Lottery addiction

Gambling addiction is one of the most underestimated problems of modern society, which affects players in casinos and betting shops. It affects both newcomers to the various fields of easy money-making as well as experienced gamblers.

One of the most famous lottery players is Michael Luciano. The American has had several big wins in various lotteries and his first win dates back to the last century. At that time, in 1999, Luciano managed to win about 100 thousand dollars, and he still remembers the winning numbers of that lottery.
Now Luciano says that he does not know why he chose them, but he was incredibly happy when he saw them during the draw.
Michael spent his first winnings on a variety of debts and loan repayments – closing several loans, helping his wife and making some big purchases. Investments are another part of the American’s livelihood. Even before he won, he tried to do business, even if it was rather mediocre, but his bar became more popular thanks to his winnings. Now Luciano admits to his gambling addiction.

The biggest prize

For more than fifteen years Luciano had been unable to win anything big from the lottery. Occasionally there were winning tickets, but the amount was incomparable to the 1999 jackpot. “I went through a lot of bad luck before I caught a really big fish,” says Luciano. It’s hard to argue with that – in 2016, luck smiled on the American for a second time.
Michael is a basketball fanatic. He and a friend had a tradition of spending every morning before Thanksgiving on the basketball court. But the friend got injured and couldn’t make it to the court. And Michael broke the habit and went to the pub to see how things were going at his place. Luciano’s wife called Michael and asked him to come home.

Returning, Michael decided to buy the lottery tickets again:
“My wife was against this lottery. My wife was against the lottery and she thought it was impossible to win and the price was really high – 30 dollars a piece.
The first ticket brought the American $50, the second he lost. Luciano did not immediately recognize the winning ticket in the third. Michael realized this only after checking the coupon with a scanner. The pub owner made $3 million on Thanksgiving. The American rushed to share it with his wife, breaking all kinds of traffic rules.

Later, to celebrate the holiday, Michael decided to give all customers a raffle ticket each, delighting guests with low prices on the meal. Taxes took just under a million from Luciano, so he only got $2.1 million on hand. Luciano admits that he was thinking of retiring, as he would have enough money for the rest of his life.

Dependence

“I purposely kept quiet about my winnings. I don’t want to speak negatively about the lottery organisers but people shouldn’t buy large numbers of tickets”.

Nevertheless, the news of the win went viral quite quickly. Michael has admitted in numerous interviews that he has problems. Luciano was buying large quantities of lottery tickets. The American was spending huge sums as he could not control himself.

Casual gamblers can stop at any moment. Ludomaniacs, on the other hand, will bet to the last minute in the hope of getting their money back. Michael, even though he has won, regrets that he once started buying lottery tickets. Even after another win, when he won $500,000 in 2020, Luciano said he wished he could cut out the part of his brain responsible for gambling addiction. The previous win, by the way, ended rather quickly.

Luck was on Luciano’s side in 2021, when he won the lottery again. This time, the amount won in the January draw was 1 million. Michael admits that the lottery staff are no longer surprised by his arrival and are expecting him to win a fifth time as well.