be hitting the casino like there was no tomorrow. Because (let's be honest), at that age, there might not be.

I think that she needs to hire Romney's tax accountant. She definitely is paying more than 15%

Stan, you mean the money that he was already taxed by working on for earning at probably a rate in the upper twenties that he turned around and used to invest that he is now being taxed again an additional 15%? Get out of your parents basement and seek treatment before you spout off ignorant comments not facts.

Hejustdoesntgetit - you might want to do a little research yourself, before spouting off ignorant comments. I beleive there's a loophole for people in Romney's "job" that allows their income earned for advising/investing on behalf of their clients to be taxed at the same capital-gains rates, not the standard earned-income rates, so it's doubtful that he ever paid a rate close to what average Americans pay on any money he's ever earned.

As far as the lottery winner - How fabulous for her! I hope she does whatever makes her happiest from this moment forward!

"You kidding me? If I was 81 and won the lottery, I'd be hitting the casino like there was no tomorrow."

Why? Shes already as lucky as shes gona get when it comes to winning money.

Lottery winners can and should be announced without plastering their full name, city, state and photos everywhere. My prayers are with her and I hope the dust settles soon so she can enjoy her winnings however she chooses.

@ themost

lottery winners should be locked in cages and paraded through the streets for one week with free tomatos and lettuce handed out to people lined up to see the spectacle. People should be encouraged to throw said vegetables at the winner and get out all their jealousy against the rich and fortunate. They should do this for anyone with over 10 million in their bank accounts once a year. THEN and only then could our country fully heal, for as we all know, 9-11 changed everything.

As of now, she can spell sherbet any way she wants.

Blame it on the reporter who wrote the story... or the copywriter..

Actually, the dictionary uses both Sherbet AND Sherbert when describing the frozen concoction so to those of you dissing the writers/editors for their 'glaring' error...you might want to educate yourselves first.

Growing up, everyone who said it, said "sherbert". Sher-bert. Aware of the alternate spelling, maybe it's a regional thing.

Sounds OK to me... Sherbert is American and several hundred years old.. Sherbet is Islamic from the Ottoman vocabulary and age unknown.. So we will stick to American if you thread nazis don't mind..

pop-soda-soft drink kinda thing

i call it... push-up...

Roadrunnero...how about everyone call it what she actually named the trust fund...The Rainbow Sherbet Fund. Word origins are not relevant...the facts are.

Dude she didn't write the story! Could be the writers mistake

Mark-865096... "White came forward Tuesday morning and accepted the money on behalf of the Rainbow Sherbert Trust." The Rainbow Sherbert Trust, not The Rainbow Sherbet Fund. Before you advise someone the facts are what's relevant, I hope you at least take the time to notice them.

@ Cassandra, sorry it took you this long to realize you grew up around a pack of idiots.

As for 'Sherbert', yes, it is Sherbet but enough ignorance over time has allowed 'Sherbert' into the dictionary. I only fear Nucyular wars creeping into Webster's, but that's a whole other game.

And as someone else pointed out, she's rich. She can spell it 'Sh$tbert' and the waiter would still be nice to her... the most eligible bachelorette in all of Rhode Island!

PS: I'm moving to Rhode Island pronto. If I see any of you at her door when I get there I will be shooting first, asking questions later.

And then the Socialist chimed in with a plan to redistribute her wealth. Why don't you just demand that she pay more taxes so you can get your "fair share".

Uh because it is a "lottery" and therefore not "configured"..?

336 people could win, if 336 tickets were sold with the winning numbers. That's how it works.

Jim Johnson- If it was you that won it, I'm sure you wouldn't feel the same.

I highly doubt you would split it 336 ways even if you had that many family members.

Nice try though!

i think Jim has a good point. i for a long time have wondered why they don't have more winners with smaller jackpots. the more of us out there spending all that excess cash the better right? and investing it? wouldn't it be a huge economy stimulator if there were many people with a million dollars spending money than one person having more than they could spend? you win the lottery say 100 million...you're gonna buy a house or 2, a car or 2 and then what? if 100 people won 1 million...they're all gonna buy a house and a car or 2. it does make sense. the only problem i can see is money won't be worth as much when so many people have it. they don't want that now do they? we're the ones putting all this value on money. as soon as we stop that the rich will become just like everybody else.

Always nice when a workplace has a pool, and they hit it. Love the stories.

They don't do that for the same reason they just started charging $2 for a ticket and tweaked it for bigger jackpots. Despite the illogic, the larger the jackpot, the more people will play and the more money gets collected. Remember, the government gets a significant share of the money. Despite the exact same chances of winning, people are somewhow more willing to buy a ticket if the payoff is larger.

It timed out before I could add my other point. Where do you think all those lottery millions come from? All that money comes out of the economy, two bucks at a time. While it's an interesting idea to spread the winners around to "help the economy," I think we should remember those lottery dollars came out of the economy in the first place. The lottery isn't there to help anyone except to help the states generate additional revenue through a voluntary tax.

Except that $1 million is not really that much money anymore. Though I would like to have $1 million too.

@Jim Johnson

Typical Obama supporter Leftist tripe...she won, fair and square so let her enjoy it.....you think as many people would play or the pots would get so large if

Why don't you configure the lottery so that 336 people could win 1 million dollars each instead of 1 person winning 336 million.

Hey you can't win if you don't play...but if you do and happen to win let's say $100 Million I hope that you will give away $99 Million to 99 worthy people and keep $1 Million for yourself then you would have your wish of everybody being equal...and get the special Obabma medal for promoting his 'everyone equal ideals'....either that or you could go to your local OWS protest and dole out more there since they believe the same thing you do...share the wealth man....share the wealth

They do spread the winners around. Don't you people have the slightest clue how a lottery works? The winning amount is divided by the number of tickets that have those numbers. You do understand that the system does allow for duplicate tickets, right? And that the actual numbers are chosen with a random drawing? When there are no winning tickets the pot grows (and may make this level eventually depending on how long that continues). There are payouts for tickets that have only some of the jackpot numbers as well (that are also divided by the number of tickets that have achieved that level of match). How on earth do you propose to 'spread the winnings around' any other way? It isn't like you can have a ticket with different numbers and become a winner. You only hear about it when it is a huge jackpot, but it starts out at 3 or 4 million.

Dave...the odds increased when they upped the ticket price. You used to pick the powerball number from 1-39. Now the options are 1-35. That raises the odds of winning to 1 in 175 million from 1 in 192 million.

So the "chances of winning" are not exactly the same. Sorry to throw facts in the middle of your rant...

@ Son-Of-Anubis

"Typical Obama supporter Leftist tripe...she won, fair and square so let her enjoy it....."

woah woah! WOAH! Slow down there. Jim never suggested taking a single dollar from anybody, you do realize that right? I mean, you DO realize Jim was most likely using her situation as an example? Jim is referring to BEFORE ANYBODY WINS ANY MONEY. I put it in caps so you could understand the important part. So obviously, no money is taken from anyone. Now let's THINK for a second. As I said, Jim was using an example. It doesnt have to be as low as 1 MILL per winner im sure it would be worthwhile at like 5, 10, 20 MILL but 336 MILL? You do realize dreams can come true on a lot less than 336 MILLION right? You're so quick to fall into fear. Intelligence can help that... or a rational train of thought. And no I'm not saying I'm for or against Obama but you sir, seem to be a dumbass either way.

Powerball.com in FAQ under - I HAVE A GAME IDEA; YOU SHOULD GIVE 100 PEOPLE $1 MILLION EACH.

"If you believe that we should pay out $1 million prizes to lots of persons:
After players told us that in focus groups, we actually started that game. No
one played. Lotteries need to create a variety of games that appeal to different
players. Powerball is a game that appeals to those players who want to play for
large jackpots. There are other games that offer better odds (and so, lower
jackpot amounts). Sales for a Powerball drawing can vary from $16 million to
$200 million. You might guess which jackpot levels bring the most sales. Players
vote with their dollars on the jackpot levels they prefer and we must listen to
our customers. Powerball is actually two games in one – a big jackpot game and a
big Cash 5 game. Now, a player will win $1 million just by matching the five
white ball numbers. We know folks don't really get excited about that, but it is
just something we want to do. By adding the Power Play option, a player can even
increase the Cash 5 part of the game to a $2 million cash prize."

Jim;

Please tell us you aren't actually that stupid.

it's GAMBLING! You pays your money and you takes your chances. SHE won, not Her and 335 other people. If you want a taste of the jackpot, but a freaking ticket, moron.

Jim, I think what you meant was, 'Why don't they configure a game where everyone pays to participate, I win an outrageous fortune I can squander and then they do it all again so I don't run out of money. But somehow, maybe they could configure it so I wouldn't feel bad about having so much and everyone having nothing, so maybe give them a million dollars or some odd figure like that."

You lack the eloquence Miss White has in spades. She's quite vivacious her lawyers tell me. You will never be a Miss White- you could never pull it off.

Huh? pay her medical bills..??

I'm just curious why you made that statement, maybe she's healthier than you and I. She WAS drawing S.S. which she worked for and that would include MediCARE.

This is a blessing for her though.

I wish she my anybody right now.

Scroll up and read about your "sherbert" comment and what makes you think this lady WROTE the article and sat there and said "spell it like this, spell it like that"

DOH!

As mentioned above "She can spell it anyway she wants to"!!!

If you look at pretty much any dictionary, "sherbert" is a perfectly acceptable alternative spelling. In many cases, it's a regional thing. I grew up in RI and my recollection is that "sherbert" was always the preferred spelling.

But wouldn't that be ridiculous, she's 81 years old.

I wonder about these lottery laws, if she had taken that option, would the rest of the money go to her family when she passed away?

Well good for her as she looks great for her age but with the 29 year option she'll be 110 yrs. old by the time she's paid off. Taking the lump sum was a wise thing to do and enjoy it while she is still able to.

Enjoy your winnings and live well.

I was kidding.

I was going to log on and say the exact same thing Adam. Glad I didn't... people are too dumb to get it.

You can invest the $210 Million and live off the dividends without touching the $210M ever again. She should easily get 10% dividends on her investments ($21 Million/Yr). Good thing she put this in a trust.

A few years back a big winner spent all the money on a home and then had to sell the very next year from not having any money to pay the property tax. No sense for business or money.

This Lady has a plan. Great to hear good news for a change.

At 81, most of it will go to the family, would have had a greater income by taking the annual installments. When she dies, the remainder goes to whom she chooses in her will. Would have been less taxes up front and in the long run. You win 336M but lucky to take half of that home cause the lottery is counting on you not to win. They earn the interest on the money that hasn't been won and when it is won, they prefer that a person take it in lump sum. When it first started, you had to take yearly payments, there was no lump sum. Finally someone sued a state lottery and the judge said it was the guy's money, pay the guy. After it was all said and done, he would have come out better by taking the payments.

At 81, most of it will go to the family

Suddenly the family has an opinion on the inheritance tax.

Oh okay, Adam...Hell I thought you knew something we didn't. LOL!

Lots of self-described financial specialists and estate attorneys here, I see. If I read the article correctly, she claimed the winnings on behalf of the trust, so legally the money is not her's, it belongs to the trust. When she dies, the money does not go to anyone in her will, it is retained by the trust. She could designate a familiy member to manage the trust, but the money still must follow certain rules. If I understand trusts (and I'm not an attorney), there is no estate tax and no probate because the trust is a legal entity, almost like a corporation. The trust must use the money in whatever way she determined when it was created, no matter if she is alive or not.

So since you're not a estate attorney, you're a self-described financial specialist?

Not being funny, but thank you for explaining what she did, it's interesting and I'll make sure I do the same when I win.

@ Cassandra (again)

I HATE it when a pool of players win at work. I want to stab them in the eye with a fork, or put them on a deserted island to fight it out and see who is the 'winner'. When they share the ticket everyone gets some small sum and that's just not exciting. Makes a big prize seem pointless. As though they converted the prize into a care bear equivalent.

How would you feel if you played this game every week, finally won 500 million dollars and the lottery commission announced:

'Instead of cash we'll be giving out care bears to everyone who has ever played this game, as a big, caring 'thank you' for all the years of support'.

I'd be ready to strangle someone.

But that's just me.