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Original poster

If you won the lottery, would you go public?

305 replies

Frosty6611 · 08/08/2018 11:15

If you won the jackpot on the lottery would you go public? I think i’d just tell my close friends and family and start a new life somewhere.

OP posts:
PurpleTigerLove · 08/08/2018 12:18

I wouldn’t go public but I don’t think I’d move house either . Our house is quite a distance from neighbours so I could spend a shit load of money here and no one but Friends and family would know . I’m thinking indoor swimming pool ( I’m a terrible swimmer ) and tennis court . Wrap around balcony around the house . I’d fill it with antiques and a beautiful grandfather clock I’ve been admiring. I do think if I turned up to work in an Aston Martin I might get a few questions.

For holidays I’d buy a brown stone in New York , a canal house in Amsterdam , a Paddington bear house in London , an appartment in Belfast and Dublin and a house like the Mama MIA one in Croatia.
Actually scrap staying here , I’d buy a large estate with hundreds of acres and a lake . Id have a housekeeper , a cook and a cleaner . A personal trainer and someone to help me choose a new wardrobe . I’d buy my dad a brand new defender and as many tractors as he wanted .Id get the outside of his new bungalow landscaped and get someone to sort the garden .
My siblings would get a few million each as would my husbands . I’d look after my closest friends . I’d give a few million to both my children’s schools anonymously.
Nope haven’t thought about it at all 😂

susurration · 08/08/2018 12:19

No I wouldn't go public and I wouldn't accept financial help from Camelot either. I'd hire a top financial adviser and get them to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

glitterfarts · 08/08/2018 12:19

One of my favourite games to play is "what would I spend a lottery win on..."
I'd keep it private. I'd pay off all my/DH's debt immediately and my Dad's debt.
I'd put some in trust for my children.

I'd go on holiday and just think about it.

I'd also buy my sister and MIL a house (both single mothers) and pay off SIL's house.
My friends are all much much weathier than me, I don't think they have any debt or need help. Most own multiple properties outright,
I'm the only one who has loads of debt and no assets.

CraftyGin · 08/08/2018 12:19

Why do people go public? I don't get why you would. Do Camelot do a hard sell on you do you think? You're forever going to get letters about people dog's legs needing surgery and distant relatives hinting that they've always wanted to go to Benidorm.

They go public so they can start spending the money liberally.

SalemBlackCat · 08/08/2018 12:20

No. Definitely not. My father and mother were visiting his sister in another state, and somehow child abuse was brought up and at that time dad was seeking compensation from the Catholic church, along with others. At the end, he got 40 thousand dollars, and most of that went the lawyer. Anyway, his sister's neighbour heard and she actually travelled up to our state from theirs around 1200km away, a month later to ask dad for a loan. He was standing with her on our front verandah for awhile, as she was trying to convince him to give her a loan! Travelled 1200 kilometres after getting our address, for like, what dad ended up with, which was around 17 thousand (gone basically after emergency fridge bought, a computer for me, and the rest in savings bond). She travelled 1200km for a loan of that. Unbelievable! They didn't even know her!

So, yeah, nah! Definitely not, I have already personally seen how vultures can come circling. Luckily I am not a flashy type person and am happy in my home with a few modern comforts, so they probably wouldn't figure it out either.

seventhgonickname · 08/08/2018 12:21

I would tell noone.
I would invest some in my dds name.I would rewrite my will and leave equip amounts to all nephew and nieces rather than to my siblings.
I would move house to one nearer public transport and with a bigger garden.
I would also get a personal trainer(secretly)
And loose a bit of weight.
I might carry on working but go part time.I guess a lot of stress would be removed knowing it is voluntary.
I also would get a financial advisor and put it into accounts to generate a modest income.
If it were Euro millions I might just hunker down and do nothing apart from invest for income and change nothing.No point them reporting a non story.

MistressDeeCee · 08/08/2018 12:22

No. I wouldn't be asked with schadenfreude, and all the haters crawling out of the woodwork, and the entitled begging.

HollowTalk · 08/08/2018 12:23

It's terrible your dad didn't get costs as well, Salem.

ankasi · 08/08/2018 12:23

I would definitely not go public, most likely not even tell family members. But if I won a large amount, like the 74 Million in the Jackpot on Friday, I'd offer the council in my hometown a large chunk under the premise that they (finally) build the new indoor pool that is so sorely needed and grant me anonymity.
I would then buy a property and a nice, but not flashy car, maybe upgrade my already booked flights to NYC to First.

But I wouldn't spend in such a way that people would see I must have come into a lot of money, rather in a way that it could be explained with a (much) smaller windfall.

MadMum101 · 08/08/2018 12:25

On my many ponderings about this while on a fag break in the garden, I have worried that if you decide on no publicity (as I definitely would) so get given a cheque or more likely these days, the millions are electronically transferred to your bank account, what if the bank staff leak it to the press or locally?

I have come up with the idea that I would insist on a cheque and rock up to Coutts in London and ask to open an account there and then so the money wouldn't go through my normal bank account. That'd only be for a big Euromillions jackpot though or they'd laugh in my face and send me on my way!

Once the cheque had cleared, we'd immediately be on our way to a luxury villa in Florida Keys for some months then when we got sick of that and were destressed and healthy due to diet, personal trainers and sun, we'd be come back here to a large but not ostentatious house which I'd hire a project manager to deal with decorating, cleaning and furnishing to our tastes ready for our return. We'd then buy or set up a family business in which DH and I would work when we wished and the DC would work in for experience. A role would be created for SN DS who will be unlikely to get a job anywhere else Sad. After that I would get great enjoyment from anonymous charity donations.

The fly in the ointment is the damn cat as we couldn't leave her in a cattery for months while we're in Florida Keys! Grin

Sparklesocks · 08/08/2018 12:25

No. I would tell close friends and family and if anyone else raised an eyebrow and me suddenly getting a new house etc I’d say I’d had a small windfall..

GabsAlot · 08/08/2018 12:25

why would u go back to work purple?

anyway id give mine to siblings parents and my niece and nphew-and piss off out of this place i dont care if they guesssed theyd never see me aagain roound here!

OhLookHeKickedTheBall · 08/08/2018 12:27

Hell no. My family have massive issues with money and entitlement to it so there's no way I'd open myself up to that. I would probably make up something about DH coming into some inheritance to explain the nice new house that I window shop for all the time and the lack of mortgage meaning extra money so can treat them more often. There was a time I thought that if I won I'd buy them property/pay of mortgages/etc but as time has gone on and I've seen what they're like regarding inheritances etc I just wouldn't now, I'd do something a lot smaller that is more explainable.

StaySafe · 08/08/2018 12:27

I won't win because I seldom buy a ticket. If i did win I'd have no publicity and buy nothing for a few weeks. At that point I'd tell my family I'd had a small win and give my closest relatives a little bonus. Once I'd made some provision for my own children i think I'd set up a trust fund to help
the younger descendants of my grandparents on both sides have a good education and get on the housing ladder. its going to be a big win ( fantasy world) so I'll be helping some horse and dog charities too. I'd also set up some grants for refugees to convert their qualifications to UK ones. Think it is all spent now, hope i didn't forget to buy myself a horse in there somewhere.

CoolCarrie · 08/08/2018 12:27

No, definitely not. My mil would be telling everybody and how much to give her bloody family!

Sparklesocks · 08/08/2018 12:28

I don’t think I’d be too flashy either. Buy a house outright (currently renting and saving for a deposit)
Buy a decent car
Clear debts
Give cash gifts to family
Have a few nice holidays

But otherwise try and be sensible and invest in low risk funds so I could live off it comfortably

whatwouldkeithRichardsdo2 · 08/08/2018 12:30

I never really understand why people do go public. What's the benefit of doing so?

Jb291 · 08/08/2018 12:33

Absolutely no way

CoolCarrie · 08/08/2018 12:33

If I won a huge amount small charities would get 50% of it, and I would give money to find the body of Keith Bennett.

llangennith · 08/08/2018 12:36

No

glintandglide · 08/08/2018 12:38

I don’t think people probably do become charitable when they win the lottery. If you don’t give a substantial amount of your earnings to charity now why would you just because you have more? I suppose it might be easier to realise you can change things ie funding a new peice of hospital machinery, but I can’t see that you’d just chuck £70m at cancer research or similar.

LoveIsNotInTheAir · 08/08/2018 12:39

Hell no. Camelot do a hard sell about going public though. I know someone who has actually won a jackpot and they said you have to say no over and over again - there’s a lot of pressure and they give all sorts of reasons to try and convince you otherwise! They also enroll you in a very expensive money managing scheme that actually your bank will do for free / a lot less.

kikashi · 08/08/2018 12:39

I think you are persuaded quite forcefully by Camelot that it will mean less publicity in the long run and that you/they can help control the narrative. Of course, really it benefits Camelot as it encourages more people to play.

Thatsfuckingshit · 08/08/2018 12:39

Before I played the lottery online I always used to worry about handing over my ticket to a shop assistant for them to check whether i’d won or not. Surely it would be so easy for them to say I hadn’t won (when I had) and they then keep the ticket for themselves

The machine makes a massive noise if you win and Camelot do, do checks. If you worked where the ticket was identified the winner, they would find out.

4GreenApples · 08/08/2018 12:42

I wouldn’t go public in a million years. I’d only be telling DH because I don’t think it’d be possible to hide it from him.

As far as friends and family go, I think at most we’d tell them we’d won a much smaller amount - say just enough to pay for new cars and a nice holiday, and oh look, we’ve spent it all now....

We’d probably give some away too, if we could do it anonymously.