Luck of the Draw: True-Life Tales of Lottery Winners and Losers - Softcover

Gudgeon, Chris

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551520826 ISBN 13: 9781551520827

Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2002

Synopsis

Money. Gobs of it. In the blink of an eye - or the drop of a ball? it's all yours. Everyone dreams about striking it rich by winning a lottery. We all feverishly line up to purchase our tickets, and watch TV or scan the newspapers to see if we have won, even though the odds are better that we will be struck by lightning. Still, we perservere, because no matter what else happens this week, you can be sure that someone, somewhere, will win the big one. Lotteries are an unparalleled popular phenomenon. But what happens after the winners are revealed, and the checks have been issued? How does winning a lottery change one's life? "Luck of the Draw" profiles past winners of big lotteries, and how their windfall impacted their lives, mostly for the better, but interestingly sometimes for the worse, such was the case of a Florida widow who won $5 million in 1984; three years later, she lost her mansion and fancy cars, and owed the IRS $500,000 for back taxes. Eventually she was arrested for trying to hire a contract killer to take out her daughter-in-law, whom she blamed for her lottery misfortune. The book also depicts the past, present and future of lotteries in North America and the world over, and includes a special chapter on the revived phenomenon of big-time TV game show winners. Who wants to be a millionaire? Seemingly, everyone. In a country where eighty percent of adults have played a lottery, creating a multi-billion dollar industry, "Luck of the Draw" is an insightful inside look at lotteries, its winners, and its losers.

About this title

About the Author:

Chris Gudgeon is the author of numerous books, including Consider the Fish, Stan Rogers, and The Naked Truth: The Untold Story of Sex in Canada, as well as the Arsenal Pulp Press titles You're Not As Good As You Think You Are: A Demotivational Guide, a humorous guide on "demotivation"; Out of This World, a biography of poet Milton Acorn; and (with his writer wife Barbara Stewart) Luck of the Draw, on lottery winners. He has written articles and essays for such publications as MAD, National Lampoon,and Playboy. Chris and Barbara have three sons and they live in Victoria, BC Canada.

About this edition

• Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1551520826
• ISBN 13: 9781551520827
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 175
• Editor: Stewart Barbara