Lottery Winners Often Become Losers January 7, 2010

Lottery Winner's Houseboat?

I had always figured that if I won the lottery, the first thing I would do was make my phone number unlisted and unpublished.  I never understood the need for an attorney because generally they just take money.  Unless there was some legal snafu, then Perry Mason can sit this one out.  I already have a Financial Consultant and used to be one myself.  I would not contact any insurance folks as that would fall under the investment advisors arena and, again, I was licensed in that too.  I have an accountant and would be on the phone with her immediately.  I also would not go on TV if I could avoid it. Some states allow winners to remain anonymous, though I”m not sure that’s a great way to show transparency and invites charges of corruption. 

Lottery Winner's Limo?

In any event, I once worked with a guy whose father-in-law won $1 million.  I told him what  would do and he didn’t do it.  He got a lawyer to sit with him on a tv interview.  The lawyer said nothing.  I think the winner just liked the idea of being on tee vee with “my attorney” whom he referenced several times.  I had thought he’d get phone call from every insurance agent and stock broker in the state.  He did. But he also regularly got calls from women offering to come to his house for a mere $1000 a week!  I never thought of this one.  I had thought that publicity could also be an advertisement for every criminal within hailing distance.  A winner in Florida may have been a victim of both a woman and a criminal.

Abraham Shakespeare

Abraham Shakespeare once lived with his mother while he worked as a truck driver’s assitant.  Three years ago, Abraham Shakespeare won $30 million in the lottery.  He was assailed by friends and family looking for a piece of the action, which is typical.  It also wasn’t out of the norm that he was sued by a fellow employee who claimed they owned half the ticket.   The judge thought that was a fraud.  Now,  Shakespeare himself wasn’t an angel.  He had a rap sheet but perhaps his new found wealth could turn things around for him.  He was approached by a woman who said she wanted to write life story.  That is a little more creative than simply offering to hang around in his house for $1000 a week.  I do not know if Shakespeare knew that this “writer” was a high school drop out, but probably not.  See, she also became a financial advisor.  She claimed that he wanted to get away from all of the hangers on and she helped him “disappear.”  No one has seen Abraham Shakespeare since April and now Florida police think that the woman may have indeed made him disappear for good. 

Jack Whittaker: Winning Took Its Toll

I’m not sure that anyone could be unluckier than someone who got murdered, but there are some that claim one of the biggest single winners in history holds the title.  If you recall, Jack Whittaker won a $314 million jackpot.  It was assumed at the time that he would be able to handle it since he was already used to handling a large estate as it was reported that Whittaker was a millionaire at the time of his good fortune.  Well, that wasn’t the case.  Whittaker has been involved in some tragic and bizzare incidents that includes a couple of deaths, his getting into physical altercations which led to lawsuits and also having been had by some locals who knocked him out and took a cool half a million from his car.  Most experienced money people don’t ride around with $500,000 in their car.  He’s been sued a number of times and his last venture into court found him pleading poverty.   But, he’s not alone.  Many times, lottery winners end up worse off than they had been regardless of their status when they became a big winner. 

Carl Atwood won $57,000 in an Indiana Lottery game that was taped on TV.  He was to return with a chance to win $1 million.  He never made it.  A couple hours after he won the initial prize, he was run over by a truck. 

A man named Arnim Ramdass was part of a pool of people who bought a winning lottery ticket.  He didn’t tell his wife.  She became suspicious when he disconected the phone and kept the TV turned off.  He skipped out on her when she found out about the windfall.  She tried to sue but the judge dismissed the case saying it should be in a divorce court.  She’d love to take it there, if she could find her Ramdass.

Unlike Bud Post, this Lottery Winner's Fortune Turned for the Better-a rare tale

That judge wouldn’t give a wife part of the money, but a Pennsylvania judge ruled that William “Bud” Post had to turn over 1/3 of his $16.2 million in winnings to his former landlady (or ex-wife or girlfriend-depending on who you believe) because she said that they had agreed to split any winnings. He denied it but the judge ruled for her.  He ended up dying in poverty.

At least one story ended up with a happy ending.  Frane Selak survived a train wreck, a plane crash that killed 19 others, a bus crash, a flaming automobile and  two other car wrecks.  Just when it looked as if a dark cloud loomed over his head in a hellish life, he won the lottery and he lived happily ever after.

GFS claims nearly 4 inches by 1AM Saturday

Weather Bottom Line:  Snow White and I like to feed the animals and especially when its icy, snowy or cold.  People neglect Henry’s Ark in winter and the little fellas (and the big ones too) get hungry and miss the attention.  The poor old ducks at Cave Hill Cemetery suffer from lack of food and also from a frozen pond.  So, I made the mistake of going to the grocery store to get four loaves of bread for us to feed to the ducks on Thursday when it snows.  Bad idea.  I said that either everyone knows that it’s going to snow on Thursday so they’re buying their milk and bread, or it must be Friday. Turns out, it was “Seniors Day” and every senior citizen in town must have been in the store to get their discounted supplies.

NAM only has about 2 inches by 1am Saturday

The snow is coming and I still think its going to be pretty much what I’ve seen since last weekend.  The low should run almost right over us and the raw data seems to suggest about 2 inches.  But, if I assume that its a much drier, fluffier snow than average, then it may be more like 2-3 inches with about 2 inches on Thursday and something less than an inch for Thursday night through Saturday as we get flurried to death.  But, graphically, the GFS still is insisting on close to 4 inches while the NAM has a graphic depiction of about 2.5 inches.  The only thing that messes this up would  be if the low tracked about 100 miles farther south; snow totals would then be higher.  But, nothing suggests that will happen.  Friday and Saturday will not only be cold but also a wind of 12-25 mph will take its toll.  If we do clear the skies and decouple from the winds on Sunday morning, I still think some readings below zero will be a fair bet with the warmest locations in the low single digits. If there’s too many clouds or its too breezy, then forget it…but I think we’ll get it.  Warm-up to above freezing temperatures for the first time in 2010 may come about before January 15…but I don’t think too many people will be upset if I got that one wrong.  From midweek on, we start to moderate our temperatures as the long wave pattern finally changes…but don’t break out the tanning butter.  In general we’ll move back toward seasonal January temperatures and that’s still a little chilly.

Man loses $127 million in Las Vegas; Monument to The General Opens to Public December 6, 2009

For Mr. Watanabe, I Guess There is a Problem

WSJ Says Mr. Watanabe has the biggest losing streak in Las Vegas History

As I freshman in college, Soviet Paul and I once lost about $300 playing some game called Pflugerville to a bunch of seniors in the fraternity.  It wasn’t until later that I found out that Pflugerville was a town north of Austin, Texas and the card game was an invention of a bunch of drunk fraternity brothers who had partied down there one night.  I felt like an idiot.  Still makes me mad.  But, I don’t feel so bad anymore.  Meet the man who lost $127 million at Las Vegas casinos in one year.   When you consider that would be just a little under $348,000 a day for every day of the calendar year, its really a pretty tough trick. Also consider this:  this one gambler’s losses resulted in 5.6% of the total revenues for the year.   So, if you are the casino, do you extend him a credit line?  Do you let him keep gambling?  The answer is yes on both accounts.  Terrance Watanabe of Omaha, Nebraska still owes $14.7 million to Harrah’s Entertainment from the credit line it extended.  He’s not forking it over either..

When you're sinking, its wiser to abandon ship than to go down with it

The reason is, according to the Wall Street Journal,  that the 52-year-old Watanabe has filed a lawsuit claiming that “casino staff routinely plied him with liquor and pain medication  as part of a systemic plan to keep him gambling.”  The advertising campaign says that “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  Watananbe could be the poster child for the idea that your money stays in Las Vegas too.  And that’s the way the Nevada authorities wants it to stay, so the Clark County Attorney General brought 4 felony counts against the Nebraskan for intent to defraud and steal.  That would mean that he ran up the credit line with the intention of not paying it back.  How can you prove intent to defraud or steal and intent to use the houses money to try and win back what you lost?  Sounds like a tough case.  Either way, with a losing streak like that, perhaps Watanabe should use the Detroit Lions or the New Jersey Nets logo as his company’s moniker.

Washington Preferred This Monument To Himself

Early Obelisk Design Following Equestrian Proposal

On This Date in History:   While he is relatively anonymous, Steve Sopher was born on this date in 1961.  While his friends and family think highly of him, there is no monument to commemorate his life on earth, though he might eventually construct one to himself.   Now, you know that you are a pretty big dog when plans for a monument to your life are begun while you are still alive. This was true of General George Washington. Even before he was the first president, A proposal was made by Congress in 1783 that a memorial be erected. However, the obleisk may even better signify Congressional ineptitude that has been the hallmark of the institution almost since its inception.

General Washington was quite pleased with the original design, which featured the avid horseman on the back of his favorite horse. Money was short though and Congress quibbled about the best way to pay tribute to the father of the country and so the project remained dormant for a time. In 1833, patience had grown short with the upper and lower chambers and so a group of citizens decided to take charge and form the Washington National Monument Society with a mission of raising the appropriate funds and oversee construction. But, even the wheels of the citizen bandwagon turn slow sometimes and a cornerstone was not laid until July 4, 1848. The ceremony was probably the best advertising that the effort had ever received as contributions poured in from banks, organizations and individuals as well as various states. Alabama came up with a commemorative plaque for the interior. Firemen, Indian tribes, social clubs and foreign countries including the Vatican joined in the effort.

Standing Idle in 1860

Pope Pius IX himself donated a plaque that on March 6, 1854 was stolen from the contruction grounds, allegedly by the American Party, who gained fame as the “Know-Nothings.” Americans who considered themselves as “native” Americans because they were born in the New World, had a not-so-secret oath to vote for only American-born protestants and to oppose the Catholic Church. They held disdain for the waves of immigrants moving in largely from Irish and Germany. These groups of people were mainly Roman Catholic. If they were ever asked about their politics, a member would answer like Sargeant Schultz and say “I know nothing.” In 1855, these Know-Nothings gained control of the monument society and Congress promptly cut the planned $200,000 earmarked for the project. That caused public support to dry up quickly. For the next 3 years, only 4 feet of marble was added and it was such poor quality, those four feet would have to be removed. Work stopped completely during the Civil War and the stub of marble remained as an eyesore in the middle of town.

Three Different Shades

Advance to the national centennial of 1776 and Congress authorized funds for the completion of the project. But,the US Army Corps of Engineers took a look and decided that there was no way on God’s Green Earth that the earth would support the weight of the monument. So, it took time and money to dig out nearly 3/4 of the dirt under the project so that concrete foundation footings could be poured. The proposed height of the obelisk was reduced from 600 feet to 555 feet 5 1/8 inches. Work was resumed in 1880 and the project was completed on this date in 1884 and was open to the public in 1888. Due to difficulties in delivering marble and the previous stops and starts, 3 different types of marble was used in construction of the monument, each with different colors and quality, resulting in a distinctively different look as one looks from top to bottom.

The Washington Monument is not the tallest obelisk in the world.  Texans deliberately made the San Jacinto Monument 15 feet taller.  Nevertheless, visitors to the Washington Monument can go inside and  see 190 commemorative plaques along the staircase, including one from the Vatican. The original was never recovered….they say it rests somewhere in the Potomac River and a replacement took longer to get across the pond than it did to build the monument. The replacement Vatican Plaque took its place among the rest in 1982, 128 years after the Know-Nothings almost brought the entire project to a halt. If they had just followed the desire of General Washington, then it may have been completed long before. He just wanted a horse.

GFS Not Real Enthused For Snow Accumulation Through Monday Evening

Weather Bottom Line:  I took a look at the vertical profiles progs and for Monday, neither the 18Z GFS nor the 18z NAM are too enthused about snow.   The GFS has some rain that turns to about a quarter inch of snow.  But,  for Wednesday night, it advertises an inch of snow.  The NAM has no snow for Sunday or Monday but rain carrying over from Monday into Tuesday.  The ECMWF and CEM models are similar with the first low keeping to our west bringing rain with perhaps some wrap around snow and then both have the more significant system on Wednesday but they aren’ t as bullish on the wrap around snow as the GFS.  My guess is that we don’t see significant snow.  Perhaps a little on Monday but I”m not so sure where the moisture will come from with the second system when the temperatures are below critical levels for the Wednesday/Thursday time frame.  That is still several days away and I still like that systems chances for bringing us some accumulations than the first system. 

We only made it to the mid to upper 30′s on Saturday and I betcha we only have some of the folks in the low 40′s for Sunday.  But, if you have chores, Sunday should be the time as there are several opportunities for precipitation in the week ahead.  We probably won’t get back up to seasonal temperatures until next Sunday.

Kentucky Oaks/Kentucky Derby Forecast On Track May 2, 2008

This is the late day Thursday SPC update on the severe threat. I’ll update this when a new one comes out. Here’s the link for the details.

Storm Prediction Center Link

 

The general forecast as presented all week is holding.  Friday, we have a boundary approaching.  As we warm to the upper 70′s to low 80′s, there may be some scattered showers or t’storms wandering through in the afternoon ahead of the main action.  So, there will be a chance for something to pass over Churchill Downs from time to time in the afternoon.  Then again, if something pops up, it may not affect the downs at all.  The main line will be to our west during the afternoon heating and so that is where the best chance for severe weather will be…let’s say St. Louis to Evansville to Little Rock to Memphis.  The line  would move through here overnight on Friday into early Saturday.  There will be some dynamic wind energy to support the storms but not nearly as impressive as the presentation of earlier indices. 

The SPC has the slight risk for the western half of the viewing area I suspect largely in case some of the storms hold together but as they progress east they should diminish in punch.  Mostly likely we will have some thunder and lightning and some gusty winds but nothing overly disconcerting.  I would probably be more concerned with one or two of the isolated guys in the afternoon getting a bit out of hand than the line overnight.  It’s not out of the question for one or two afternoon guys may be up to no good if we can diminish the cap.  I suspect that the cap will reassert itself for the overnight hours.

Rain for the first part of Saturday as the boundary moves east out of the area.  Now, this boundary isn’t really the cold front.  You’ll be able to tell because the winds will still be out of the Southwest.  Temperatures will be comfortable.  Now, as the vortlobe swings around the main storm to our north, that will be the real front.  It comes through in the afternoon and may produce some scattered activity in the afternoon on Derby Day.  There is nothing to indicate anything worthwhile.  All of the dynamics will be out of the area.  Bottom line is that the first part of Derby Day there will be lingering rain.  Overnight rain totals won’t be all that excessive but the infield will most likely be wet.  Should be interesting.  Afternoon stuff shouldn’t be too impressive but a passing shower can’t be ruled out. 

I used to deal Black Jack at the fraternity house.  Here’s the advice that I gave my brethren:  Bet Big, Win Big.  They took my advice and most of my weekend activities were paid for.  So, take my gambling advice at your own risk.

On This Date In History:  Confederate General Stonewall Jackson took one for the team on May 2, 1863.   Trouble was it was his own team that took him down.  The night after his greatest victory at Chancellorsville, Jackson led a recon mission and as he returned to his lines, his own men shot him.  His arm was shattered and the surgeon amputated it.  The next day they buried his arm complete with a headstone that reads, “Arm of Stonewall Jackson May 3, 1863.”  To hold down Jackson’s fever, the general ordered a servant put cold, wet towels over his body.  A week later, Jackson died of pneumonia.  They buried most of him about 100 miles away near Lexington, Virginia…and 100 miles from his arm.  It’s possible that he would have survived had they not put cold towels on his body.  One might say that Jackson’s arm got taken out by his soldiers and the rest of him went at the hands of his servants.

Good Housekeeping magazine was founded on this date in 1885. It was one of several ladies magazines that got started between 1880 and 1890. But…it’s the only one that has a segment today on WLKY Newschannel 32! (shameless plug)

What you see here is from The Cowboys John Wayne is whipping up on Bruce Dern. Right after this part, the Duke gets shot in the back by Dern. It’s one of the most despicable moments in cinematic history. I’m watching it right now. Dern is forever cast as one of the most low down vermin in my book. I cannot continue.

Severe Outlook For Oaks Day Through Derby Morning May 1, 2008

The threat for severe weather is pretty much what I told you in the previous two posts which is that timing issues bring limitations, hence, the greatest threat is west. But, feel free to scroll back and you can look at what I had to say OR…

Here is the link to the SPC to get their detailed stuff. 

Severe Prediction Center Link