A bloke who won a whopping $5 million (£4m) on a scratch card was left with a lot less after he made a decision on how he’d like to receive his winnings.
Daniel Grijalva Esquivel, from Kansas City, won the $5 million after purchasing a New York Lottery's Cash X100 scratch-off for $20 (£15) from a convenience store in Spring Valley, New York.
According to the New York Lottery, the odds of landing the $5 million (£3.9m) jackpot are one in 4,498,390.
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In the US, when someone wins the lottery one of the first decisions they are asked to make is whether they would like to have their prize as a one-off payment or break it down into annual payments.
Across the US, most lottery winners decide to take their jackpot as a one-off lump sum, like Esquivel did.
However, those who choose to have the annual payouts usually receive winnings nearer the advertised jackpot, but are still subject to taxes.
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The other benefit to the annual payouts is that they offer a steady stream of income over the years and mean you’re less likely to blow through it all in a couple of years - unlike British lottery winner Michael Carroll.
Chicago-based lawyer Andrew Stoltmann, who has represented several lottery winners over the years, says that opting for the annual payouts is a far safer idea for most people.
Speaking to CNBC in 2022, he said: “Few lottery winners have the infrastructure in place to manage a lottery windfall.”
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In an interview with The Sun, Stoltmann explained: "They [the winners] tend to be from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
“So they then take this massive sum of money and they just don't really know what to do with that. It's a pretty big mistake."
He went on to explain that even if someone does fritter away their first payout it’s not the end of the world.
“To make a mistake with the first year’s winnings is not catastrophic if the winner is going to receive another 29 years’ worth of payments,” Stoltmann added.
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OK, well duly noted. Now I’m off to buy a scratch card - wish me luck.
Claire Reid