November 3, 2012

"California grandmother steps forward just in time to claim $23 million lottery jackpot."

The 5 months had nearly passed, and the newspapers, hoping to prompt the ticket buyer into noticing, put up a blurry picture of the woman who seems to have bought the ticket:
On Thursday, someone texted [Julie Cervera] a photo of her daughter, Charliena Marquez, buying the winning ticket for her at a Palmdale Liquor store....

“I put my 99-cent glasses on, and I had to put two pairs on to see it,” said Cervera, 69, of Victorville. She recognized her daughter in the grainy photo, but she still couldn’t read the caption....
Cervera, a widow who has lived on disability for 20 years, said her family has been through difficult times recently. Last year her 47-year-old son Rudy was killed in a motorcycle accident, leaving four teenage children.

“I’d give it all up to have my son here again,” she said and began to cry...

“My grandkids are all going to be taken care of, and my (three) daughters,” she said. “I’m just so happy. I’m going to buy me a pair of Reeboks.” 

35 comments:

veni vidi vici said...

Sometimes, regardless of one's beliefs, the appropriate thing to say in response to news is, "God is good."

Synova said...

She doesn't look 69. Good for her.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Sweet story - may God bless her and help her be smart with the windfall.

Methadras said...

a blessing to be sure. I hope she is doubly blessed in finding an ethical and morale financial advisor.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I hope she is doubly blessed in finding an ethical and morale financial advisor

I could come out of retirement ;-P

FleetUSA said...

Let's hope she and her relatives are very prudent with this windfall.

Most end up with lives seriously disturbed.

bagoh20 said...

I'm sure she has already received her boyfriend email from the Obama campaign:

"There is still time to help us win this before we start calling you a filthy 1%er and take half."

Send a million and you could win a chance to attend our moving out event.

Ann Althouse said...

"I’d give it all up to have my son here again."

That's the cue to look around and see what you have that isn't millions of dollars.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Let's hope she and her relatives are very prudent with this windfall.

The fact that the first thing she plans to do is buy Rebocks.....doesn't bode well for the future of her financial helath.

Ah, well.

madAsHell said...

She can't pay her bills, but her children have tattoos.
This won't end well.

MisterBuddwing said...

The fact that the first thing she plans to do is buy Rebocks.....doesn't bode well for the future of her financial helath.

Why? If she needs them, she needs them.

Now, if the first thing she planned to buy was some ridiculously overpriced car, then I'd be pretty worried...

bagoh20 said...

In two years she'll look like Anna Nicole Smith.

Steve in Toronto said...

Hello Ann
Please check your email/voice mail CBC (the Canadian NPR) is trying to get you as a guest on Sunday’s
Cross county checkup with Rex Murphy.
Thanks

Methadras said...

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I hope she is doubly blessed in finding an ethical and morale financial advisor

I could come out of retirement ;-P


Oh, I hadn't known you were retired. I figured you were still fairly active.

Synova said...

California will pay out lottery jackpots over decades. I don't know if they have an option to pay it all at once.

rhhardin said...

It must be like winning the lottery.

Anonymous said...

Ah, Lotto tickets and cable are more important than food on the table....

bagoh20 said...

" I don't know if they have an option to pay it all at once."

Yes, they do. All at once, or over 20 years.

rhhardin said...

She's a lucky California creditor now.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I don't know if they have an option to pay it all at once.

A shortened misery is better than a prolonged one.

Just saying.

Saint Croix said...

awwwwwww

Saint Croix said...

"I never check my tickets." A realist!

edutcher said...

She's now a one percenter.

PS Buena suerte, Senora.

Hope you've got a good lawyer and a lot of good sense.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The fact that the first thing she plans to do is buy Rebocks.....doesn't bode well for the future of her financial health.

"Why? If she needs them, she needs them."

Because she is thinking small. Inability to see the big picture and plan for a long term future is the biggest problem for people who will always remain "poor". Deferring gratification until you have a plan is something that, I suspect, she will be unable to do.

The biggest favor her advisor could do for her is to restrict unlimited access to the money by her and her family. Keep her from the bulk of the funds ....even if she has chosen a monthly pay out. Otherwise, it will be like trying to hold onto moving water with your fingers, the fortune will ebb away and be wasted on fripperies and end the end they will all be worse off.

"Oh, I hadn't known you were retired. I figured you were still fairly active."

No, I closed my office in the beginning of 2011. I still have my security licenses (65, 63, 24 and 7) but I am not affiliated with a BD firm so they are inactive. Although I 'could' have a RIA firm if I wanted. I do a bit of insurance since I kept active my life and health Ca licensing, but mostly retired, book work for my husbands corporation and grateful to not be in the financial biz anymore :-D

Win the lottery. First things to do [depending on the size]. 1.)Consult a good tax attorney, investment and estate planning team. 2.)HIDE from everyone until you decide what to and how to shelter yourself from the government and the hordes of people who will be coming out of the woodwork with their hands out. 3.) Hire people to keep the above away from you.

Anonymous said...

DBQ,

4. get a good alarm company.
5. buy a pistol

bagoh20 said...

"Win the lottery. First things to do"

Don't tell anyone, anyone.

I would never tell, and since I would still live modestly, no one would ever suspect. I would just secretly help people, paying debts, sending money to those who need it or could make good use of it and never let them know where it came from. If you never tell anyone that you won, it will make life a lot easier and give you complete control over who you give to. Once people know, you are screwed.

I do this on a very small scale. I sometimes will slip money into people cars or purses if they are in need, and they never know. The surprising thing for me is that rarely does the person receiving it ever mention getting it. Few ever ask around to see who gave. I guess they are afraid that somehow it might be an accident and will have to give it back to whoever lost it.

One person who I did this to because they needed help, later stole thousand of dollars from me, and they confessed, because they could see I was about to discover it. This was a couple years after I gave them the secret gifts. I never mentioned it until I discovered the theft, and when I told her, it really drilled the gilt home. I think it really affected her. I hope it did.

bagoh20 said...

An unchecked lottery ticket is virtually worthless, but surprisingly still damned near impossible to throw away.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Eric the Fruit Bat said...

"I’d give it all up to have my son here again."

If real life were an episode of The Twilight Zone we all know what would happen next.

Hagar said...

"The Monkey's Paw"

leslyn said...

She didn't earn that.

wyo sis said...

She didn't earn that and that's going to be part of the problem. People seem to not value things they didn't earn as much as if they did. That's why all the advice above is about being wise with it and not frittering it away.

MisterBuddwing said...

Well, I once heard a theory that sudden wealth really exposes people's inner selves. If a lottery winner is a solid person to begin with, chances are, they'll do fine. If the winner is someone with major issues, then those issues are bound to burst forth, with potentially disastrous consequences.

leslyn said...

That's very paternalistic. And an intrusion into her free will, I say.

Fritter away on those Reeboks, grandma!

Neilinboston said...

Just living off the gravy train. Ann, you're going to vote for Romney after posting heart warming lottery stories, really?