SD Rancher: I Won't Squander $232M Lotto Win

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 6, 2009 10:01 AM CDT
SD Rancher: I Won't Squander $232M Lotto Win
Winner, S.D.   (AP Photo)

South Dakotan Neal Wanless has just hit it big—$232 million in lotto winnings—but he promises to be wise and generous with his newfound wealth, reports the Argus Leader. “I want to thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this great fortune,” the 23-year-old rancher said. “I will not squander it.” Wanless, who lives with his parents on a 320-acre spread, plans to buy a bigger place for himself, the AP notes.

Acquaintances of the family are happy for their good fortune. “They've been real short on finances for a long time,” a neighbor said. “They are from real meager means, I guess you'd say.” But a financial planner from the Sudden Money Institute warned that hitting it big means a big change. “They've lost their peers,” she said of lotto winners. “They are substantially different from everyone that they know.” After taxes, Wanless will take home $88.5 million. He bought the ticket in a town called Winner.
(More South Dakota stories.)

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