The Powerball winner? He's a landscaper....

[QuettaKid]

and says he's gonna keep his job. whatev. I suggest his first stop be at the clue store.

""He said he plans to continue working as a landscaper. His only planned splurge is a sports car. His wife wants to buy a new house.""

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1239735

[swimboy]

1. Oh, yeah. This is going to go so well.

Check back with him in a year. I bet he's messed up.

(And this is not just sour grapes.)

[QuettaKid]

2. If he wants. I am more than willing to help him

by taking his money and PAYING him to do his job....heck, I will even give him a raise!!!

[bleedingheart]

3. to be honest...I would keep my job at first

and then I would use the money to pay existing debts and then...just let the concept of having so much money just "sink in" cuz guess what...just cuz you are the newest multi-millionaire...it isn't like you are going to be on everyone in the Hampton's speed dial over night.

His friends and family are still the same people...taking it slowly would be best...

[Bunny]

4. I agree that taking it slowly would be best, but I heard that this

guy hadn't gotten his ticket validated by the lottery people yet. That would be the very first thing I'd do, before I declared myself the winner. You ain't the winner until the lottery commission says you're the winner!

[bleedingheart]

6. wow...he didn't validate the ticket yet???

I would have done that at the very least.

[Bunny]

7. That's what I heard last week. The ticket was in a safe deposit box

at the bank, but had not yet been presented to lottery officials.

You know what else I heard? They could only narrow it down to two possible places where the ticket could have been purchased. I always thought that they could pin it down to the exact place, date, and even time that the winning ticket was purchased. :shrug:

[Deja Q]

19. The man's a fool. But how many on DU would be surprised at the revelation?

I sure as hell am not.

[grace0418]

11. After making sure the ticket was legit, the FIRST call I would make

would be to my boss. I wouldn't be able to quit fast enough. Then my husband and I would take off for a year, just leave the country until the insanity dies down. Wouldn't want anyone's number in the Hamptons. I'd give each family member a substantial sum of money, then live very quietly somewhere. Probably not in the U.S.

Although I would use a large part of my fortune to fuck with the GOP.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. If I won the Powerball, I think I would set up a non-profit Foundation,

transfer the winning ticket to the non-profit, and then pay myself a salary as president of the foundation (say, a million a year), and give most of it away.

I don't know if one can transfer a ticket to a corporation or not, but if not, then I would accept the ticket, then after keeping out 5-6 million to build a decent fucking house, then donate the rest to the foundation.

Use it for scholarships, give a bunch to one of my alma maters that needs some serious cash, and find some other nice things to do with it, and keep enough in the coffers that I can earn a good sized salary every year, and also so that there's a nice pile of cash to earn a good amount of interest to be able to give away another million or so every year.

[bleedingheart]

8. good ideas

living in Pittsburgh, I would use it to help the city.....without giving it to the idiotic public officials.

I would use it to build parks, tear down eyesores and restore old houses to encourage ecomonic regrowth...
That would be great!!!

[progmom]

12. i like the way you think

:hi:

[Shell Beau]

9. Well, it probably hasn't sunk in yet.

I honestly think my husband (a landscaper as well) would want to keep his job. He wouldn't work as much, but I really think he'd want to still work. He just has that kind of work ethic.

[Reciprocity]

10. "gonna keep his job" He is unworthy of the prize then.

[MarsThe Cat]

20. exactly- there should be a stipulation...

that anyone who wins over say, $50 million- CANNOT collect the money until they quit their job and open it up for someone who needs it.

if this guy wants to continue landscaping, i say he buys his wife a nice new house on a gazillion acre tract, and spend his days landscaping that.

[Guy Fawkes]

13. Well, if he likes his job...

why quit?

[KG]

14. watching over that much money will be a full time job. he just doesn't

know it yet.

[jmowreader]

15. And now he can afford all new equipment

Assume he runs his own landscaping business. He can take some of his windfall and all his worn-out equipment down to the John Deere dealer, point at it, and say "hook me up with the same stuff, just all new."

Or he can ask for a lot more of it, hire some more crews and not have to turn away business anymore.

I think he's got the right idea: being Idle Rich is no way to go through life.

[Rabrrrrrr]

16. And he could pay his employees $100K a year

Sure, he'd be taking a huge loss, but he's rich!

I think it would be great fun to be able to say to a guy who used to get $12 an hour for his work "I'll pay you $50 an hour!"

And then he would attract the very best of the very best landscaping people, and in a few years he WOULD be able to make a profit because he could be charging utterly outrageous prices for his service because he has the best people, and customers would know it.

[QuettaKid]

17. I get the feeling from reading these responses

that not a lot of you have any idea just how much money we are talking about here......$340,000,000.00......(note the zeros) I'm sorry, but "landscaper" just doesn't really fit in with that number, and I don't care how much you like your job.

[Bunny]

18. Oh, I would certainly quit my job for that kind of money!

Absolutely! I just don't think I'd do it until I had cash (or check) from the lottery commission in hand.

[RayOfHope]

21. That isn't what he gets, though

I looked it up last week for my state, and if I won (taking it all in one lump sum) after paying state and fed taxes, it would be a $116,000,000 payout. Not small potatoes by any means, but not $340 mil either.

I did win last week though--matching 2 numbers plus the powerball made me $7 richer. Still have to get that ticket validated, though!