Lottery Dreams and Nightmares: Unveiling the Curse of Instant Wealth

Welcome back to Fringe Beyond Limits! After a six-week hiatus, we're back with a bang. In this episode, we dive into the intriguing topic of the lottery curse.

Join us as we share personal updates, including Bre's adventures in Key West and Lynette's European escapades.

Then, we explore the dark side of sudden wealth, revealing how winning the lottery can sometimes bring more misfortune than happiness. From tragic stories to surprising insights, we uncover the truth behind the so-called curse of instant riches. Tune in for a rollercoaster of emotions and thought-provoking discussions!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Music.

(00:37):
Welcome back to fringe beyond
limits hi guys
hi i've missed our jingle oh i
have not missed you guys at all yes you
did it's mutual all right good good so well
this is our first recording in six

(00:59):
weeks i want to say little little
update for you guys my two co-hosts have been out
of town gallivanting across the world yeah
so we had to free record several episodes basically the entire month of june
and last week we took a week off to celebrate marco marco marco marco and happy

(01:24):
fourth everyone yes so now that we're back
in a closet, my house.
I just want to say it's not great being with you guys again. Aw. I know. Sorry.
I've missed your face. That's a lie. Yeah. That's a lie. That's why we're on
a podcast and not a video right now. Agreed.

(01:45):
Agreed. People would rather see a horse's anus than my face.
That is very true. Yeah. Pretty close.
Similar. We both have. Let's do this all. Yeah, we both. Oh,
that's great podcast content.
People got the visual. Yeah. So we'll start with Brie.

(02:07):
Brie, you went to Key West. I did. And how was that?
It was great. There was a lot of chickens and cocks running around, you know.
Oh, I'm sorry. Elaborate. You know, male chickens.
Oh, cocks. cocks yeah all right did you they're protected by the area so you're

(02:30):
not like you're not allowed like touch them or feed them or anything so there's
no kfc down there actually there's not,
interesting i mean that explains it then chick-fil-a did you get to pet any
of these cocks no but when i was eating one of them was begging like a dog begs
don't they the visual in my head is unbelievable.

(02:53):
That's why I'm watching your videos. Actually, it was a hen with little chicks.
But then I took a video of a cock going cock-a-doodle-doo and that was pretty
fun. Is that what Brian does when he comes?
Sometimes. All right. Hmm.
So all of your adventures in Key West and just cock. Just cock.
No, I went snorkeling. We did a thing called snuba.

(03:15):
I was about probably like 10 feet away from a blackfin shark,
which was probably at least six feet long. What's a snuba?
Snuba is a mix between snorkeling and scuba diving.
You don't need the certificate or license for scuba.
Oh, okay. But you get that mouth action piece, and then you're able to go up
to 20 feet down. Interesting.

(03:38):
So you're allowed to go up to 20 feet down.
No, I'm not. I know. I'm just, you know, I've been fucked with you for a while.
So I need to do it right off the bat. I thought you didn't miss us.
No, I didn't. But I still need to make up for lost time. No, you don't. So.
Did you convince Brian to go to that haunted, what was it again?
Robert the doll house? Yeah, the doll. Yeah.

(04:00):
No, but we drove past it because he wanted to be able to drive past it so he
could see where it was at.
So let me get this straight. you took time out
of your vacation to drive past a house oh
it was like five minutes all the way with a doll and not
even go inside it was at a museum it's not a house it's a museum okay fine a

(04:21):
museum that's even worse you drove by a museum which you could have gone in
to see other stuff yes well robert doll was part of the tour that's that's the
thing yeah but couldn't you
just skip that part like when he got to that exhibit just like
oh you know what i want to be over here guys i think he was still too paranoid
of what just being in the same building like did he think robert was going to

(04:44):
get up and just cocksmack him maybe like give him a mushroom tie up probably
can you imagine that a a doll standing up and giving brian a mushroom stamp tramp.
What's a stamp tramp well instead of a mushroom stamp it'd be a mushroom stamp
tramp So like I mean your word math on there like broke my brain,

(05:06):
I'm a wizard with words Well, any any I hear that there is a large.
LGBTQIA plus plus there's something like that community down there there is
it's there's like they have a little section on their main street and,
Is dedicated for that group, for the community. So I do have to ask. Yeah.

(05:31):
How many times did you get hit on? Zero. Oh. How many times did Brian get hit on?
Zero. I find that, okay, okay. I do find that possible and probable.
How many times did Brian get turned down from hitting on other guys?
I lost count. Oh. Ooh. All right. So.

(05:52):
Ego blows. so i have a question like during sex does he make you wear like football pads and a helmet,
and how did you know this and call you mike how did you know this i knew it
gosh he's so excited by all the cocks running around he was like there were
so many cocks i love cock did you go to mallory square right isn't that the
big square out there and then the key west i don't know there's a lot of weirdos

(06:15):
out there i think lynette you just make things up.
Uh-oh she's busting out the google machine mallory square yeah mallory square
key west oh look at that they have like a whole bunch of street vendors it has
all those bars that have like the dollars you know it's probably behind the
museum of where robert yeah i think it is yeah,
too close right too a too close if i'm within six miles of this museum we were

(06:41):
actually there first day for a tour a shark tour nice oh all right yeah it's
a really It's a pretty spot.
All right. Anything else happen to you guys down in jolly old Key West? No.
It was just relaxing and I want to go back. I want to live there.
Okay. That's a great place to live, I hear. And I got really,

(07:02):
really burnt. Oh, you're too white to go then. Yeah. You can't go. I had ghost.
You're a ghost? I's a ghost. You just said I's a ghost? I's a ghost. Okay.
Is that how they speak in Key West? It is. Is it rubbing off on you?
Yes. Key West. Key West. Key West. Key West. Key West.
Key West. The Key Westerners. Yeah, that sounds better. Yeah.

(07:24):
No, I mean, yeah. All right.
I'm happy you had a good time. I'm happy that you guys made it back safe because
Brian doesn't fly because he's too much of a... We drove over,
I think it was about 24 hours. Oof. We broke it up in two days.
Nice. Yeah. how many times did he shoot himself in the
car a couple times on the way home yeah
well at least it smelled like he did oh then he definitely did

(07:44):
i mean it wasn't you right no
okay so it wasn't all right well good i'm happy you
guys had a good time lynette went on a
european venture sure did one question
that's been everyone's been asking i
it's been flooding our socials oh yeah my emails is
that how many countries did you

(08:07):
have relations with your husband in zero okay
i was on a trip with my mother and mother-in-law okay were you guys in the same
room yeah what do you mean yeah all four of you you guys didn't have like separate
bedrooms well we yeah we had separate rooms okay Okay. But it was such a buzzkill.

(08:29):
Oh my God. So. The walls were thin. You could hear neighbors' conversations.
So it was just like, yeah.
So that sucked. Yeah. Our interface came unplugged right in the middle of our
little conversation. I think it was fate.
What, you think it was what? A ghost? No, it was just that content was not meant

(08:51):
to be discussed. Publicly.
That's not going to stop me. I mean, I'm still here. Yeah.
I'm still in the moment. Yeah. So I wanted to say that whenever I'm listening
in on YouTube and your shenanigans, I can't tell which one's which.
You guys sound so similar to me, just like you two sound similar to most of

(09:13):
our listeners. So who is louder?
You don't have to answer that. I'm just joking. But yeah. Anyway,
so no hinky pinky. Mm-mm. All right.
So then what did you do on your little trip? Well, we, well, it started off bad.
Oh, okay. So no good story starts out with, we caught my flight and everything went perfectly, right?

(09:37):
Usually the most memorable are the shit show, right?
So we were supposed to fly to London to catch a connection up to Edinburgh,
Scotland to see the Taylor Swift show.
And of the four flights leaving O'Hare, ours was the one that got canceled.
So three other flights were delayed a couple hours due to weather ours was cancelled

(10:00):
due to mechanical and they didn't cancel us until like midnight and they're
like we can rebook you we can try and get you out there it's like,
England is seven hours ahead of us like if I'm not on a plane in the next hour
I've missed the show right.
So that was a drag because they had to you know 300 people or however many butts
are on that seat they had to rebook that many people over the next coming flight so we basically said

(10:23):
forget the Scotland part just rebook our
trip to go to barcelona spain because that's where we
were supposed to catch a cruise too so i ended
up leaving on monday a couple days later with with mothers and went out there
but we went to barcelona got a cruise went to marseille france and nice france

(10:43):
and then a few cities in italy like santa margarita and rome and naples and
i can't remember the other one i'm missing one.
Oh, Florence area. Florence. So what was your favorite leg of the trip?
My favorite part of the trip actually was going to visit my ancestral village,

(11:05):
which is about two hours outside of Rome in the mountains.
It's only like population 1,000. It's a tiny little town.
Right. And reconnected with a long lost, my mom's cousin.
So I guess, what's that, like a second cousin or something? I don't know what
the name is. Yeah, I don't know. but he was both a tour guide and a translator.
So it was really freaking cool. I did learn that I'm full and I've had enough

(11:31):
to eat. Do not translate into Italian.
So every meal was like 75 dishes and it was wonderful.
I didn't even think that was part of the Italian language. I'm full.
Yeah. No, no, those words do not exist. I want to say, I didn't even know that. Yeah.
The word full doesn't exist at all. It's not a thing. Nope.
Nope. No. But yeah, that was a lot of fun. Awesome. Any fun stories?

(11:56):
Well, missing the flight was a fun story.
My, I am trying to blink right now as I say, my husband and my mom almost got pickpocketed in Rome.
That's a thing. Yeah, that's a hundred percent thing. That and butt pinching.
I heard that was a thing. Fortunately, there was no pinching to be had.
Thank goodness. It was like a hundred degrees. Do you have any feeling on your

(12:18):
butt? Because I would pinch your butt right now.
I don't know. No, it's the first thing that freezes in the winter. Oh, yeah.
You know, last thing to warm up. I think probably the craziest story,
and this might offend some people or whatever,
but the Vatican was so frustrating and disappointing to me because there was
millions of dollars worth of wealth in there, maybe even billions,

(12:40):
with the sheer amount of gold and marble from all over the world.
And there are starving people.
Yes. There are churches in Rome that don't even get a penny from the Vatican.
Yes. it absolutely disgusted me yes and we went and saw some of where the popes were,
buried buried or in their tombs or whatever in the
basement and they're like yeah this sarcophagus came from egypt

(13:03):
and we stole this from this and it's like all of
this stuff is stolen stuff and you're supposed
to be a person of the people yeah and here you are with this most elaborate
deliberate yeah burial structure so it was very it made me mad yeah no that
should make all of us mad yeah it was bad beautiful but piss me off yeah no

(13:24):
it's it's breathtaking yeah,
And that doesn't even include, if you want to get into conspiracy-wise.
What's housed in the vaults in the Vatican.
There's supposedly miles of vaults underneath.
I think just our tour alone was three miles and we were indoors.
Main floor and then a little bit of the catacomb or whatever you want to call that basement part.

(13:48):
But yeah, I would love to see the archives there. Wouldn't that be fantastic?
What have you hidden away? I bet you they have everything. Oh,
yeah. I bet they have aliens.
I bet they have... Moses' tablets. His tablets, yeah.
All versions. All versions. I bet you Jesus is chilling down there.

(14:09):
Probably, yeah. He's smoking a stove. Hey, never know. Dude, that'd be awesome.
They just keep him stoned all day. The smoke that comes up the chimney when
they elect a pope. That's just Jesus down there with a smokey.
All right. Maybe a bong. All right, this guy wins. And, you know,
for some reason he sounds like a New York gangster.
All right, here we go. Well, that's a great, great trip. Yeah.

(14:32):
Awesome. The long is tired.
So, yeah. So I've been up to my own shenanigans. Yeah.
I'd like to first say that we went to a wedding in River North, I think.
It was a very nice place. it was missy's one
of her student teachers that invited so

(14:54):
she she doesn't usually
mention student teachers a lot and this
one and her bonded so much that we
got invited to their wedding and it was it was
a lot of fun i had i
still have pink hair but i got hit on twice at the
wedding with my wife sitting next to me by men or women

(15:16):
or both so both nice right
you know so it all started with my hair and conversation
started it it it was and after this
second person which was like a 29 year old guy with the total stash it was the
funniest thing i turned to my wife and i say you better play your cards right

(15:37):
because i now have options so unfortunately i still ended up going home with
her i know we were both disappointed mustache right yeah right 100.
So so that was fun we also had this weird interaction
i want to i'm not even sure if you would call it an interaction at a what is

(15:57):
it called my what's that mike subs mike's way oh like the sandwich yeah the
sandwich place what's it called
subway mics or no it's my jersey Jersey Mike's. Jersey Mike's, okay.
So we were going to her other sister, Carrie's, house for this wine tasting
fundraiser they do for the kids' school.

(16:19):
So we decided to go a little bit earlier and grab a bite to eat.
And of course, we left a little bit later than normal.
And we decided just to run into Jersey Mike. So we ran in, ate there.
And as we're getting ready to leave, my wife says she has to go use the washroom. Sure.
She goes and uses the washroom. And as she's in the washroom,
these two ladies walk in, mother, daughter.

(16:42):
And the mother gives Missy a weird look, like a knowing look.
Like, I know you. I'm like, hey, you know, which was weird.
And then she proceeds to ask about these different sandwiches.
Like she was being like super picky. So weird.
And then she asked for a steak sandwich.

(17:03):
Or right when those be. Yeah.
Like a Philly. Like a steak. Yeah. Philly cheesesteak. And then asked if they
could put ketchup on it for her.
And they're like, we don't have a ketchup. And she's like, you're joking.
Who puts ketchup on any sandwich? my husband
what what he puts it on tailing beefs oh

(17:23):
my god yeah i yelled at him that's grounds
for divorce i mean you could put ketchup on a hot dog but over a beef yeah what
okay okay so there are others out there there are people out there but yeah
but so so she was like all you know up to to do.

(17:43):
So then this guy walks in and he, I look at him as he walks in,
you know, and he's like, Hey, how are you?
Like knowing, like he knows me and I'm like, what is going on here today?
So he gets in line and then all three of them turn around and stared at me.
Like they know something I don't. It was so weird.
And they weren't together. The, the, the two P the two girls or women and the guy were not together.

(18:09):
So then my wife comes out of the bathroom and we
start to walk out and i go to hold the door and i and i just so
happen to look up and all three of them are just staring at
us and like they wave goodbye like
it's like it's like like those movies were like it's just weird shit going on
it was so weird it was such a weird i can't i can't explain it anymore so that

(18:32):
happened and then we just got back today from our anniversary anniversary weekend
up in Traverse City, Michigan,
which I do want to give a shout out,
to a lovely waitress at Bri's Winery we had yesterday. Her name is Megan.
Her husband was the host, Ernest, and he was very nice as well.

(18:56):
So I just want to say hi guys, if you guys are listening.
That's been my time. So yeah. What else? What else we got going on?
Nothing really. No? No. I just don't want to go to work. Yeah,
I know. Same. Yeah. Were you off on Friday?

(19:16):
I, not really. I cleaned up over 700 emails that I returned to,
but I didn't attend meetings or everyone left me alone so that I could,
so I kind of like knocked it all out. Solo worked, if you want to call it that. Yeah.
Very nice. Very nice. Oh, good. Yeah. I was off, so that was nice.
Same. Oh, let's give another shout out to who reached out to you while you were

(19:40):
gone that you sent me a text on.
Old ex, whatchamacallit, it was Carla Reedy.
Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was like, brain fart. That's all right. Yeah. Yeah. Carla said hello.
She's like, I stumbled across this podcast and I was like, those voices sound

(20:02):
familiar. And then she looked it up and she's like, I know those people.
Yeah. Local celebrities.
Not yet. Just one fan. Just one fan. And that's all we need.
We just got you, Carla. We're good with one.
Carla, we're just going to do podcasts just for you from now on.
So you're welcome. But thanks for listening. Yeah. So that was fun.

(20:24):
All right. So like we usually start, I got an article here.
And I'll start with the title. It says, Grandma's advice earns Maryland man
a $50,000 lottery prize.
So before I jump into it, I'm going to ask, what do you think the advice was?

(20:46):
Maybe she's like, select these type of numbers only. I don't.
Okay. Maybe blow on the tickets. I don't know. I'm thinking like dice or something.
You know what? I'm going to tell you three weeks without sex.
Your, your first comment is the blow. I love it. I love it.
All right. So I'll start with the article says a Maryland man said some wisdom

(21:11):
imparted to him by his grandmother led to his winning a $50,000 lottery prize.
The Baltimore man told Maryland lottery officials that his scratch off ticket
strategy is based on the advice.
I'm sorry, based on the advice his grandmother gave him several years ago.
My grandmother told me that not everyone can be lucky every day, he said.

(21:32):
The man said he puts her advice into action by buying two scratch-off tickets
when he feels the desire to play the lottery.
And if neither ticket is a winner, he won't buy any more that day.
If one is a winner, however, he will keep buying.
The man used his technique at the EZ Quick Food Market on Mountain Road in Pasadena,

(21:53):
where a Mega Money scratch-off ticket earned him a $50,000 prize.
He said his grandmother's advice has earned him more than $150,000 in prize money over the years.
I've won big twice before, but the last time was a long time ago, he said.
I wasn't sure it would ever happen again. Again, so my question is, he's won $150,000.

(22:20):
How much has he spent?
$150,000. At least. You think he went one for one?
I'm thinking like maybe he has spent $500,000.
I was like, you're the math guru. Yeah, well, yeah. How do you know that math out?
Like if a ticket's what, $1, $2, something like that? Well, it depends.
There's different denomination tickets.

(22:41):
Now they have up to like $50 scratch off tickets. Oh my God.
I know what are the odds on those it
better be more than the regular one yeah you know i bet yeah
i bet you on those on breaking even
is like one in three tickets so if
you're spending 150 dollars to win 50 so that's three to one so let's say he's

(23:01):
playing with those odds let's even go four to one right so four to one and fifty
thousand dollars or 150 000 that means he's He's spending $600,000 to win the $150,000. Yeah.
That's crazy. That's crazy. Cray cray. So I do have a question that just popped in my head. Mm-hmm.

(23:22):
What is one advice that you still use to this day from a grandparent?
I don't think I've ever had any advice.
If I did, I'm coming up blank.
Ink so let me get this right you've spent i would say 25 years with at least two grandfathers,

(23:49):
right and what your grandma was you're 23 when she passed about maybe a little bit younger 21,
because it was the year i was older than that no it's 2012 yeah it's a little
22 you're 22 when she passed, right?
Yeah. Yeah, just because we were on our, oh, yeah. So Missy and I went on our

(24:09):
honeymoon a year after we got married.
We left, it was Saturday to Saturday, and we went to Mexico.
So we got there Saturday.
We woke up Sunday, went down for breakfast. She asked me to go upstairs to get our beachside stuff.
So I went upstairs, and I have always checking my phone.
So I checked my phone, and I had a voicemail, and it was, I don't remember who

(24:33):
it was from back here telling us that her grandma just died.
So I'm like, oh, shit. So I'm like, all right. I'm like.
I'm giving her one day. I was like, do you tell her or do you wait?
No, no, I gave her one day. I'm like, she gets one day.
So I put on my poker face and went back down.
We spent the whole afternoon drinking and whatever.

(24:56):
And then we went back up to get ready for dinner. And that's when she found out.
Was she mad that you waited or was she glad that you waited?
I just recently told her a couple of years ago. Oh. Oh, yeah.
Yeah. No, I held this in. So you pretended like you just found out when you got back to the room.
Oh, 100%. yes so was she
mad or glad no she was she was

(25:17):
she was fine she was she was happy with that but statute of limitations yes
yes yeah i definitely wasn't oh yeah by
the way after she just found out she would have gone off the fucking rails and
rightfully so if you if you would
have known right there and then rightfully so but uh
yeah so that was so i'm a pretty good uh
i'm a pretty a good poker player because i have a good poker face

(25:38):
so yeah so
what where were we talking oh yeah so so you've
had 22 years of three grandparents and
you have taken no advice from any one of them i don't think i've ever been given
advice well it's not even just given advice maybe you know something that they

(25:58):
did that you're like oh that's smart i should i should start doing that It doesn't
have to be like actual advice, something you've taken from them.
I can't. He likes to throw hard questions and be like, have an answer ready.
I like thought-provoking questions. I hate thought-provoking questions because
then I have to think. I hate thinking.
You can't. That's the problem.

(26:22):
How about you go to someone else and I'll think about it? Crowd survey.
God, you suck. All right, Lynette. Okay, well, since I've had time to think,
I'll do that. Yeah, thanks. So there's one advice that I think I use and another
advice that I don't use but has been burned into my brain.
Okay. So the advice that I use is always have your house prepared with snacks

(26:46):
for guests so that you're always prepared to have like a feast prepared,
you know, for last minute drop in or feed your guests. Right.
The piece of advice, I swear my grandmother gave this to me when I was,
I want to say eight. I was young.

(27:07):
I can't even say this out loud. i don't think
i've said it in years is you
should sleep pantsless without
underpants as often as you can okay i
like that one to ensure proper airflow okay these

(27:27):
are and that's a that's a piece of advice i can get behind i like
it we should maybe make that our slogan sleep without pants as often as possible
yeah sleep without pants and all things possible so there is so i'm assuming
that's your italian grandmother yes yeah so the reason why i say that is because i remember this,

(27:51):
when i was young when i when i was a kid there was i think one of my cousins maybe not a cousin,
i forget who it was but they would run around it
was a boy he'd run around pantless and like without a diaper on
and the joke one of
the older women and when i say old i mean grandma age women
was well that's fine because that's going to allow his dick to grow longer because

(28:13):
there's nothing holding it up it's just going to let it free i don't know telling
grandmas and genitalia it's just okay yeah those are that's that's a couple
episodes that's a series that's a series.
I'm trying to think, you know, good series. Yeah. I don't think I've taken any advice.
I just, I did recently just get taught.

(28:38):
And this is the way my grandmother used to get rid of the evil eye.
So you can only be taught it at midnight on Christmas Eve.
Never heard of that. Yeah. So that's, I guess, only when the powers can be transferred
or from one person is that at the time Jesus,

(28:59):
what's the word I'm looking for? Was.
Incarnated? Was evacuated from Mary, was born, I guess, yeah.
I mean, when he came out, right?
So, yeah, so I just recently got taught that, which is exciting because it's

(29:20):
the exact same way my grandmother used to do that to us, so.
So did you feel the powers when you learned it?
I was feeling something. I don't know what it was.
So once you learn it, how often can you, is it a ritual?
Yeah. It's so, so basically what you do is you can't teach us.
It's not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not going to teach you. I'm going to just tell

(29:43):
you what, cause I do this in front of you.
So you take a bowl of water and you, hold on, give me one second,
bowl of water and And you put salt in it in the sign of the cross three times.
And then you put, you know, seven, eight, nine drops of olive oil.

(30:03):
And you take the bowl. Extra virgin or just virgin? Is this for Mary?
It's just, I mean, it wasn't specified. I always use extra virgin.
But not canola. Not canola. No. Okay. It has to be olive oil.
What the fuck is a canola anyway? Anyway, keep going.
It's something. and you take

(30:23):
it and you pass it around the person's
body as you repeat a specific prayer so you
do that you know for like a minute or so you know you gauge
how long and then you set it down and you watch if the droplets of oil start
to clump with one another that means you you have the evil the evil eye so i'm

(30:44):
so that's extracting the evil eye from you right And then you dump that water,
fill it back up, and you do it again.
And you keep repeating until the droplets of oil stop clumping together.
When you do that, I then take my thumb, put it in the water,
do the side of the cross on your forehead a few times, and then you go wash
your face, and then you start feeling better.

(31:06):
That's interesting. Because you smell like olive oil. You just get a piece of
bread. Because you smell like teen spirit. Oh. Yeah.
It's interesting how many cultures have similar...
Rituals? Yeah, like I've heard of like.
Like Mexican, they talk, I have some friends who talk about like putting the
egg or the water or something under your bed.
Similar concept. Yeah. And then I think you crack the egg open and it's black

(31:29):
or something, right? Yeah, it's black if you had the evil eye or had something.
Right. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, it is crazy how there's always stories on how to get rid of these curses.
And you can redo this ritual as often as necessary. Yeah.
There's no doctor's note saying wait six months. No, no, no.
No, it shouldn't have effect on me because I am now protected by the olive oil.

(31:54):
I mean, nothing can get through. It coats it, right? Right. It coats you.
But I don't think you can do it to yourself.
So someone has to do it to me. So like there was a different way.
What if you have no friends? You're an only child. Then you're going to have to pay someone.
Yeah. Just like sex. You just have to pay for it.
My dad had a different way. My dad also taught me his way, but I'd have to take

(32:16):
a picture of you and specifically like concentrate and say a prayer.
That sounds dirty. And it does sound really dirty.
Like I don't like take like a recent picture. I don't just like sit there and
take a picture of you, go develop it.
And then no, if I just had a picture of you, so I could even probably like look
at a Facebook picture and do it that way.
Or my secret stash of when you guys are changing.

(32:37):
Changing and and i with him
he his effects would be he would
just start crying like a crime but tearing up like tears would
just flow so he taught me his way i can never remember the prayer because it
was in italian i was just gonna ask what language yeah yeah that that prayer
it was in italian and it's very specific one that i never learned so he had

(33:02):
me write it down i think you You can Google it if you remember a couple words.
I don't think so. I don't think I can.
But yeah, so anyway. But I really like my grandmother's way because it gave
like, you know, physical data and evidence. So that was kind of cool.
So that's probably the one thing I take away that.

(33:24):
And probably, you know, my grandfather telling me, you know,
keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Oh, sure.
It's a good one. It says, how to remove Malochio, Evil Eye, Calabrian Nona.
Yeah. So it's... Your grandma put a post out here. Okay.
Recently? I don't know. She has a YouTube video from 20... She's very Christmas
savvy. For Christmas Eve 2021.

(33:47):
Oh. Is it her? You know, if she...
So it's a Calabrian, which is where your family's from. Yeah,
and she's buried in Calabria. We had to fly her back to be buried with my grandfather
when she passed away, actually 20 and a half years ago.
Wow. Yeah. That's interesting. So is there a picture of her?
Does she look good? Oh, I don't know. I mean, does she look like a zombie?

(34:09):
Did she have the evil eye prayer done to her before she passed?
I don't know. Maybe. How does one get an evil eye on them? So evil eye is basically
the way that I was able to translate it the best is when somebody,
you know, one of the Ten Commandments is thou shall not covet.
So it's basically coveting. Okay. So if like if you had a child and I'm like,

(34:34):
oh, my God, in my head, not out loud, but like in my head, I'm like,
oh, my God, he's such a beautiful child.
So sweet that I'm basically giving you the evil eye. Right.
And that's why I've seen like red bracelets put on children and stuff like that
to help prevent right. Right.
Strangers. Exactly. So it's that's the best translation is coveting something,

(34:57):
coveting someone, whatever.
They're giving you the evil eye because they're making.
So I think the the story behind it is that you're making you aware of whatever,
you know, so now you're aware to, you know, demons.
And whatever for them to be like, oh, they have something good and let's fuck

(35:18):
with them, you know? Interesting.
Yeah, yeah, very interesting. So, which is, you know, a great segue between
our article and our little stories here into what we'll be talking about today.
What do you got for us? I don't know. Bree, you had this lined up for us?
Yeah, we're going to be talking about the lottery curse. Lottery curse?

(35:39):
Like, is this where you buy a ticket and you hope a witch...
Blows you sure or yeah it's some interesting i mean if if you want to think
about that way i guess all right so how much is a ticket.
One cent. Wow. That's going to be a horrible blowjob.

(36:00):
It's nice and cheap. I'm pretty sure it's a goat. The witch with the one tooth?
Yeah. No, I think it's a goat. I think it's just... It's a goat. Yeah.
You put some, sprinkle some salt.
All right. So, yeah. So, if you won the lottery, what would you guys do with the winnings?
I would, one, pay off my bills, and two, get a new house. A nice big house with a germ kitchen.

(36:23):
With a what kitchen? Dream kitchen. Dream? I heard a germ kitchen.
I thought she said German.
Oh, German. Yeah. What's a German kitchen? I mean, I am mostly German.
That would make sense. But no, my dream kitchen.
Again, I heard germ that time too. Germ.
Dream. There we go. There we go. Good job. Okay. What would your dream kitchen be?

(36:46):
Really big, a nice big island, a lot of space to store things.
Since I'm one of those people that have a lot of kitchen gadgets and not enough
storage to keep it in, and I want to get more, but I can't.
I just love to cook, and it's my calming place.
So, yeah. Nice. Okay. That's really boring. Go ahead. Annette?

(37:08):
Well, I would do what I have to do and, like, take care of my— it depends on
how much I win, I suppose, too. Of course.
I would take care of my friends and family, set them up nice.
Then probably donate to some people or charities
or something maybe most charities are corrupt so i'd have to do some digging
on that but then maybe get a divorce and go buy a house somewhere you know he

(37:32):
gets half right i know okay he'll be happy okay all right that's you know what
we all have dreams i have you know well maybe not a divorce i do like him but okay i'd buy my own
health okay that's fair oh my gosh she says i like him not love no right i love
him too but i like him you gotta like him first that's true you do you like

(37:55):
him enough to love him yeah there you go.
Okay so frank what would you do what would you do yeah
first of all if you guys do
win the lottery i am not greedy i
just want my mortgage paid off that's it so if you want to give me more on top
of that i will take it but that's all i want just my mortgage so what i would

(38:17):
do is you know instead of giving friends money that's what i would do is i would
just pay off all your guys's mortgage and be like, you guys are set, you have, you know.
You can either take advantage of this or. Exactly, you know,
so that's what, that'd be the first thing I would do.
I would then, I would take Missy by the hand and be like, it's been fun,

(38:40):
here's half, and you'll never see me again.
So I'm not that far off. No, not at all, not at all.
I would then like go to like Georgia or like South Carolina and buy like 50 acres.
And the cheap yeah and then and just
have my own dog rescue oh i like that

(39:01):
idea yeah and and i would never have to worry about like you know finding them
a forever home because i have enough resources to keep them there forever you
know so yeah that's what i would do that's maybe not the the,
you know, it's been fun part,
but yeah, yeah, yeah.

(39:22):
So, all right. So what is the lottery curse?
Many people might say that the lottery is cursed because your chances of winning
are so slim that you're bound to lose money almost every time.
But the curse of the lottery refers to lotto winners who either just have bad
luck or are not the best with money.
There have been many instances in which individuals strike it rich on the mega

(39:44):
million jackpot or a Powerball ticket, it only to lose their money or completely upend their lives.
The lottery curse may not happen too often and can be rare, but it happens much
more than you might think.
Additionally, winning the lottery causes individuals to become somewhat of a

(40:06):
target by the media and individuals hoping to get a slice of the pie.
That has led to scandal, violence, and turmoil after winning.
So let me ask you guys
this i just this just popped in my head if you guys did win the lottery let's
say you guys won half a billion dollars who would be the one person that you

(40:28):
would be the most weary of their motives like the milton my mother your mother i like that i don't,
I wouldn't even tell her. I wouldn't either. She would find out through the
grapevine, and then I would have all my shit changed that she'll never be able to get a hold of me.
Yep. Name. Oh, yeah. You probably should change your name if you wouldn't have

(40:50):
that much money. 100%. I will now be Dwayne The Rock Johnson.
That would be my legal name. It would be Dwayne The Rock is my middle name. The Rock.
Middle name one, the middle name two, Rock. Yeah. He went from having no middle
name to having a middle name. I would just hyphenate it. The Rock.
So, yeah. That would be, that would, that's, what about you?

(41:14):
Probably my mother-in-law or my grandma. Oh. I know she's like 94,
but I'd be worried about her too.
I would love to see 94-year-old grandmother knocking on your door with a shotgun.
Give me your money. She cannot remember eating tacos.
Okay. Every time she has tacos, oh, this is different. I've never had this before.
Never remember it but she will tell you how much she spent on a dress from 1930.

(41:41):
Down to the change she remembers money
yeah but in the 1930s all they had
was change right they didn't have like full dollars yet right
i'm just saying she will tell you the cost of
every single thing she has ever owned or what she's paid for
for it wow you should ask her how much she paid for tacos that
would be amazing what's a

(42:02):
taco i've never had one i've never this is
different what uh so does does
you do your in-laws listen to the show no okay i have not shared this no link
with them okay and you never will i can't wait to show them so it might be the

(42:23):
last you ever see of me you told me who i'd be wary of i might be axed just
for saying it i'm really good
friends with them how are you yeah tell me their names oh betsy and ross yep.
Come on that's a duane the rock johansson yeah no betsy ross it's independence
day weekend i mean come on that's a great tie-in wonderful i hate you guys all

(42:47):
right nice so would Lloyd Brie.
What? Do you think she listens?
She probably pretends she listens. Yeah. She probably at least listened to the first episode. Yeah.
And that's it. And then she's going to pretend she listened to you later.
Yeah. You know, I'm going to...
I'm going to test her, right? Give her a quiz next time. So, all right.

(43:12):
Anyway, so I had a first story here. It's the story of Abraham Shakespeare.
After winning $40 million from the Florida lottery in 2006, Abraham Shakespeare
was more than generous with his money.
Although he gave money to nearly anyone who asked, his kindness didn't make
him immune to the lottery curse.

(43:32):
Abraham, a high school dropout and convict who couldn't even read,
won the lottery when he stopped at a convenience store with
a co-worker and gave the co-worker a couple of bucks to buy tickets
his troubles started almost immediately his
co-worker took shakespeare to court accusing him of stealing the tickets and
the jackpot from shakespeare from him shakespeare won the suit but his troubles

(43:55):
didn't end there so many people were asking shakespeare for money that he said
i'd have been better off broke and i thought all these people People were my friends,
but then I realized all they want is just money.
Okay, it's really weird for me to keep saying Shakespeare, because I keep thinking
of William Shakespeare. Yeah, same. Right? All right, Jesus.
Then he met Dee Dee Moore, who said she wanted to write about his experiences.

(44:20):
She also said she'd help manage his money. When he agreed, she immediately started
spending it on herself, buying herself a Hummer and a Corvette,
for example. You want a Hummer?
Yeah. I want a Hummer. I want an H2. I want a Hummer.
You get a Hummer if you go to a corner. Do you know what a Hummer is?
I'm using my imagination, so. Okay, so basically what a Hummer is,

(44:45):
is you're in the car with a girl. Does it have to be in the car?
Kind of. You turn the station to the oldie station while she hums in your nuts. That's a Hummer.
Again, you can get one at the corner. I'm just saying, you want a Hummer?
I want a Hummer. Let's get Hummers.
So she bought herself a Hummer and a Corvette. She even took possession of his

(45:08):
home. How the fuck did she do that?
If he handed over all of his paperwork.
I guess. Some stranger comes in your life and like, I'll manage your money.
First of all, name Dee Dee. Right. I mean, listen.
Dee Dee Moore. Yeah. One D is enough. Right, guys? Right, girls? One D. Double D.
Double D Moore. listen double d's are rough you

(45:29):
could sprain a wrist you could sprain your tongue i mean
there's a lot of things that can go wrong there one d
is enough so back to story but apparently
stealing from shakespeare wasn't enough for more
who killed shakespeare oh and buried his body under concrete slabs at her boyfriend's
house wow that's that's love that is true love i'm gonna frame you I'm going

(45:57):
to murder someone. Can I bury him in your basement?
Sure. Yeah, I'll help. No problem.
She took extreme length to try to make it seem as if Shakespeare were still
alive, sending fate texts and attempting to bribe his family to say they had seen him.
Moore's crime was discovered and she was convicted of first degree murder.
Nevertheless, Shakespeare would have been better off sticking to the $5 he had

(46:20):
in his pocket when he bought his winning lottery ticket. Wow. That took a turn.
Yeah. Yeah, that fucking went right off the goddamn clock. Wow.
Were you going to say something? No, just damn.
I looked at the corner of my eye and it looked like you were going to.
Yeah. So let's get this straight.
She goes, I'm going to write about your life and your story.

(46:40):
Give me all your personal details. Yes. Your social security number.
You went from wanting to write something and be like, oh, let me also manage your finances. No.
See, this is the problem with women. You guys are too greedy.
Just a little bit. Yeah. I mean, honestly, three inches isn't enough.

(47:01):
Nope. I mean, it's six.
See, I mean, God damn.
I'm just going to end up fucking myself. Aren't you always? Pretty much.
So the story of Jack Whitaker. Unlike many winners, Andrew Jack Whitaker was

(47:23):
already wealthy when he won the largest jackpot ever awarded to a single Powerball winner.
He became a jackpot winner on Christmas morning in 2020, I'm sorry, 2002.
He chose a lump sum payment instead of an annuity, so he took home $113 million
from his $314.9 million lottery ticket.

(47:46):
He added that to the already significant amount he'd earned by working his way
up from poverty to the owner of a West Virginia contracting company.
When he bought the ticket, his company brought in about $15 million a year in contracts.
However, Jack Whitaker found his lottery winnings changed him more than the
wealth he'd earned himself did.

(48:07):
Did I read that correctly? Yeah, you did. Okay. Yeah. Jack Whitaker did a lot
of good with the money he won, sending up a charitable foundation,
donating money to build churches in West Virginia, and even being remarkably
generous to the woman who sold him the winning ticket.
He gave her a new house, a new car, and a pile of cash.

(48:29):
Nevertheless, the lottery curse hit him. So I have a question.
What good would you guys do with money that you won from a lottery?
I would donate it to animals.
What animals specifically? Well, probably the Humane Society of America.
Do a lot of like, I am a huge tiger person, so helping with the tigers.

(48:55):
I like tigers. Did you know? Do you know Carole Baskin? Yeah. I do not. Oh.
Speaking of Carol Bassett and Tiger King, I did not know that I could own,
I could have bought tigers for as little as they were going for.

(49:15):
How much was a tiger? It was like three, four grand.
Oh, tigers. I mean, all you got to do is go to Walmart and get spoiled meat
and feed them. That's what the Tiger King did.
Did you never watch the Tiger King series? I don't remember that part no I did
watch it but COVID years were a blur this is true a lot of alcohol and I didn't realize that tigers,

(49:41):
a flamboyant man and some meth would have turned any man gay,
right I mean not that there's anything wrong with that but I was just I have
I've been trying to just suck dick to get people to turn gay and that you're
missing into tigers and drugs god damn it it.
You know, that's nice that I could stop practicing. Yeah. So that's great.

(50:03):
All right. What about you? What would you do?
I would probably try and buy up as much forested area and like turn it into protected lands.
Okay. That's very. Sanctuary type of no development. No. Yeah.
All right. I think I'd do that. Okay. That's great. I think.

(50:24):
I just want to be as far away from people as possible. Yeah.
I mean, I don't know. I don't blame you.
I'm learning so much on this show from you. It's a chore to come here.
I thought I knew you. Give me that wine back.
I think I would do what's best for all of society is just, I would probably

(50:46):
end up just overdosing and dying somewhere.
I think that would be the best thing to do for me.
All right. So not all states let winners stay anonymous, and Jack Whitaker's
win was widely publicized.
He was deluged with people asking for money and favors.
His habit of leaving large amounts of money in his car became widely known.

(51:10):
One evening, while he was visiting a strip club, someone stole about half a
million dollars from his car.
In a separate incident, $100,000 was later stolen from another car.
Car well i why would you leave that
much money at a strip club in her car at a
strip club well how much did he bring into the joint that he left the grand

(51:30):
or a hundred grand or whatever back in the car he goes oh i forgot my wallet
like just opens the glove compartment it's like all the money i want to know
what's the largest denomination dollar he had,
like is it oh like is it a hundred dollar bill
yeah is there like is there like a like a fifty thousand

(51:50):
dollar bill is there like a ten thousand dollar bill like like that's
what i'm that's that's where my curiosity goes you know but like listen the
champagne room is costly but i'm pretty sure you can get in there and get your
services met for 10 grand probably right i mean i've never tried,

(52:12):
because when I go to a strip club, all the strippers stay away from me.
Looks like the largest bill is a $10,000 bill. Wow. So a $10,000 bill.
So 10 of them makes $100,000. What president do you think is on the $10,000 bill?
All right. So what president is on the $10,000 bill?

(52:35):
Let's go with... I see the picture and I have no clue who that is. Yeah.
Let's go with Kelvin Coolidge. Nope. All right. Who is it? Wilson.
Woodrow. Woodrow? Yeah. Woodrow Wilson is on the $10,000 bill.
What makes him so fancy? I don't know.

(52:56):
But you would only need 50 of those bills to have half a million dollars.
That's a big stack of bills. Well, yeah. It is. But it's not unheard of. You know?
Yeah. Like $50, $100 bills is five grand. I've seen people carry around $5,000 before.
Well, this internet site says it's Abraham Lincoln, so I don't know.

(53:16):
I'm also getting one that says Salmon P. Chase.
That's not a president. No, but the bill I was looking at had Wilson on it.
And this is basically the bajillionaire who probably owned Chase Bank, huh?
I don't know. Anyway, we digress. Yeah, see.
It's Wilson. Anyway. It's Salmon P. Chase. He was President Lincoln's Secretary of Treasury.

(53:38):
Yeah, but... That's what, when I Googled it, that's what it said.
Okay, you're Googling it wrong. She's using Bing.
Anyway. We are a Google only podcast.
So yeah, so wow. All right, to make things worse, his company was hit with frivolous

(53:59):
lawsuits from people who wanted to get access to his deep pockets,
which cost him millions in legal fees.
Whitaker began to unravel under the strain. He started drinking hard and getting into fights.
He'd get handy with women and offer them money to sleep with them or take off their clothes for him.
So money doesn't make you high society.

(54:20):
It just perpetuates his sleaze. Right.
Right. It's kind of like cocaine. Cocaine just enhances your...
But you're doing it really fast. Right. It enhances your personality.
So if you're an asshole, you're just a bigger asshole. You're just a bigger asshole. Yeah.
His relationship with his wife, who'd been with him since he was 14 years old, deteriorated.
But that's by far not the worst of it. He enjoyed spoiling his granddaughter,

(54:45):
Brandy. Oh, a stripper name.
He gave her a huge allowance and four cars. However, his generosity backfired
when her wealth attracted a bad crowd.
A boyfriend of Brandy's died of an overdose in a house Whitaker was developing,
and Brandy was implicated.
Friends wouldn't even let her attend the funeral. A year later,
Brandy was found dead under suspicious circumstances.

(55:07):
The case was never solved. That's sad.
The deaths had devastating consequences for Whitaker's family.
His daughter, Brandy's mother, was found dead seven years after he won the jackpot.
Whitaker's wife divorced him. Whitaker lost the people he loved and the money
that he won, and he blames his lucky windfall.
Since I won the lottery, I think there is no control for greed,

(55:30):
Jack Whitaker said. I think if you have something, there's always someone else
that wants it. I wish I'd torn that ticket up.
You can read more about Jack Whitter's story at PowerballWinner says he's cursed.
So, is that really a curse or is that just somebody that doesn't know how to
fucking handle himself?

(55:51):
I think it was just a hot mess with money. Yep. Yeah, I think.
I feel like with most of these stories, it's going to be that common thread.
It's people not knowing how to handle. money.
Yeah, I agree. I agree. So here's next story is the story of Curtis Sharp Jr.
Curtis Sharp Jr. who won a $5 million jackpot in 1982 was a dream come true

(56:16):
for the lottery's public relations department.
The lottery was facing an image problem and Sharp seemed like just the person
they needed to spread the word that everybody, I'm sorry, that everyday people
could turn their lives around by buying a ticket.
So question, how much was $5 million in 1982 in today's money?

(56:37):
What do you think? Guess real quick. Bree. Today, it would probably be, I want to say 60 mil.
Okay. I'm going to say more like 18.
And our Google expert. It says 16.
Yeah. You said six zero. And you said you're going to say more at 18.
No. I said, I'm going to say more like 18.

(56:59):
Oh. Yeah. Was it 1982 you said? Yeah.
The equivalent would be $16,316,276.60 in 2024 with inflation.
Right, with inflation. So that's just a hair over three times.
He should have put it in the stock market.
100%. Before whatever the rest of the story is going to turn into.

(57:22):
I agree. I agree. All right. So basically he won $16 million,
which is a very nice payout.
Heck yeah. You know, you only need $5 million in the bank to live off the interest.
All right, so Sharp, who'd been a dishwasher before he struck it rich,
became known as the $5 million man.

(57:44):
With his larger-than-life personality, his distinctive bowler hat,
did I say that right? Yep. Okay.
And the way he loved to flash his
newly won money around, he was a walking advertisement for the lottery.
Parties, women, new houses, flashy cars. He lived big and became one of the
lottery's best-known winners because of it.

(58:05):
Unfortunately, Sharpe's lifestyle wasn't sustainable.
He was spending more than his big yearly annuity checks covered,
and his party-hard attitude was wearing on him. The lottery curse had hit.
The year after he won the lottery, he left his wife for a lover and had a huge wedding. Why?

(58:25):
Just why? Within a year. Here, so was this side piece already lined up,
or was this just someone who showed up?
It was somebody who showed up. I want to say someone who showed up,
the shotgun-y type. It's like, oh, you're the $5 million man.
Who was his ideal 12, and was willing to do things his wife wasn't. That's basically it.
Five years later, his second wife divorced him, too.

(58:47):
He was drinking hard, even passing out in front of his new girlfriend's house,
and the money ran out, forcing him to borrow money from his first wife.
What a low. What a kick in the nuts.
Luckily, his story had a happy ending. After a drunk driving incident,
Curtis Sharp Jr. found God.

(59:07):
He stopped drinking, stopped partying, cleaned up his act, and became a minister.
But he still buys lottery tickets.
You think he learned his lesson.
You know oh man what the fuck why can't this is what drives me crazy why can't people find god,

(59:27):
before they do stupid shit you know
it wouldn't mean as much i can
tell you the stove's hot it's
hot it's hot it's hot but you're not gonna believe me until you burn
your fingers on it and then then you're gonna you know you
have to hit a bottom you have to do but is that true for everyone no you know

(59:49):
but but that's what i'm saying is like why can't people just find god before
and since i'm on that topic now what also drives me crazy is the rules.
So what rules for example let's take
someone like ted bundy right he

(01:00:09):
murdered what like 50 women something crazy stupid
crazy right and let's say hypothetically
before he was put to death he found
god repented he's automatically forgiven and now gets to go to heaven right
that's the rule so that means he's in heaven with all of his victims and how is that fair.

(01:00:36):
I mean you know
like i agree with you that's why i don't yeah i mean
believe in the rules right i mean i am i am joseph stalin
hitler and i have murdered basically half the
planet planet right but right before i died i
made myself right with god and jesus now i'm
in heaven with everyone that i murdered yeah oh it

(01:00:57):
just drives me like listen what if
you choose the wrong god to get right with well
i don't think it matters i
mean well you talk to the devout and they will tell you it
matters you're absolutely correct but how do but see i could spin it on them
though like how do we know we don't we don't because i can you know you i can

(01:01:19):
say oh well guess what i i think the spaghetti god or whatever yeah yeah the
spaghetti monster is my true god because i'm I'm special.
He told me about it. You don't know because you're not special enough to know,
but I know. Like, is that the same philosophy?
Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy. Like, and don't get me wrong.
People who are religious and, you know, do good things and live lives and are accepted.

(01:01:45):
I'm not talking, I'm talking about like the crazy 20% of every group.
You know, you could look at, I don't want to say these words.
You could talk about like the two political parties okay okay it's just the it's the the
crazy 20 on both sides right that i have issues with i don't have issues with

(01:02:07):
anyone else but just the craziness so you like in any group it's just so crazy
that those are also the loudest of that group so now you think that's all that
group is about right it's not right,
I'm going to go back to my hole. It's safer. It is.
You know what? Maybe you're the cult leader, Lynette.

(01:02:29):
It's always the one of you we suspect. Don't worry. Just hand me your social
security number, cut off ties to your family, and come live in my commune.
All right. It's 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9.
Just don't ask him his bank account number because he doesn't know that.
I do not know. But I'll give you my ATM card and the PIN number.
And after this weekend, it's negative. Yeah. All right, so.

(01:02:51):
So to win the lotto, you could have bought all the wine in Michigan.
Dude, I did. I did buy all of it. Did you see the table?
Well, now you want to dig it, huh? There was some cider on there, too.
Yeah. Well, yeah. We only bought half the cider. We bought all the wine.
All the wine. And half the cider.
Unbelievable. I swear to God. People are like, oh, do you need help,
Karen? I'm like, no, I don't. I don't. I just need a flatbed. Yes.

(01:03:14):
Like, I joked to my wife that I use more gas coming home because of all the weight in my car. Sure.
At least it was downhill is that how
gravity worked that was a joke i know i know it was
a gravity joke i got it i got it
thanks so the story of willie seeley you know what i don't you know hold on
you know what i i hate is that i have the worst segues from going from tangent

(01:03:40):
back on topic i've noticed you eat a little bit you ease out of it perfectly
you just can't steer you're back on the road.
Right. Yeah. Right. I can't, I don't know why.
Maybe because I don't read any of this until I'm at the show.
Like I know nothing about what we're about to read. Maybe that's why I stumbled
across my words too is because I just don't know how to read. Yeah.

(01:04:00):
You're a great reader really yeah that's a lie i'm just
reading brianna's lips she's mouthing the words
to me read in
the room all right that's you don't do no i do
not i actually i choose not to i can't i just deliberately do no no because
i'm going to do what i want to do no matter what right all right the story of

(01:04:21):
willie seeley it seemed like a blessing when wild willie seeley and 15 of his
co-workers formed a lottery pool that won a big jackpot in august of 2013,
only a few weeks later seeley felt he'd been
hit by the lottery curse the lottery pool known
as ocean 16 what that's so

(01:04:41):
stupid bought a ticket that was 13 i know but come on they weren't creative
back then that's true yeah i mean back did they even have cars i don't know
no internet no no cells just rotary phones not where wild willie lived no.
He has to be from alabama probably all right let's see where was i bought a

(01:05:06):
ticket that was one of three to win a 450 million dollar powerball jackpot and
a press conference willie seeley said he and his wife were happy happy happy
and planning to spend their days fishing hunting Hunting and relaxing had to be Alabama.
100%. Okay. But it didn't take long for the downside to winning a lottery jackpot to appear.

(01:05:27):
It's hard to go fishing when you are being followed by reporters and camera
crews clamoring for an interview or an appearance on a reality TV show.
And distant relatives and complete
strangers come to your house to ask for handouts made it hard to relax.
Plus it was a shock to
realize that that after splitting the jackpot

(01:05:48):
three ways three winning tickets were sold then splitting
the remainder among the 16 members of the lottery pool not even four million
dollars was left over after taxes four million was enough for the couples to
buy new vehicles help their families and quit their jobs but not to never worry
about money again Windfall, it had seemed at first.

(01:06:10):
Only weeks after their initial exuberance, Willie Seeley and his wife were bemoaning the lottery curse.
There are days I wish we were back to just getting paid every two weeks.
You have to change your whole way of life, but we didn't want to change the way we lived.
Is he just being greedy? Yep. Mm-hmm.

(01:06:32):
Other 15 folks complaining? Right. See, one thing I never got was when people
win, they say, oh, I'm going to win the lottery and then quit my job.
To me, it's like that money is going to go away.
If you don't have any type of income after that's gone, what are you going to do?
So from what I understand, and please do not take any financial advice from

(01:06:52):
me because I have no I have no idea what I'm doing.
But if you have $10 million to put into different financial vehicles,
you should be able to have a return of between 5% and 10%.
So $10 million, 5% is how much, guys?

(01:07:15):
$250,000. $250,000. What she said.
So yes you should be able to quit your
job so if you have four million right
five percent is how
much twenty thousand no so what's so ten percent is four hundred thousand two

(01:07:40):
hundred no i'm sorry let me back up i did that wrong i was i was doing off of
five million for something ten million and 5% of 10 million is $500,000.
I don't know why I did it off of 5 million when I said 10 million,
sorry. So 4 million, 5% is $200,000.
Okay? Okay. So I can live comfortably on $200,000.

(01:08:05):
Depends on where you live, but yeah, here, yeah. I mean, yeah,
I mean, you can't live on, you know. SoCal on that.
Right, right. But you can live comfortably.
Like not have to work. and let's say you do work you
start some you know whatever that damn health insurance it is the health insurance
isn't it it's the only reason why people work isn't that silly that's effed

(01:08:29):
up yeah yep yeah i don't like it i think we should all buy lottery tickets together,
yeah i was looking it up let's see oh yeah oh i got the illinois lottery oh you got it,
Oh, you have the lottery app? Yeah. So can you buy tickets?
Yeah, yeah, but only when you're in Illinois. Do you buy tickets?

(01:08:50):
I have in the past. When was the last time you bought a ticket?
A couple months ago, when the jackpot was really high. How much did you spend?
Like 10 bucks. I'm going to math it out. Yeah? Did you? Because it was $2 per
ticket, and we did five tickets. Did you win? No.
I won $4, actually.
There you go. So you're a $6 loser? Yep.

(01:09:12):
That's better than being a total loser, as you usually are. The Powerball's
at $29 million right now.
And Mega Mill's $181 million. So we're buying a group ticket. Yeah.
Next drawing's a couple days. Yeah, I think you guys both put in $100 each.
I'll put in my $2, and we split it three ways.
Well, we know you always put in your two cents. No, that's two inches.

(01:09:34):
But don't you? I always put in my two inches.
Anyway. On that note, I will buy a ticket right now.
She's literally doing i can see her like all right so you heard it here first
folks she's paying off my mortgage next week she's paying my mortgage off that
would be fucking hilarious if you did win,

(01:09:56):
and it was all because of the show wouldn't it be great that would be awesome,
all right well here's a question have you guys ever won
considerable amount of money on a lottery ticket like i
would say more than fifty dollars no nope no me
neither bingo you did win
bingo bingo i did win at bingo you got the jackpot in
bingo yeah you did i did get the jackpot i went at uh

(01:10:19):
bingo that was fun that was made all
those grandmas and hillbillies mad at you oh they well
especially because you didn't know that you won you're like oh i had
no idea i think i won 100 bucks no you won
a couple grand yeah that was i'm like
really the lady was trying to explain it it to me remember that
and she's like unless you messed it up i'm like oh i definitely fucked it up with two grands

(01:10:39):
on the line yeah and i guess i didn't it
was that was that was fun let's do that again yeah all right all right so here
is uh speaking of hillbilly this is bill bob harrell jr's story bill bob come
on yeah it's bill bob harrell jr's story so not only is there a bill Bill Bob Harrell.

(01:11:00):
There's a senior. There's a senior. And I wonder if there's a third.
Quite possibly. He probably named his son that.
Or his dog. Do you think he named his son Bill Bob Harrell the third?
Or do you think he named him Bill Bob Harrell Jr.
Jr.? Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Yeah. All right. Awesome. I love it. Juniors. Juniors.

(01:11:22):
Okay. Is the apostrophe before the S or after the S?
Because if it's after it's you know after because he's got multiple kids and
they all got the same name all right what are you guys pointing at she changed
it to juniors i didn't no she didn't.
All right, so Bill Bob Harold Jr. I changed. Yeah, what'd you change?

(01:11:46):
That's okay. There was a typo in there and I changed it. Okay.
All right, so Bill Bob Harold Jr.
Had fallen on hard times after an unsuccessful attempt to become a minister.
How do you fail at becoming a minister?
Hold on. Don't they take everyone unless you're a girl?
Even if you touch kids, they take you. I know. They just hide you better. You can't have a vagina.

(01:12:08):
Oh my God. Oh, God. Well, minister, I don't know. Maybe that's interesting.
You know, I'm going to have to reach out to some people I know and be like,
Bill Bob, what happened there? Bill Bob.
Hey, Billy Bob. Billy Bob.
All right. All right. So he unsuccessful. Do you only get one try?
Apparently. Like it's one and done? Yeah. All right.

(01:12:32):
All right. So when he won $31 million from the Texas jackpot,
but it seemed he had finally found a way to support his family and put his money troubles behind him.
He was generous with his winnings, helping his family, his church,
and needy parishioners.
But the request for money didn't stop coming.
His bad investments and the constant demand for more, more, more from outsiders

(01:12:54):
put a strain on his family.
His marriage ended and other family members were at odds with each other.
He said, Winning the lottery was the worst thing that ever happened to me.
On the day when he was scheduled to go to dinner with his ex-wife,
Billy Bob Harrell Jr. decided he'd had enough.
He put a shotgun to his chest, pulled the trigger, and killed himself.
He died less than two years after his miraculous lottery win.

(01:13:23):
So again, if you guys are thinking about doing that, please don't and call the Suicide Hotline.
We want you guys to stick around with us and have a
couple laughs i'm also trying to figure out
how long his arms are that was gonna i was
gonna bring that up do you think it was i mean
shotguns come with different sides i guess you can get a short nose i don't

(01:13:48):
know it's a barrel i don't know yeah i don't know either but i just know they're
longer than my arms yeah well i i have one in my garage you guys want to go
go take a look at it no no we're good i have one under my bed too nope no No. We're good. All right.
I have one in the- I know how that story ends.
How? I don't. How does it end? You hear of all the stuff on the news.

(01:14:08):
Hey, you want to see this gun?
Yeah, I was cleaning my gun and it went off. It shouldn't have been standing there.
Here is- Sorry, Bill Bob. Billy Bob, rest in peace. Yeah, RIP, baby.
And yeah, sorry that you wouldn't have allowed it. Here is Khan's story.

(01:14:30):
Kahn, spelled K-H-A-N, a 46-year-old immigrant from India who owned three dry
cleaning businesses in Chicago. Oh.
Oh, nice Chicago one. Yeah. Yeah. Local man won $1 million in a scratch-off
Illinois lottery game in 2012.
He said at the time he planned to use the money to pay off his bills and mortgage

(01:14:51):
and make a contribution to St.
Jude Children's Research Center. That would never happen, though,
as Kahn died one day after the state of Illinois cut him a check for $424,449.
His winnings on the ticket after he chose a one-time payment after subtracting taxes.

(01:15:14):
He threw up blood the same day, a relative said. The medical examiner first
ruled Kahn had died from natural causes.
Six months later, authorities said they had conducted further tests at the request
of a relative that they did not name and determined it was cyanide poisoning.
No one was ever charged. That one gave me goosebumps. Oh, that sucks.

(01:15:40):
Damn. Where'd the money go? Right. I wish this would have told us where the
money went. Con from Chicago.
Con from Chicago.
So
That's fucked up and you know and and again
he was he was going to do some good with it he was going to make a

(01:16:01):
donation and oh man that sucks so so here's a little insert it says from an
article by john lenning jennings called debunking the myth the surprising truth
about lottery winners and life satisfaction.
John explains misconceptions of the curse by studies and interviews he conducted.

(01:16:25):
In the last part of the article, he talks about how winning the lottery could
be a good thing, and it all depends on the person and how they deal with their
winnings. He states, whether money makes people happier has been an area of
intense research over the past few decades.
While most studies find a positive relationship between money and life satisfaction,
and contrary to popular belief, money is associated with increase in happiness beyond making $75,000.

(01:16:53):
It can be tricky to determine whether more money causes happiness or whether
happier people earn more money.
Studies of lottery winners provide unique insight into the relationship between
wealth and life satisfaction because winning the lottery is random and sudden.
Thus, the financial gain is unrelated to other determinants of well-being.

(01:17:14):
According to economist Justin Wolfers, the random assignment of lottery wins
isolates the effect of extra money and driving satisfaction.
These studies teach us that all else being equal, money is associated with a
greater sense of life satisfaction and well-being.
Of course, money on its own may not bring happiness.

(01:17:35):
Still, as noted above, it provides resources to other things associated with
happiness and is a buffer against negative wealth shocks.
So go ahead and buy those lottery tickets, and if you happen to win the lottery,
count yourself lucky and don't panic.
You'll luckily go on to lead an even more satisfying life. So that's...

(01:17:57):
John jennings so is this really a curse yeah so
i don't think so i just think it's just people being idiots not
knowing how to say no to other people well yeah yeah i
mean just not being responsible essentially right
i mean i mean the same thing happens to young
athletes who get million dollar contracts they usually end up going bankrupt

(01:18:18):
and they keep spending keep spending keep giving and giving not knowing when
to say no to people yeah i i i really think that there needs to be like classes
devoted to like money management in high school and a shout out to.
Jen doesn't jen do that ty's she has something with that yeah she goes to businesses

(01:18:39):
in high school yeah so jen from you bet ty right i'm not i don't think so you've
met carrie and the two kiddos oh no you haven't so our brother-in-law his sister
did he come to sauce weekend yeah yeah Yeah. Yeah. Okay, then maybe. He's super tall.
He's not. He's 6'2". He's still really tall. Well, when you're 4'8".
I guess. I am not 4. I'm 5'2". Thank you very much.

(01:19:02):
5'2". Yeah. He's a foot taller. Yeah. With six inch heels, you're 5'2".
No, that's Missy. That's true. Yeah.
So she has started trying to get into like high schools to push education with
money management and stuff like that, which is a great cause.
I think that's really smart. I think it's really needed.

(01:19:22):
There's a lot of life lessons that can be taught in school instead of,
I don't know, citing a paper correctly.
Unless you're a researcher, you're not going to need that.

(01:19:43):
So what are you guys' thoughts on this whole lottery thing?
Well, I just bought a couple tickets. You just want more? Well,
it didn't go through the first time, so those probably were the winning numbers.
So I reloaded the app. You would never know. I should have taken a screenshot.
That would have been my curse. That is the curse. I would have cried if that happened to me.

(01:20:06):
Oh, my God. Quick pick. These are the numbers. They were the winning numbers.
That was so fucking sweet. What if you did that and obviously went away,
but someone else did a quick pick, and then And they got those exact numbers
because you didn't pick them? Yeah. Yeah.
That's a curse oh my
god i can't i i can't i

(01:20:27):
can't think about i can't think about it that's gonna keep that
would keep me up for days that would wake
me up two years from now in a cold sweat probably oh my gosh what if that was
supposed to be me so all right take my four dollar win instead of 181 mil yeah
yeah thanks for nothing yeah fucking oh my god i can't i can't think about it.

(01:20:50):
Your lottery increases vice versa because the fact that you didn't win,
you're torturing yourself.
I'm sorry, sir. No, don't be sorry. I mean. I need some laudanum volume.
Oh my God. I need someone to hit me in the fucking head. I can do that.
All right, good. Thank God.
All right, so what's your name over there? Brianna. What are your final thoughts about this?

(01:21:11):
And I would like more than four sentences, please.
Oh boy. That's one sentence. That does not count.
Oh boy, exclamation point. That's still one sentence and it doesn't count. Yes, it does.
Like what I mentioned earlier, it's people that are not being smart,
people not knowing how to say no.
That's what it is. I don't think it's an actual curse. I just think it's these

(01:21:34):
people are just unlucky on how they.
Well, wouldn't being lucky or unlucky be part of a curse?
I don't think so. Well, yeah, because you're saying that it's outside of your control.
So being lucky saying oh you know my luck's run out or I'm just having a lucky
day that you're saying that it's outside of your control superstition right

(01:21:56):
right well then okay then they're not unlucky it's just they don't know how to be responsible,
fair yeah that's much better and that was more than four sentences no our discussion
on the lucky part was more than four sentences your answer it was two no it was not,
I didn't count so I don't know It doesn't count. Math is hard.

(01:22:19):
So is English. I know. I really can't believe that I blundered 5% of 10 million.
I still, that's been in the back of my brain since I figured out what I did wrong in my head.
The voices won't stop. Well, now we know you're not going to sleep tonight.
Nope, not at all. Not with your fucking news. What are your final thoughts, Sarah?

(01:22:43):
I agree. I think it's just... People being foolish with their funds won't stop
me from playing the lotto, obviously, but.
No. You just got to be smart. See, if you win, the rule is you don't tell anybody you win.
You get a lawyer right away. You get a lawyer, you open up trusts and other accounts like that.

(01:23:03):
Did you hear that there was a guy, and I know we're going long today. No, no, that's fine.
Was telling me about this but there was a gentleman
who he didn't want a massive payout but he won like four four million or something
like five million whatever he didn't tell his wife he didn't tell or i think
he told his wife but he didn't tell his kids he didn't tell anybody else and

(01:23:27):
he's still working or whatever but he's got this nest egg so that whenever he goes,
it's all been invested and he can turn it over to his kids well yeah that's
now see that's that's smart i mean if you like your job yeah i mean yeah if
you do just go find a new job that you do like but yeah yeah i don't think i

(01:23:47):
would stop working i i just think i would work less,
agreed yeah that makes less responsibility yeah yeah i yeah i i just can't i
can't And just wrap my head around one day,
you know, just getting by and just, you know, and then all of a sudden,

(01:24:07):
hey, bud, here is half a million dollars or half a billion dollars. Right.
And the world is your oyster. Like, I mean, that's just crazy.
But that's going to give you a heart attack, right?
When it finally sets in. You know, yes, that would.
Yeah. Maybe it's better you don't win. everyone says they wish they never won

(01:24:29):
i know but these are stupid people like are we really gonna,
you know yeah well take their advice well wealthy people usually don't play the lotto,
wealthy people don't that's true you know what well we did have that one story
a guy who was already wealthy yeah so but he spent it all on hookers and blow
i mean that's what would you You spend it on me.

(01:24:53):
So I was in, oh God, this goes back. I was doing landscaping for my dad.
So I was in my early 20s. And I was in Lake Forest.
And I had to stop to get gas. And I went in to grab something to drink.
And it was a big lottery thing.

(01:25:15):
The guy in front of me who was very...
Well-dressed had $200 bills
in his hands and he bought $200 worth of
lottery tickets and i'm just like god bless i
hope he couldn't win something but like rich people do i
mean lake forest is one of the most richest neighborhoods in

(01:25:38):
the u.s for sure yeah so so rich
people do play the lottery that's yeah but you always hear
about i don't know some non-wealthy
person winning the lotto well not wealthy or non-educated
or you know someone who has a disadvantage in the
world well to your guys's point so maybe because
the wealthy people go and get invested in their quiet yeah but just you know

(01:26:02):
get a lawyer and hide not hide but like have a front where they don't we don't
find out their names yeah illinois is not that state no i think illinois you
do have to i think they give your name out yeah that's what i mean you can't
be anonymous sorry gotcha Gotcha.
Gotcha. Okay. I understand. Yeah, you're right. They are.
I wonder if you could sue the state. No, because I think the fine print on a

(01:26:24):
lottery ticket gives them the right to do that.
So the person who died of cyanide and the person who, you know,
was often whatever, because your name was public out there.
Yeah. Do you think that there would
be, well, no, because you're still acknowledging by buying the ticket.
That state's held harmless yeah yeah that's

(01:26:47):
how they i'm gonna write to my senator you are what are you gonna what are you
gonna write them make in illinois a non-disclosed state the problem with that
is all the illegal activity with the mob in chicago do you think that's still a thing,

(01:27:07):
yeah yeah okay i have no idea or do i.
So yeah that's all i got today do you guys have any parting words of wisdom
get your tickets be smart i just want to be held,
by dave matthews win the lotto and then you could pay someone to hold you No, just Dave.

(01:27:32):
I listened to, on the way back for the full five hours, six hours,
I listened to Dave's Pandora Station.
That sounds lovely. Wasn't he in Chicago the other weekend? Yeah,
he was. He missed your chance to. Yeah. He went to a Cubs game. He went to a Cubs game.
Shoot. You should have had Carrie and Ty talk to him. Yeah. And gave him the business card. Yeah.

(01:27:57):
I miss him. anyway well that's
the episode guys thanks for listening please
like subscribe write a
review please i would love to see a review
send me an email frank at fringe beyond limits.com tell me what you thought
of brie's adventures in key west or lynette's layover in chicago or before her

(01:28:24):
trip even started or how much you probably dislike me. I mean, that's fine.
I still love you guys. Yeah. Love you all.
So with that being said, you guys have a great week. Thanks, y'all. Thanks. Bye.
Music.