What would you do if you won the lottery?

By Cecil Chandler
Feature Reporter
Published: August 24, 2008

Hello, everyone, it’s me again. Welcome back to another segment of Cecil’s World in Print. What would you do if you won $50 million in the South Carolina Education Lottery?

No, I’m not crazy, it could happen. The Powerball Lottery for South Carolina reached more than $300 million before someone won. Man, that is a lot of money. What would you do if you won that kind of money?

Since January 2002, the SCEL has transferred more than $1.74 billon to education programs in South Carolina as a result of the lottery. More than $33.7 million has been withheld in South Carolina income taxes through August last year.

Your chances of winning are slim to none — can you believe 1 in 146,107,962 odds of winning the Powerball? But a lot of us still believe we will be that one to win and that is why the lottery has been so successful in South Carolina. Now the odds are a little better for the MegaMatch 6 game that is just for South Carolina. The odds are 1 in 2,324,784. The MegaMatch 6 starts with $550,000 and adds $25,000 each week until someone wins. So if you like to gamble, go for it. You could win.

Once again, let me point out I am not in any way endorsing or opposing the South Carolina Education Lottery. It is your choice to play or not to play. So please do what you want to and do not let me persuade you in any way.

If you played the lottery and let’s say you won $50 million, what would you do with the money? With this in mind, I decided to ask some of our News13 anchors what they would do if they won millions of dollars.

Anchor Bob Juback said, “I honestly don’t know ... I think I would set up a foundation to help the community, but pay myself a large enough salary to live comfortably and take care of my kids.” OK, Bob, but how about a new car, boat or bigger house? Morning anchor Lyra Manning said, “I would make sure my family is taken care of and donate to causes that are close to my heart. I would also take a nice vacation.” I’m with you girl, the vacation sounds great. Morning meteorologist Chris Still said, “I don’t think any one person is entitled to $50 million as long as there are hungry people in the world, so I’d give most of it to others. I’d start by giving my Uncle Sam (you’ve probably heard of him) about 40 percent, then I’d pay off my house, buy something nice for my mom and dad, give 10 percent to the Lord and put whatever was left in the bank. I would not quit my job, but I might cut back to part time!”

If I became an instant millionaire, I would buy four houses: one for my son Jeff and his family, another one for my mother-in-law and one for my sister-in-law. And, of course, I would buy a big one for me and my wife on the beach. Then I would just soak up some rays and enjoy life and spend money like it was going out of style. I almost forgot: I would also buy a couple of hot new cars to sport around in.

Paying off some of my relative’s debts is also on my list, plus donating to some local charities. No, I would not quit my job on TV. I would still do Cecil’s World because it is so much fun. My wife, however, says she would retire and go shopping. Remember, keep on dreaming if you play the lottery because one day you might wake up and be a multi-millionaire. I can’t wait.

I hope by next week someone I know becomes a millionaire because I need to borrow a few bucks. That’s it for Cecil’s World in Print. I’ll see you next week, right here in the Morning News and on the tube.

— Cecil Chandler is a veteran reporter at WBTW News13. His column appears Mondays in the Morning News.