Lucky break

David Montero and John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News

Monday, January 8, 2007

Some splurged, some traveled and others kept working. Winning for nearly all was a life-changing experience, and most don't want others to know where they now live. Here's a glimpse into what life has been like for 13 winners after they each hit the jackpot.

Robert Rudloff

• Age: 37

• Prize: $1.5 million

• Date: Nov. 6, 1991

• Payout: Annuity

Rudloff was a student at the University of Colorado majoring in physics when he won. He graduated, served in the Air Force in the Pentagon and with the National Security Agency. He reached the rank of captain before he left the service. He also worked for six years for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is now a part owner of two restaurants.

• How winning changed his life: "It didn't. I guess it allowed me to do some things I always wanted to do. I now own my own business. I live in a little bit nicer house. . . . I still did the things I wanted to do. I just accelerated them."

• Advice for winners: "Set aside some money to splurge, but don't lose sight of your life goals. . . . Set aside a certain amount for charity. Do some good for others. . . . And plan on coming to the end of the money."

• Regrets since winning: "Probably some investments that at the time seemed like a great idea but in retrospect were far too aggressive."

Alan Davidson

• Age: 65

• Prize: $1.2 million

• Date: May 31, 2000

• Payout: Cash

Davidson was looking at an eviction notice when he hit it big in the lottery. Now he looks at wildlife from the home where he plans to retire.

The house is the very first thing he bought with his winnings. At the time, he had been living in an apartment building that was being converted to condominiums.

• How winning changed his life: "Well, I did purchase a home that I hope to live in comfortably in retirement. I did remodel the house that I bought in a nice neighborhood, not a big expensive place."

• Life after winning: "Where I live, I can see wildlife. The skunks and raccoons come visit each night. That's kind of a little hobby of mine, looking after wildlife."

• Advice for winners: "Even before they go to cash the ticket, talk to a CPA about the tax consequences. . . . Consult with a finance adviser. Sit on it for at least a month before you go out and buy anything over $100,000. Call it a cooling-off period."

• Regrets since winning: None. "I don't own a 54-inch plasma TV. I haven't blown any big stuff. I still wear a $19 Timex wristwatch."

Michael J. Olmstead

• Age: 58

• Prize: $3 million

• Date: March 8, 2000

• Payout: Annuity

The lottery spelled an early retirement for Olmstead, a seventh- grade social studies teacher who continued teaching for six years after hitting it big.

Other than retiring earlier this year, he hasn't changed his life much. "I don't think I'm really changed. I'm still doing the things we do."

One thing he does miss, though, is coaching basketball. But his winnings gave him a way to compensate there, too. He travels every spring to whatever city is hosting the NCAA Final Four. He and his wife also baby-sit their two granddaughters. "We save some baby-sitting money and we get to spoil them."

• Advice for winners: "You just have to use some common sense."

• Regrets since winning: None.

Jerry A. Marchant

• Age: 71

• Prize: $790,480

• Date: March 27, 2004

• Payout: Cash

Life hasn't changed all that much since he won the lottery. "It didn't. I'm still a retired old bachelor," Marchant said.

He still works part time, but he's also managed to find time to travel to England, Russia, the Caribbean and Hawaii.

• Advice for winners: "I think they need to find a trustworthy investor to do something wise with your money, especially if you're a young person."

• Regrets since winning: None.

William Manley

• Age: 62

• Prize: $3 million

• Date: June 15, 2002

• Payout: Cash

Manley will fix your car. Just don't ask for a loan. Manley still works as a mechanic. He said his life is not all that different since winning the lottery.

"I'm still working hard. I paid off all my bills. I helped the rest of my family pay off their bills. . . . I don't owe anyone anything."

• Advice for winners: "Get the money and move. Disappear off the face of the earth. That way you won't have people calling every 15 minutes with 'Can I borrow this? Can I borrow that?' "

• Regrets since winning: Lending money to friends.

McMillan Kihamahana

• Age: 65

• Date: Jan. 11, 2006

• Prize: $584,807

• Payout: Cash

Kihamahana says winning the lottery didn't really change his life. "Not really. I still live a normal life," he said.

• Advice for winners: "Just be cool and don't advertise it, and just live a normal life. You don't want to get big-headed over it. You win it, you win it."

• What he would done differently after winning: Nothing. "I didn't spend too much. I got a little nest egg investment."

• Regrets since winning: None.

Shirley Kaiser

• Age: 58

• Date: Dec. 23, 1989

• Prize: $2 million

• Payout: Annuity

Kaiser remembers the dire circumstances of her life when she won the lottery.

"I had just gotten a divorce, I was working at the Apple Barrel making about $450 a month and the power company was going to turn off the lights in three days," she said. "Now, I can pay the light bill."

She still plays the lottery and said she's gotten five of six numbers a few times since winning. She said she wouldn't mind winning again.

• First thing bought after winning: Paid off some debts.

• How winning changed her life: "If someone won and didn't find a passion in life, you might find you will go crazy. I guess I found it and continued to go to school for another year and half and then bought a home."

• Advice for winners: "I would like to say to them to be careful, be graceful. Take their time. Don't run out and start buying stuff."

• Regrets since winning: "None that I can think of."

Wes Sargent

• Age: 60

• Date: June 23, 1990

• Prize: $9 million

• Payout: Annuity

Sargent is quick to give his wife credit for picking the numbers that gave them the prize.

"We played a little bit of lottery," Sargent said. "My niece and nephew were with us that summer and they were eating us out of house and home. One day while she was in Safeway, she saw a sale on some pop and bought it along with the soda. It was so out of character for her."

He was working as a banker at the time and she was a CPA. Upon winning, he said he knew it wasn't instant wealth but was instead "like adding a third income to the household."

• First thing bought after winning: "We bought our parents new cars."

• How winning changed his life: "We traveled more than we used to. We try to do a recreational cruise every other year and lay in the sand some place and smoke cigars. On the alternating years, we go on educational trips."

• Advice for winners: "Find a good CPA, financial planner and attorney right away."

• Regrets since winning: "The toughest part is your siblings - all of a sudden you become more of a provider of your parents and your nieces and nephews. But it's nothing we couldn't get over and work out with our family."

Mary Myers

• Age: 75

• Date: April 13, 1991

• Prize: $9 million

• Payout: Annuity

Myers and her husband were on vacation in Arkansas when they got a phone call from their son in Colorado telling them their lottery ticket matched the six winning numbers.

"First he said, 'Sit down before I tell you what I'm going to tell you,' " she said. "We thought something bad had happened."

Instead, winning the lottery gave them an opportunity to pursue a dream of building a new home in Estes Park. It was a place where her mother had a home while growing up and they both liked the area.

• First thing bought after winning: A car.

• How winning changed her life: "My husband and I were raised to save our money - earn it and save it - and so we weren't in a hurry to spend a lot and we really didn't."

• Advice for winners: "The first thing is to find a financial adviser. That's what we did it and it worked. We had never had that much money before and we weren't sure what to do. We ended up setting up a family trust."

• Regrets since winning: None.

Kim Haggarty

• Age: 38

• Date: March 25, 1992

• Prize: $27 million

• Payout: Annuity

Haggarty was out of gas and stopped at a service station and decided to buy three Quick Pick tickets. One of those tickets secured her the largest jackpot in Colorado history.

"It's an awesome thing, but for some people it's not a good thing," she said, citing stories of other winners who have either blown all of their money or committed suicide.

The size of her prize led to years of people approaching her to "borrow" money from her. She said she's heard "numerous business suggestions" but often when she asks to see their business plan they don't have one.

"I've learned to say 'no' a lot," she said.

• First thing bought after winning: "A car. The old Mercury Monarch wasn't cutting it."

• How winning changed her life: "I was a competitive figure skater my whole life and winning gave me an opportunity to pursue that field. Now I run a skating rink and give lessons. It's great."

• Advice for winners: "I would recommend an annuity to people. Look, if we would've really blown the money one year, we'd have next year to figure it out because another check would be coming. It's nice to get those checks each year."

• Regrets since winning: "People come up to you constantly and want money and it's hard to say no. But I've gotten good at it over the years."

Roger Wolman

• Age: 58

• Date: April 2, 1994

• Prize: $1.5 million

• Payout: Annuity

Wolman played the lottery regularly - buying tickets each week beginning in 1987. He used a computer program to help him pick the numbers. One day it worked.

"The next morning, I was just reading the paper and looked at the numbers and it looked like I had a few," he said. "I looked closer and I had them all."

Because he didn't consider it a huge jackpot, he continued to work for four years at his job as a bank auditor before retiring. The money, he said, has made his life more comfortable, but not life-changing.

• First thing bought after winning: A big-screen television.

• How winning changed his life: "Not really at all. If it was something real big, it might've, but it was $1.5 million - and less than that after taxes. It wasn't that big. I consider myself sensible and it didn't really change things much."

• Advice for winners: "Be sensible. You don't have to go out and buy this and that and do this and do that. You don't have to change your lifestyle. Give yourself time to settle into it."

• Something he would have done differently: "Get the money in a lump sum. There are companies that will purchase your winnings and pay it out in a lump sum."

• Regrets since winning: None.

Richard Osborne

• Age: 70

• Date: Jan. 25, 1995

• Prize: $3.2 million

• Payout: Cash

Osborne said winning helped him retire sooner and travel more - but he still kept working as a doctor for two years.

"I would've retired sooner, but I missed my colleagues, patients and nurses," he said.

He said he tried to take a measured view of his winnings - trying to keep the wild spending ideas in check. He was also struck by the way people viewed him after he won.

"Patients would come in and say, 'Well I don't have to pay you,' " he said with a laugh.

• First thing bought after winning: "That fall, we went on a trip to China."

• How winning changed his life: "It was in that we got to go to places we might not have gone to before, and I've had a lot of time to do more reading."

• Advice for winners: "Get an unlisted phone number."

• Regrets since winning: None.

Douglas Hartwell

• Age: 71

• Date: Sept. 25, 1996

• Prize: $400,000

• Payout: Cash

It was a small jackpot, but Hartwell saw an opportunity to use the money for his children and grandchildren.

"I was having a relatively comfortable life - not wealth, but I didn't want for much either," he said. "So I started savings accounts for my kids."

He also went to work the day he won and "didn't tell a soul." He said it's enhanced his life, but the amount - after taxes it was $274,000 - wasn't enough to change his lifestyle.

• First thing bought after winning: "I had bought a motor home and so I went and paid it off."

• How winning changed his life: "I'm not very excitable, so not much at all."

• Advice for winners: "It's a chance to give your kids a small edge. You don't have to get the bigger house or bigger car."

• Regrets since winning: None.