Would You Quit Work With A Big Lottery Win?
Friday February 23rd 2018It may be the fantasy of many lottery players to win a huge prize and quit work straight away, but one man from New York has revealed that he delayed coming forward because he wanted to train his replacement before he resigned.
Happy
When prep cook Luis Vela Figueroa, a 53-year-old from Brentwood, landed the top prize on the $2,500 A Week For Life scratch-off game - earning him a payout of $2.5 million - he resisted the temptation to celebrate wildly. He kept working and did not ask for any time off, instead waiting for over a month before making himself known to lottery officials.
“I want to continue working just long enough to train my replacement,” said Vela Figueroa, who bought his winning ticket when he broke off from a morning trip to work to buy an orange juice and an egg sandwich. He quickly found out that his ticket was a winner, but did not want to keep his colleagues waiting.
“We all got back in the car and headed to work. Everyone was happy for me, but we had to get to work,” said Vela Figueroa, who is now planning to use his money to buy a house and perhaps start his own business.
Big Winners
While previous studies have shown that more than 80% of American lottery winners continue to work, a substantial payout often convinces players to give up their jobs. Shane Missler, a 20-year-old from Florida, announced his retirement after winning a $451 million Mega Millions jackpot last month.
Mavis Wanczyk, who became the biggest winner on a single Powerball ticket when she pocketed $758.7 million last August, handed in her notice within hours. She rang the hospital where she worked ‘to tell them I won’t be coming back’ and then declared that she was ‘going home to hide in bed’.
If you want to give yourself the option to quit work with a big lottery win, you can pick up a ticket for Mega Millions or Powerball by visiting a retailer in a participating state.
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