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SD Rancher wins lottery

Cal

Well-known member
Maybe I should stop referring to it as an "idiot tax". :?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525248,00.html

Down-on-Luck Rancher Wins $232M Powerball
Friday , June 05, 2009



PIERRE, S.D. —

A 23-year-old rancher whose family has fallen behind in their taxes and recently had a mobile home repossessed claimed a $232.1 million Powerball jackpot on Friday, one of the largest undivided jackpots in U.S. lottery history.

Neal Wanless, who lives on his family's 320-acre ranch near Mission, S.D., bought the winning ticket in the nearby town of Winner late last month during a trip to buy livestock feed. He will take home $88.5 million in a lump sum payment after taxes are deducted.

Wanless, who did not speak publicly about the win until Friday, spoke for only a couple of minutes at a ceremony Friday, reading a prepared statement. He was wearing a big black cowboy hat and had a huge grin on his face during the brief ceremony.

"I want to thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this great fortune. I will not squander it," he said.

Wanless said he intends to use the money to help those in need. "My family has been helped by the community and I intend to repay that help many times over."

He told lottery officials that since winning, he has spent his time preparing to bale hay and doing other jobs around his family's ranch.

Wanless said he intends to continue ranching, albeit on a larger plot of land. He said he recently told his horse, Eleanor, that "It'd be nice if we go for a longer ride than usual on a bigger ranch of our own."

Wanless' is among the highest undivided lottery jackpot wins in U.S. history. An Oregon family turned $40 worth of tickets into $340 million Powerball prize in 2005, and at least four other winners won larger jackpots than Wanless'.

Friends and neighbors described the Wanlesses as a hardworking family with little money.

"I hope they enjoy their money," said county assessor Cathy Vrbka, a family friend. "They work hard, backbreaking hard work."

Dave Assman, who owns farmland next to the Wanless' ranch, said he's happy they won't have to worry about money again.

"They've been real short on finances for a long time," Assman said. "They are from real meager means, I guess you'd say."

The Wanlesses raised cattle, sheep and horses on their ranch is in eastern Todd County, the nation's seventh-poorest county in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Much of the county is tribal land governed by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

But neighbors said Arlen Wanless, 54, has made a living in recent years mainly by buying and selling scrap metal.

Dan Clark, an auctioneer from Winner and a friend of more than two decades, said Arlen Wanless helped him at many auctions by buying things no one else wanted.

"Over the last 20 years, Arlen's bailed me out a lot of times," Clark said.

He said Arlen Wanless had trouble earning money when the price of iron dropped.

Todd County records show that the family owes $3,552 in property taxes on the 360 acres of land for taxes payable in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The family had a mobile home repossessed last year.

Since word spread that the Wanless family had won the lottery jackpot, the gate to the dirt driveway that leads to the family home has been closed and padlocked.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Ampride convenience store, which will get a $50,000 bonus for selling the lucky ticket. Sharon Ulmer, manager of the store said she is glad the Wanless family won.

"From what I understand they don't have a lot, so the money definitely went to a good place," Ulmer said. "I know it went to a good home. They can use it."
 

HAY MAKER

Well-known member
Sounds like some good folks got lucky,I have always said.........I would rather be lucky than good..........................good luck
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
It's always heartening to me when people who are needy, get
rewarded. Sounds like this is what happened here and they
sound really full of gratitude. Nice!!
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
Stories like this always make me wonder.....(were they behind on their taxes and trailer payment because they were buyin lotto tickets?)

Neither here not there tho now, he's a lucky fella, with plenty $$$ now.
 

mrj

Well-known member
I heard the guy on TV last night, and he sounds like he has his head on straight. Apologized for taking so long to come forward, saying he was talking to his family and advisors to decide how to do things.

I liked that he recognized how the community has helped his family and that he intends to give back to that community now that he can.

I hope he has good advisors who will help him cope with the inevitable disappointments in how some old friends and neighbors treat the family. People can be pretty hard on those they even perceive to have "more than their share" of anything good.

A former teacher of the winner, who was Salutatorian of his graduating class, said he was a good, quiet kid, close to his family, that he had attended college and then come back home.

One story stated that they occasionally bought a lottery ticked and that they decided to splurge and spend $15.00 since the 'pot' was so big.

mrj
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I just heard on the radio this morning that a Circle Montana woman won the Montana Lotto for a Million $.... :)
Can't remember her name- but she runs the Wooden Nickel cafe in circle....

Several years ago a local Tampico rancher I know (really nice folks) won a Million...Getting closer- I better buy a ticket...
 

Jassy

Well-known member
So glad it was "local" rancher...heck with that kind of money he could buy up the whole county and still have plenty left over! It is a very poor county...Maybe we'll see local improvements too...
 

Frank in West Dakota

Well-known member
Jassy said:
So glad it was "local" rancher...heck with that kind of money he could buy up the whole county and still have plenty left over! It is a very poor county...Maybe we'll see local improvements too...


He lives on a Reservation;
I don't think he'll be buyin' much land in that county, and there won't be a lot of local improvements! :?
 
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