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Hoosier Lottery
Larry Chandler, 34, was one of the first people through the door at the Indiana lottery headquarters Thursday morning.
A Powerball winner has 180 days to pick up their prize, but a Highland, Ind., man didn't bother to waste a single day after winning $1 million in Wednesday's Powerball.
Larry Chandler, 34, was one of the first people through the door at the Indianapolis lottery headquarters Thursday morning after discovering he was one of the big winners in the $587.5 million drawing.
But the union electrician says he'll be back at work on Monday -- after he hires a tax adviser and a financial planner.
For more, visit NBCChicago.com
Chandler's girlfriend's daughter tells NBC 5 that he had been living with them because his own home was in foreclosure. His immediate plans for the money include helping out his mom, starting a college fund for his daughter and taking his girlfriend to Red Lobster -- which should buy plenty of cheddar biscuits.
Chandler says he played his own numbers and matched every one except the Powerball.
The winning ticket was purchased at the Highland Citgo on Kennedy Avenue.
"It's really great that one of my customers has had good fortune," Citgo employee Keith Barnes said.
A second million-dollar ticket was purchased in Vincennes, IN, but it has yet to be claimed, and two other million-dollar tickets were purchased in Central Illinois.
Two tickets, purchased in Arizona and Missouri, matched all six numbers and the winners will split the more than half a billion-dollar jackpot.
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Did anyone else notice that he never mentioned he was going to save his house fro foreclosure?
Yup, I sure did. Hope the bank claws back it's share of the million to take care of his mortgage balance and delinquent property taxes. Other people are sick of having the debts of deadbeats dumped on them.
Yeah, walk away from the house, good deal.
Just because that's all the story writer/editor included, doesn't mean that's all he plans to do!
Wow! A new 1 percenter! Prepare to hand it over to others with their hands out!
Brian,
This does not make him a one percenter! Unless of course, you are pulling one of the percentage points out of the middle.
No but it makes him a 5 or 10%. It is amazing how little money most people in the real world have. The media totally distorts our national perception of wealth.
Some stated if he brings home 750,000 he can maybe pay 250,000 towards the house,lol. This is one reason why I generally vote for a certain party. Why should I be left with around 600.000 when I won the million? If I am not mistaken I was watching a show about lotto and they had a story about a Publishers Clearing House winner
and after taxes the person only got about 250,000 from a million. And why since the government is the one running the lotto state it is for such and such when you get such and such minus taxes. Why not be upfront and have the winnings state exactly what you will bring home.
Another thing, he is in foreclosure. Sometimes, once the process has gone to a certain point, the bank will not negotiate. And if he does not pay for the house, what is it to anyone? If the average person would sit down and figure out how much a house cost them, they might be surprised. A house costing 100,000 after interest, can cost a total of 250,000. He might not have paid the balance, but the bank might not be in the red. And they might have an insurance policy for just this situation.
luscha,
There is no way to tell exactly how much the net is unless they know the financial circumstances of the person who wins. If someone won a million from Publishers Clearing House and ended up with $250,000.00 they got screwed. I don't know anywhere in America where an individual would pay 75% in taxes.
BLESSEDNESS!!!!! THIS is such a wonderful story! And by the way for those complaining about him being in foreclosure, the $2 spent on the ticket would certainly not have saved his home. BUT the MILLION will. hooray for him!
Queenie, I bet his house still forecloses.
He must not think much of his girlfriend....takes her to Red Lobster?
Red Lobster: The Denny's of Seafood
I guess that counts for fancy dinner for that area. Don't forget the high cuisine that is Olive Garden.
A lot of haters on here even saying how he must not like his girlfriend for taking her to Red Lobster..poor working class go there to celebrate...knocking him in all directions shows the lowest characters of the haters
I've only eaten at Red Lobster a few times, but if it's like the one I've been to, I can't blame him for taking her there. Maybe she's like me -- just likes Red Lobster's food, and he knows it. For a poor person, it can be pricey if you eat what you really like, but it is good nevertheless.
Outstanding! Now that you have some good Karma, pay it forward.
Typical loser type who buys lottery tickets hoping that money will magically make everything better. He'll be broke in 5... 4... 3.... 2.....
What's with all these judgements on his character? You people know nothing about him that should make you conclude he is a "loser." So, his house is in foreclosure-so are millions. Are they all losers? Or perhaps there's a little something called a recession and unemployment, or major medical bills, etc that led to this. Funny how people yell about the economy and lack of jobs and then turn around and blame those impacted for how they're financially impacted!
Good for you, Larry! I'm very happy for you and your family. Just blow off all these negative comments, they are just sour grapes. It's so nice to see a happy story these days where the little guy finally catches a break. Nice job.
Oh Buddy.... I am SO happy for you.......... Good, Good, Good...... YEA!
First of all, Cheddar Bay Biscuits are free. He does not have to buy them. They are delicious little balls of fat and calories. I want some now.
Hurry up, they will be banned soon.
Its funny how the liberals hate the guy that worked eighty hours a week to get rich but love the guy that got lucky.
I am happy for both of them.
Sour grapes Tony, sour grapes. You holier than thou folks just crack me up. Live your own life and leave the rest of society alone.
When much of the rest of society gets free food, free house, free phones, free day care and free health care then it is OUR BUSINESS!
lvingbarefoot - Well said....
lvingbarefoot....most of the country is wrong so you better take your lil bitter pill somewhere else he isn't on any aid
I am not bitter, I am happy for the guy.
You see, as a mature productive member of society, I understand capitalism is the GREATEST thing in the world and spreads the most joy and wealth.
Somehow the left was able to kill the golden goose. It is sad that so many of you do not get it.
Good. This man deserves it...and it's about time someone in needs gets a prize like this.
1M won't last him a lifetime, but it sure will help in down times. I'm glad a regular John Smith won.
He did say he was going back to work. Let the excitment wear off and he will get it straightened out for the best. This time it isn't one of those people who have it get it.
COOL! But can he please afford a new hat now.
I'm sure with our now divided country this isn't possible, but I would like to ask a question without being vilifying for my question/stance. Why does everyone think Tony is wrong? Before you answer, consider a few things...
To say "it was only $2" is overlooking the big elephant in the room. How do you know that he only bought 1 ticket? My guess (and it is just that...a guess) is that he bought several. If $2 isn't too much, is $10? What about $20? $100? What price is "too much" for a guy that has already defaulted on a loan that he agreed to pay back? How do you know that he didn't buy tickets last Saturday too? Or the lottery before that? What about cigarettes? Or alcohol? Big screen TVs? The simple fact remains, while he owed other people money he chose to gamble what little money he did have instead of paying his debts. Couldn't he save that $2 so they next time he had $4, then $8, etc. Eventually maybe he could pay his debts instead of defaulting on them To say "it was a good bet" is absurd. Hindsight is a wonderful thing in this case...but a 1 in 1M chance of winning is not a "good" bet and if you are honest with yourself you would have to agree. He got lucky and good for him, but I honestly don't understand why our society has given into the notion that taking from others is now the socially acceptable thing to do. He effectively stole from the bank so he could gamble his money. That is not being socially responsible in my opinion, $2 or $2000. For what it's worth...I took $10 of my hard earned money and bought some of those tickets last night too, knowing it wasn't a "good" bet....the difference is that I have never defaulted on my mortgage. I pay my bills, I buy my own food, and I'm responsible enough to live within my means. If more people took responsiblity for their actions, our world would be a much better place.
Be happy for him if you want, but don't overlook the fact that him choosing to spend his money on Powerball tickets was not the appropriate thing to do given his financial situation. That really shouldn't be hard to agree on....now, let the vilification process begin....
I myself am against legalized gambling and am dismayed that society couldn't pool together money for more productive uses. If Wall Street itself hadn't become the rotten gambling casino that it is, working class Americans might be more confident in buying stocks as opposed to lottery tickets.
But the article doesn't really say how much the electrician was earning, or how much he was wagering. If he owed several thousand dollars on his mortgage but only had $500 in the bank, its unlikely that another $2 or $4 would save his house. On the other hand, if he had been spending hundreds of dollars on the lottery, that would be the height of financial recklessness.
Society does pool together money for more productive uses...it's called taxes. $500M is nothing compared to the billions that our government takes from us each year. You've probably heard this line before from the "ring wing extremists", but "we don't have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem".
As for the $2 vs. $500 argument. Why does that matter? In my mind, "Every penny counts"...unfortunately, our society doesn't understand that any more. I know what hard times are like. 15 years ago, I graduated from high school and went on to college. My mom couldn't pay for me to go to (single mom that lives/lived at poverty). I worked hard in high school (in a crappy redneck school nonetheless), graduated with nearly a 4.0, and got some scholarships to help me pay for part of it. The federal Pell Grant program helped with some of it. You know where the rest came from??? I worked full-time at nights washing dishes at a local Boston Market making $6.25/hr. I bought Ramen noodles at a price of 4/$1 so I had food. I paid my own rent. The difference between me and this guy....I saw that $2 could actually go a long way and I never took that for granted. Today, I have paid off my student loans and have never missed a mortgage payment....simply because I am too proud to accept anything less from myself. You think $2 is nothing....I see it as the start to something better....beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.
For the record, I have never bought a lottery ticket and am in the position of pinching pennies. I'm only imagining the desperation that a lot of poor people feel when they buy lottery tickets. Not to mention the inflation that's been eating away at the dollar. SickofPolitics2, feel free to send me a PM since I could use some of your advice and help me find the best way to get an education on a limited budget. I myself have been using odd jobs to pay for vocational classes at the community college.
I think our disagreement is on what productive uses $500M has, even though we both agree that legalized gambling is bad for society. If the Government was using the tax money productively, why would states all across America be pushing for new gambling casinos to be built? The problem I see is that while some government programs are good, there still is very little accountability in the Government with how they spend taxdollars. And you can see that waste with the military adventurism, excessive salaries of college administrators, and the dysfunctional nature of the healthcare system.
Maybe our OWN Government should play. They could use a good WIN so that we all WIN.
I guess when you win your still miserable. Lets see what happens to these folks?
He will find the that bank has other ideas, about claims on his assets!
How about using the money to get your house out of foreclosure? That would be the first thing I would do with the cash.
Just kind of shows his priorities, doesn't it? :) Why should he pay his mortgage debt....his girlfriend is paying the rent....pretty typical of our society these days!
Too bad there's so few of us on here who are seeing it this way.
Hope the financial advisor he hires sees it too.
Too many people are blowing off being responsible to society.
I thought the cheddar biscuits were free.
Enjoy your fortune. Manage your money best you can. Your living everyone's dream.
Cheddar Bay Biscuits are free!!!!!! You don't have to buy them as long as you get an entree'!!!!
I bought 3 tickets and did not win anything. But, it did give me, family, friends a few hours to dream...Larry bought into a dream too - A reprieve for just a while of the constant thought of losing his home, raising a daughter...just a little while to step away from the what is - to the what if? If he wants to hire a financial advisor I think he is smart to do so...he may not be savvy about investing. It makes sense to seek out people to oversee the money he won and have that money make money. Congrats to you Larry. I hope this incredible opportunity will allow you to move forward in your life with confidence and financial security for many years to come.
My guess is like many homeowners today, especially those in foreclosure, he is under water. Since he's living with a friend, he may already have signed the house over to the lender. Probably won't be getting it back. Good story though. I'd love to see more smaller lottery winners than one or two huge ones. Spread it around.
You are right, unless someone is going to open a foundation or donate millions to charity, why should just a few people get so much money. It would be nice if the odds where not 175 million to 1 and more like 1 million to one or less.
This story made my day. Makes me glad a regular guy who could be any of us actually won the lotto and boy, did he need it. Good idea to get a financial advisor, buddy. Congratulations!
Tony is jus teed because he didn't win !!!!!!!! Glad this guy won now he can join the rich and powerful!!!