Richard Lustig

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Richard Lustig was an American man who came to prominence for winning relatively large prizes in seven state-sponsored lottery games from 1993 to 2010. His prizes totaled over $1 million. He wrote Learn How To Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Life

Lustig lived in Orlando, Florida, where he had a career as an entertainment booking agent. He died in 2018 at age 67. [5] [6]

Publicity

Lustig's seven lottery wins have been featured on the financial web site CNN Money. [7]

His book Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery was ranked #3 on Amazon's self-help book list in 2013. [2]

In an interview with ABC News, Lustig explained that his method is to re-invest all of his winnings back into the lottery. [2] [8] He also recommends using hand-picked sequential numbers and using the same numbers repeatedly. [9]

Personal finance author Zac Bissonnette has characterized Richard Lustig's recommendations as "dangerous", [10] further noting the odds of winning any lotto prize are low and Lustig's advice to play sequential numbers is statistically inferior to selecting random numbers for each drawing. Financial journalist Felix Salmon wrote that given Lustig's habit of using much of his winnings to buy more lotto tickets, it is unclear if he has kept more in prize money than he spent on lotto tickets: "[Lustig] never actually comes out and says that he’s a net winner." [11] CNN Money took their video down after a "firestorm of criticism." [12]

Wins

Lustig's total wins amount to a value of $1,052,205.58 [13] (before taxes). Two of those wins were holidays rather than cash prizes, valued at $8,560.66 total. His first win was in 1993, and the last one in 2010:

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A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments. The most common regulation is prohibition of sale to minors, and vendors must be licensed to sell lottery tickets. Although lotteries were common in the United States and some other countries during the 19th century, by the beginning of the 20th century, most forms of gambling, including lotteries and sweepstakes, were illegal in the U.S. and most of Europe as well as many other countries. This remained so until well after World War II. In the 1960s, casinos and lotteries began to re-appear throughout the world as a means for governments to raise revenue without raising taxes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mega Millions</span> American multi-jurisdictional lottery game

Mega Millions is an American multijurisdictional lottery game; as of June 30, 2023, it is offered in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first Mega Millions drawing was in 2002. What is now Mega Millions initially was offered in six states; the logo for all versions of the game following the retirement of The Big Game name featured a gold-colored ball with six stars to represent the game's initial membership, although some lotteries insert their respective logos in the ball.

This is a collection of the largest prizes/jackpots awarded in various lotteries.

Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is overseen by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which also manages other large jackpot games such as the Mega Millions. From 1992 to 2021, Powerball drawings were held biweekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Monday drawings were added to help boost sales and increase jackpot amounts. Powerball drawings are held at 10:59p.m. Eastern Time, at the Florida Lottery's headquarters in Tallahassee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Lottery</span>

The Georgia Lottery Corporation, known as the Georgia Lottery, is overseen by the government of Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the lottery takes in over US$1 billion yearly. By law, half of the money goes to prizes, one-third to education, and the remainder to operating and marketing the lottery. The education money funds the HOPE Scholarship, and has become a successful model for other lotteries, including the South Carolina Education Lottery.

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Powerball is a lottery operated by Tatts Group under the master brand, the Lott and its licensed subsidiaries including New South Wales Lotteries in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Tattersalls in Victoria and Tasmania, Golden Casket in Queensland, and South Australian Lotteries in South Australia. The Government owned Lotterywest operates the lottery in Western Australia.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotto New Zealand</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Lottery</span> Official lottery system of the U.S. state of Texas

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoosier Lottery</span> Official state lottery of Indiana

The Hoosier Lottery is the official state lottery of Indiana, and is the only US lottery that uses the state's nickname as its official name. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). The Hoosier Lottery sells scratch-off tickets; its draw games include Mega Millions, Hoosier Lotto, Powerball, Cash 5, and Poker Lotto.

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References

  1. Sieczkowski, Cavan (28 November 2012). "Richard Lustig, 7-Time Lottery Winner, Gives Tips On Winning The Powerball Jackpot". Huffington Post . Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Little, Lineka (21 October 2010). "How One Man Became a Serial Lottery Winner". ABC News . Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  3. "Richard Lustig: His Secrets, His Book, and His Story Revealed".
  4. "Richard Lustig". Facebook. 2018.
  5. Reinartz, Joe (2018-09-13). "Agent, Lottery Winner Richard Lustig Passes". CelebrityAccess. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  6. Kennedy, John (December 24, 2003). "Lottery, Legislators Tug at Unclaimed Jackpots". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  7. Krasny, Jill (16 March 2012). "CNN Money Was Forced To Take Down This Idiotic Lottery Tips Video". Business Insider . Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  8. "Richard Lustig – A Tale of the Most Famous Lottery Winner". Lottery 'n Go. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  9. Hartogs, Jessica (22 March 2013). "Seven-time Lottery Winner Shares Secret to Winning Powerball". CBS News . Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  10. Krasny, Jill (28 March 2012). "WARNING: Do Not Take Lottery Tips From The Guru On 'Good Morning America'". Business Insider . Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  11. Salmon, Felix (14 March 2012). "The worst personal-finance video ever". Reuters. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  12. Coenen, Tracy (27 April 2012). "Lottery Fraud: Increase Your Chances of Winning The Lottery". Sequence Inc. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  13. "Richard Lustig's largest wins". Orlando Sentinel. 20 October 2010.