At least three of the winners Wednesday are immigrants.Nice! And be careful!
Quang Dao, 56, who like Dung Tran, 34, came to the U.S. from Vietnam about 16 years ago, said he was looking for freedom when he headed for America.
"After I hit the lottery, it also changed my family's life in Vietnam," he said.
Alain Maboussou, a 26-year-old who fled his war-torn homeland in Central Africa, said he planned to earn a degree in accounting now.
"It's too early for me to retire, but I did four days ago. I'm going to be working for myself now," Maboussou said. He said of his three-month-old daughter, Katherine, "she's going to be happy for the rest of her life."
February 22, 2006
"When it's a pool day, we ask people to put in five bucks. So if you wasn't there, or you didn't put five bucks in, sorry."
The 8 meat packing workers who pooled their money for a lottery ticket won $365 million.
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7 comments:
That is so cool! Coming to America and then winning the lottery. Awesome.
Just keep in mind that hundreds of millions of people spent their money on lottery tickets that went in the trash.
I suppose if that's how you get a thrill, that's fine. If you think your taxes are too low and look at it as a way to give the state a few extra bucks to spend, then that is also fine.
But it is amazing how many poor and uneducated people there are who actually figure that if they play long enough they will win one day. Odds like one in a hundred million don't mean anything to them, because they are bad at math.
You're better off to take the same money and buy a penny stock.
As for the hard working immigrant, I'm not a bit surprised. Most first generation immigrants work extremely hard, it's the Americans who are most excited about retirement.
I can never feel happy for people getting money by luck, though perhaps, in one way or another, that's how we all get our money
Eli's right, I see people at my local lotto deli spending 40 bucks at a time buying tickets, people who look like they have little money to throw away. It seems a real waste, and creepy that it's being run by the state government.
I know the lottery is a bad idea, but, damn, if it's going to go to any ticket, this was THE right ticket to win.
Very nice story. I still contend that if you were happy before, the money will only make you happier. Same holds true for unhappy, too, by the way.
Anecdote: When I worked in court, we all had pools like this. When we went on vacation, we made sure to post our buck. Losing out would have been unbearable. We eventually found that the judges had a (secret) system too--they put in five bucks a week each and reinvested the winnings, thinking that dollar cost averaging was the most efficient way to achieve a payday. The accounting spread sheets, the system, the meetings--it was a thing of beauty! Sad to say, they're all still there, toiling in the vineyards.
There is no place like Nebraska. Did you notice that the Vietnamese fellow who bought the winning ticket had on a Husker knit cap? And the presentation at the Cornhusker Hotel, Lincoln's finest complete with Governor. Ya gotta love it.
I am not an advocate for the Lottery, but it is better than the "numbers games" the gangs ran when I was growing up. These were also known as boleto, policy, etc., depending on which ghetto you were playing from.
This group was particularly wholesome.
"Odds like one in a hundred million don't mean anything to them, because they are bad at math."
Dang, be a little condescending why don't you. I think everyone has a pretty good understanding that it's a long shot. sheesh.
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