Give and you shall receive

November 4, 2010 5:34 PM

What would you do with $11,255,272? Violet and Allen Large gave most of it away.

No big screen tv. No new house. The Nova Scotian couple won the national 649 Lottery in July. Violet, 78, is suffering from cancer. Allen, 75, still chokes up when he talks about his wife's sickness. He said with 98% of the money already gone to family, local charities, hospitals and fire departmets, they can focus on geting well.

But they sill buy lottery tickets.

posted by Brodiggitty (46 comments total)

:)
posted by clavdivs at 5:37 PM on November 4, 2010

They are better people than I.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 5:45 PM on November 4, 2010 [3 favorites]

I have some issues with lotteries as a way of government raising money, but this is a really nice story.
posted by bowline at 5:50 PM on November 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

"We haven't bought one thing... because there's nothing that we need."

"The couple knew the money couldn't help with Violet's health problems..."

God bless this evil socialist country.
posted by gman at 5:51 PM on November 4, 2010 [35 favorites]

They say many lottery winners go broke, nice to see someone plan to do so in advance.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:57 PM on November 4, 2010 [2 favorites]

I want to be like them when I grow up. Great story.
posted by cmyk at 6:00 PM on November 4, 2010 [2 favorites]

They don’t travel, they don’t gamble and they don’t buy what they don’t need.

It's nice to find out the lottery is a sure thing! All this time I thought it was gambling.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:08 PM on November 4, 2010 [5 favorites]

Married since 1974, the Lower Truro couple don’t live large. They don’t travel, they don’t gamble and they don’t buy what they don’t need.

Hmm.
posted by jedicus at 6:08 PM on November 4, 2010 [2 favorites]

You can't take it with you.

Fine people.
posted by Joe Beese at 6:12 PM on November 4, 2010

Why play the lottery if you don't want the money...?
posted by Huck500 at 6:20 PM on November 4, 2010

Why play the lottery if you don't want the money...?

I don't 'play the lottery' expecting to win the jackpot. I play for the thrill of the reveal and the occasional $20.
posted by carsonb at 6:28 PM on November 4, 2010 [4 favorites]

Nice folks, by the way. Glad this is getting around, now I'm off to copypasta the font into Comic Sans, change the occasional para's background color, and email it to all my relatives.
posted by carsonb at 6:30 PM on November 4, 2010 [8 favorites]

Why play the lottery if you don't want the money...?

I know folks who forego other small indulgences for the very specific daydreams they get to entertain when they buy a few lottery tickets.

They're quite numerate and know the odds against them, but they still spend the money. Is it gambling if you never expect to win?
posted by Verdant at 6:37 PM on November 4, 2010 [2 favorites]

Why play the lottery if you don't want the money...?

Res ipsa loquitur: because you want to give money to others.
posted by gingerest at 6:43 PM on November 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think it's sad they didn't travel. Giving it to worthy causes (and family, of course) is very worthwhile, but I'm all for at least one splashout. Speaks to a certain lack of imagination, to my mind.
posted by Ideefixe at 6:43 PM on November 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

if you are going to play the lottery, most winners are a result of quick-picks, your chance to win with (ones special numbers) most always fail. let it be "machine versus machine" battle of the lottery.
posted by tustinrick at 6:55 PM on November 4, 2010

Funnily enough, if they'd lived in the US without insurance $11,255,272 would be their approximate healthcare bill.
posted by Ndwright at 7:06 PM on November 4, 2010 [15 favorites]

"The couple knew the money couldn't help with Violet's health problems..."

Didn't they get the secret Rich Person memo along with their comically oversized lottery check?

Cancer was actually cured back in 1993.
posted by dgaicun at 7:19 PM on November 4, 2010

I don't purchase lottery tickets, as I know that I won't win. I am somewhat against it, insofar as it's a really tax on the ill-informed and disenfranchised. It's revealing though that these people don't consider purchasing lottery tickets to be a form of gambling; this perception is what feeds the maw of all the rigged games of this ilk. Good for them to have the benevolence to give it away, but I also see this as a bit of a wasted opportunity for really nice people.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 7:24 PM on November 4, 2010

Lotterly simulator.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:34 PM on November 4, 2010 [8 favorites]

if you are going to play the lottery, most winners are a result of quick-picks, your chance to win with (ones special numbers) most always fail. let it be "machine versus machine" battle of the lottery.


Chance of winning (or not) with any specific set of numbers is the same as any other specific set of numbers (and you're going to get a specific set from the box). Might as well not win with a set that means something to you.
posted by Nabubrush at 7:47 PM on November 4, 2010 [2 favorites]

Not me, buddy. I'd load up two Bently convertibles with piles of cash, set the cash on fire, and crash the cars into each other.

Then I'd upload a 1080p video of it to YouTube.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:48 PM on November 4, 2010

Speaks to a certain lack of imagination, to my mind.

I also see this as a bit of a wasted opportunity for really nice people.

sigh...
posted by bitteroldman at 7:49 PM on November 4, 2010 [8 favorites]

Although your chances of winning with any number are the same, your chance of taking the whole prize if you win decreases if you choose a number that's likely to be chosen by other people also, particularly if you're using dates to form numbers.
posted by RustyBrooks at 7:59 PM on November 4, 2010

Lotterly simulator.

I played the lotto twice a week for 500 years and lost $45,000. Life sucks for the white trash vampire.
posted by dgaicun at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2010 [3 favorites]

Capitalist Jesus is turning over in his grave.

Turning over. In his grave.

These people hate America.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:21 PM on November 4, 2010

I would use my winnings for revenge.
posted by Brocktoon at 8:54 PM on November 4, 2010

What would I do with 11 million dollars? I'd probably find 22 deserving local businesses or start-ups and invest half a million into each. That's a ton of money for a business, and with the banks not lending, it's desperately needed. Evaluate risk versus reward, set a fair interest rate, and even if 1/4 of them thrive, I'm set for life while knowing my money helped people out.

Then I'd probably work at whichever one piqued my interest most, as I'd need something to keep me busy.
posted by explosion at 8:57 PM on November 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

None of those reasons make any sense to me.
posted by Huck500 at 9:06 PM on November 4, 2010

Right now I'd buy 424,087 ounces of Silver with it... before it Bernake announces QE3 and reduces it to the amount required to buy a loaf of bread.
posted by MikeWarot at 9:32 PM on November 4, 2010

I think it's sad they didn't travel. . .Speaks to a certain lack of imagination, to my mind.

Or, you know, speaks to the fact that she's 78 and undergoing cancer treatment, and she considers herself "very fortunate not to be bedfast."
posted by gingerest at 9:36 PM on November 4, 2010 [7 favorites]

Life sucks for the white trash vampire.

Don't I know it.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 10:00 PM on November 4, 2010

the very specific daydreams they get to entertain when they buy a few lottery tickets.

This is exactly why I buy a ticket, on the rare occasions when I do. The five-minute fantasy in which I spend, give away, invest and otherwise allocate my $40 million while I walk to the subway is well worth the $1. Usually it's enough just to walk by the newsstand and see where the jackpot stands that day.

Which reminds me—I've got to check that Powerball ticket...
posted by stargell at 10:04 PM on November 4, 2010

I know I won't win. But somebody will. And if it were me? Damn. Lifechanging amounts of money for a cost that means one less coffee? Hell yeah.
posted by yesster at 10:21 PM on November 4, 2010

I rarely play, but I think of the lottery (and all gambling, actually) chiefly as entertainment. Why not pay $1 to play a little game, rather than buying a paper or 98% of a candy bar or half a coffee? Frankly, the vast majority of the stuff at the 7-11 has scarcely more redeeming value than a losing ticket... and at least the lottery is calorie-free.

I have a friend who used to play scratchers the same way, just to fill time on their break, and they won the $8000 grand prize (and, of course, immediately swore off scratchers forever so as not to lose it all back). It happens, but not if you don't play.
posted by vorfeed at 10:36 PM on November 4, 2010

My wife got me into playing the pick six here in Japan. Prizes aren't all that huge, but I wouldn't mind a couple hundred thousand dollars (or even a million). In three years, at ￥200 a week, I've won ￥10,000 once. I'm no where near even, but it was a small joy to win that cash.

Even better is the time when I lost (again) and my wife was there. Randomly, the person behind the glass gave me a packet of tissues with my losing ticket. My wife called them "Loser Tissues" and it's been our little joke since then. I think a nice private joke to share with my wife is worth the price of the ticket.

Especially since this week, I'm sure I'll win the million dollar prize. I can just feel it.
posted by Ghidorah at 11:06 PM on November 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is simply beautiful.
posted by Kinbote at 11:18 PM on November 4, 2010

RustyBrooks: "Although your chances of winning with any number are the same, your chance of taking the whole prize if you win decreases if you choose a number that's likely to be chosen by other people also, particularly if you're using dates to form numbers"

Also, if you ever decide to stop playing the lottery. You'll be glad of having always used random numbers. You'll avoid that feeling of creeping dread every time you watch the results in case 'your' numbers come up when you have't bought a ticket.
posted by the latin mouse at 1:11 AM on November 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Chance of winning (or not) with any specific set of numbers is the same as any other specific set of numbers (and you're going to get a specific set from the box). Might as well not win with a set that means something to you.

Actually, although the chance of winning is the same, some numbers have better expected payouts than others. Anything that could be a date is likely to be in many people's picks, so to maximise returns you go above 31 (and avoid numbers below 12 like the plague). And people think round numbers don't look random and numbers ending in 5 don't look random either. So fewer choos those. Also people think strings and sequences don't look random.

So you can't maximise chance of winning but you can do things to maximise your payout in the event you do win.
posted by Francis at 4:30 AM on November 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think it's sad they didn't travel. ... Speaks to a certain lack of imagination, to my mind.

No. Speaks to the fact they are in their late 70s and at least one of them has major health problems, either of which factor would possibly make travel too difficult to be worthwhile.
posted by aught at 6:47 AM on November 5, 2010

Giving it to worthy causes (and family, of course) is very worthwhile, but I'm all for at least one splashout. Speaks to a certain lack of imagination, to my mind.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:43 PM on November 4

Eponysterical.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:04 AM on November 5, 2010

Why play the lottery if you don't want the money...?

I play as part of a group in the office. It is nothing more or less than insurance. The thought of my co-workers winning the jackpot and resigning en masse, and my not being part of the horde stampeding for the exit (or at least having the option of being part of that horde), is more than I can bear.

These folks sound lovely and very generous.
posted by cheapskatebay at 7:12 AM on November 5, 2010 [3 favorites]

I play the lottery because I believe in the many-worlds hypothesis and therefore every time I buy a ticket large numbers of my possible future selves are guaranteed winners.

I don't actually play but if I did this would be my excuse
posted by ook at 7:38 AM on November 5, 2010 [4 favorites]

Years ago, when it was pick 6 out of 40, I won the 2nd price in New York. In those days, you had to wait all weekend before you would know how much you'd get. I expected a high payout! I got $300, and that proved difficult to get paid. Ticket sellers were supposed to pay on that (at the time), but most refused anyway (rules are not made for New Yorkers).
posted by Goofyy at 8:09 AM on November 5, 2010

"All the money in the world can’t buy your health," he said.

Tell that to the poor and sick.
posted by FatherDagon at 11:45 AM on November 5, 2010

Tell that to the poor and sick.

>with 98% of the money already gone to family, local charities, hospitals and fire departments

Done and done :)
posted by ersatz at 5:25 PM on November 5, 2010