20 lottery winners who lost every penny

The second largest Mega Millions lottery pot was claimed on Friday night in Illinois.

An Illinois state law that allows some winners to remain anonymous means that the new billionaire may never be identified.

The numbers suggest that it isn't worth it to buy a ticket for this winner.

Winning the lottery won't fix all of life's problems.

Many people's lives became worse after they won the lottery.

The Daily Mail

They never argued before they won the lottery prize.

They bought a million-dollar barn-converted house and a car after winning.

According to media stories, their fortune ended in 2010 when a freak fire destroyed their house, forcing them to pay for repairs and seven months of temporary housing.

There were reports that Roger drove away in the car after he was confronted over the emails. They had been married for 14 years.

REUTERS/Mike Segar

A married couple from the UK missed out on a $5 million lottery windfall after they lost their ticket.

An investigation by the company that runs the UK's national lottery convinced officials that their claim to the winning ticket was legit. Since there is a 30-day time limit on reporting lost tickets, the company didn't have to pay up, the largest unclaimed amount since the lottery began.

It's great to know you're going to have all that money. Kay Tott said that having it taken away had the opposite effect. It takes a toll on your marriage. It was the most torturous thing I've ever experienced.

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In 2004, Sharon Tirabassi, a single mother who had been on welfare, received a check for more than $10 million Canadian dollars from the Ontario lottery and gaming corporation.

She spent her winnings on a big house, fancy cars, designer clothes, lavish parties, exotic trips, handouts to family, and loans to friends.

She told The Hamilton Spectator that all of that other stuff was fun in the beginning.

Some of her windfall was put in trusts for her six children so they could claim it when they turned 26.

Radyukov Dima / Shutterstock.com

Gerald Muswagon won the Super 7 in 1998.

He couldn't handle the fame that came with winning the grand prize.

He bought several new vehicles for himself and friends, purchased a house that turned into a nightly party pad, and celebrated his new lifestyle with a lot of drugs and alcohol. He bought eight big-screen TVs for friends.

Muswagon invested money into a logging business that didn't work out.

He was forced to take a job doing heavy lifting on a friend's farm just to make ends meet. Muswagon hanged himself in the garage of his parents.

Flickr/NZ Defence Force

In 1993 she won $4.2 million in the Virginia lottery.

She splits the yearly payments between her husband and daughter, leaving her with about $50,000 a year. Her lawyer said she racked up $1 million in medical bills for her son-in-law.

Michael Hart told the AP in 2004 that it had been a hard road. It has not been a jet plane trip.

She took out a $200,000 loan with a company that served lottery winners who needed their money quicker.

Mullins didn't pay back the debt after he switched to a lump-sum payment. A loan company won a settlement that was worthless. He had no money.

Flickr / Mike Mozart

In 1997 a Pentecostal preacher working as a stock boy at Home Depot won the Texas lottery and got his prayers answered.

Billy Bob quit his job, traveled to Hawaii, and bought a ranch, six other homes, and new cars. He gave turkeys to the poor.

He couldn't refuse when people asked for a handout after winning the lottery. He ran into financial trouble with a company that gave lottery winners lump sums in exchange for their annual checks, but it left him with less money than he had won.

According to media reports, he ended his life by suicide. He told a financial adviser that winning the lottery was the worst thing he'd ever done.

Reuters/Mark Blinch

According to The Los Angeles Times, after winning over a million dollars in the California lottery, the wife of her husband demanded a divorce without warning.

Thomas decided to divorce her. She kept her good fortune a secret.

After moving to Los Angeles, Thomas found a letter at his home.

The judge awarded Thomas every cent after he suedDenise for not revealing her winnings.

If she had told her husband about her winnings, she could have kept half of them. The lawyer said that her failure to reveal was a fraud.

The man is getting $48,000 a year.

If it wasn't for the lottery, I think we'd be together. He said things worked out well.

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Callie Rogers was just 16 years old when she won a million dollars in the UK's lottery, but she was too young to know how to manage her money or where it would lead her.

Rogers made quick work of her money. She spent millions on vacations, clothing, cars, breast implants, and cocaine.

She spent more than a million dollars on a bungalow for her mother.

Rogers has said on the record that she is teaching her children to be careful with their money.

She told The Sun that she was happy they would know the value of money.

I wasn't old enough to win the lottery. Thankfully, I'm stronger than ever.

This is an updated version of an article with reporting from several people.

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