Chances Close To Zero
A way to make a lot of money fast is by winning the lottery, although the chances of winning are close to zero. However, everything easy comes at a price. Marie didn’t realize how much her life would change when she purchased a lottery ticket.
Chances Close To Zero
Her Pastor
Marie’s pastor, Kevin Matthews, was a hugely influential part of her life. He led the community of Shallotte, North Carolina, where Marie is from. Marie knew she could count on him anytime she needed spiritual guidance and she valued their relationship.
Her Pastor
The Big Jackpot Win
One day in February 2015, Marie bought a state lottery ticket and after a quick prayer, she waited patiently for the announcement of the winner. Little did she know that she’d be the big winner of $188 million! Her life was about to be flipped upside down.
The Big Jackpot Win
Claiming Her Prize
While still in total shock, Marie went to collect her prize money. She had to choose between receiving the $188 million over the course of 30 years or to take $127 million at once, minus taxes. She chose to take the lump sum and felt that all of her worries had finally been eliminated. She could not have been more wrong…
Claiming Her Prize
Her New Life
Marie had gotten used to living life in poverty, and had been living in a trailer in Shallotte most of her life. After her Powerball win, she decided it was time to upgrade. She said: “I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I saw the ticket and checked it.” It was time for a new life.
Her New Life
Why Anonymity?
Many lotteries let winners choose to stay anonymous, however, many winners want to flaunt their newfound wealth. Besides, it might be a bit difficult to hide the fact that you suddenly can afford things that you couldn’t before. Changes like these may lead to unwanted drama.
Why Anonymity?
Her Plans For The Prize
When winning such a massive amount of money, it can be intimidating to deal with. Your best bet would be to hire a financial advisor to help the matter. However, Marie did not do this. She was confident that the money would not change her. So what were her plans for the prize money?
Her Plans For The Prize
For Her Kids
Like many mothers, Marie wanted what’s best for her kids. She shared, “Everything is all for them…All the struggle that I ever went through, it was all for them. I want them to understand that money doesn’t change you, but it can help you. So they don’t have to worry about debt, none of that. They can go to college, all on me.”
For Her Kids
Helping Her Church
While everything seemed to be going so well for Marie, things took an unexpected turn. She promised pastor Kevin Matthews a sizable donation as a thank you for all the times he had been there for her. She thought that he was trustworthy and never expected what happened next.
Helping Her Church
Back To The Community
Marie told her pastor that she was willing to give a 10% tithe from her winnings in order for the church to build a retreat. The generous offer would come out to about $1.5 million of her lottery winnings. She felt it was important to give back to her community.
Back To The Community
The Largest Donation
While many lottery winners have made donations to their houses of worship, it must be noted that Marie’s was the largest donation given to a place of worship. Monks, bishops, and pastors have donated their winnings, but none matched Marie’s donation.
The Largest Donation
From Rags To Riches
Marie’s story is truly incredible. Her life transformed from living an impoverished life to seemingly never having to worry about money again. Before her win, the mother of four balanced several jobs to make ends meet and support her kids. This should have been her fairytale ending, but it was about to become a nightmare.
From Rags To Riches
With Money Come Problems
Marie and Pastor Matthews came to an agreement that she would give the church donation of $1.5 million over two installments. She quickly gave the $700,000 and was getting ready to give the rest when she was blindsided. Pastor Matthews felt her donation wasn’t significant enough – and let her know by suing her for $10 million.
With Money Come Problems
A Verbal Contract
Pastor Matthews took to the press and claimed that Marie did not want to give the second installment of the donation, going back on her word. Remember, they had made a verbal contract and not a written one. He therefore sued her on the grounds of claiming that he had made financial commitments while anticipating the money that he could not keep anymore.
A Verbal Contract
Emotional Distress
Matthews continued by claiming that after Marie allegedly reneged on her promise for more money, he became emotionally distressed. He said: “Because of the emotional distress and mental stress they put me through, I had to start taking more medicine for anxiety and depression due to this situation. [I] didn’t see this coming and I think it was a third party that came along and told her not to do this.’’
Emotional Distress
Her Word Versus His
In his statement, Matthews said: “The bottom line, I just want her to do what she said she was going to do. I want peace and to do what God told me to do. I want her to do what she said she was going to do. I really feel like a warrior for Christ and people need to be accountable.’’ At this point, it was Matthews word against Marie’s. Things would continue to take a turn for the worse…
Her Word Versus His
They Never Looked At Him The Same
Pastor Matthews was a well respected member of the community of Shallotte, North Carolina. After the scandal broke out, the community was shaken and they could no longer see their pastor in the same light. Many took to social media to express their feelings about the situation.
They Never Looked At Him The Same
Her New House
After winning millions of dollars, Marie decided it was time to move out of her trailer and buy a new home. She purchased a giant new house with a big backyard for her kids to play in. She brought a psychic over to check the home, and unfortunately the psychic told her the house was haunted by the spirits of slaves that used to work and live at the house.
Her New House
Why These Numbers Were Chosen
It soon came to light that Marie did not pay for the winning lottery ticket herself. It was actually her mother, Fontella, who had paid for it. Fontella requested certain numbers to be chosen, and when she shared why, it brought everyone to tears.
Why These Numbers Were Chosen
The Family Significance
In an interview, Fontella shared: “I kept dreaming about your brother that we lost… His birthday, he was the third child, he’d have been 25 that year. Those were the numbers.” Upon hearing this, Marie felt guilty about winning, but her mother assured her that she was glad Marie won.
The Family Significance
The Precautions
There are several precautions to take after winning a lottery. First, you should sign the ticket so you can prove that you are the real and legitimate owner of the winning ticket in order to prevent theft. Keeping the ticket in a safe location is also of utmost importance.
The Precautions
The Winner’s Life
Even though Marie had the best intentions when deciding what to do with her winnings, she sadly fell into the trap that many lottery winners fall into. She made several poor decisions with bad consequences. Though she did stay true to her word about providing for her children, other things got in the way.
The Winner’s Life
The Drama
Once her lawsuit with Pastor Matthews was settled, Marie thought she was in the clear. However, trouble kept finding her. Still in love with her youngest daughter’s father, Lamarr McDow, she made ill fated decisions. McDow was in an out of prison, which did not stop him from continuing to sell illegal substances.
The Drama
She Already Helped Him
McDow, known by his nickname “Hot Sauce,” is the father of Marie’s daughter Ebony. Shortly after her birth, McDow was arrested, let out on parole, and then was arrested once again for violating parole. He was later arrested for a third time, this time for street racing. Marie spent $21 million to bail him out, and then bought him a new car and a $15,000 Rolex.
She Already Helped Him
Buying His Freedom…And More
Hot Sauce defended Marie’s actions in an interview, saying: “We are a couple, and I am the father of her youngest child. This is what people do for each other. She has the money and she can do what she wants with it…If I had that money then I would do the same for her. People are just jealous because of how much she won and people want to see me locked in jail.”
Buying His Freedom…And More
A Gold Digger?
He also spoke about people’s accusations of him, particularly that he was only staying with Marie to benefit from her money. He said that they had already been in a relationship for two years before she won and he had previously been supporting both her and her mother.
A Gold Digger?
His Betrayal
It seems like nothing could go Marie’s way. She was approached by a woman named Lorna Marlowe who claimed to be McDow’s girlfriend, admitting to Marie that he had been unfaithful to her. Marlowe said that Marie threatened her and even offered her money to stay away from McDow.
His Betrayal
The Bittersweet Truth
Marie then got the news that McDow was convicted of yet another crime and was being put away for many years. This news was especially difficult for her to hear, as her father is also in prison. She said that although she was grateful for her winnings, no amount of money could keep McDow out of prison. But things still would continue to get worse for Marie…
The Bittersweet Truth
What Next?
After hearing the news of McDow’s seven year prison sentence, she decided that she wanted to wait for him to be released. She has said that she even wants to marry him once he is released.
What Next?
High Probability Of Loss
Many psychologists research the reason why people continue to buy lottery tickets, even if they’re fully aware of the fact that they most likely will not win. They found that our minds trick us into thinking that we could win, and so we continue pushing our luck. This is especially the case for lower income populations who dream of escaping their financial woes.
High Probability Of Loss
The Rumors
After Marie won, many people began to question whether she was the real winner of the ticket or not. Some of her family members claimed that she took the ticket from her 90 year old grandmother and signed it to make it look like she won.
The Rumors
The Rumors Continue
One of Marie’s cousins posted a YouTube video in which she says that Marie stole the winning lottery ticket and that she was even engaged in an affair with one of her family member’s husbands. She said that Marie offered her cousin a car in exchange for divorcing her husband so she could be with him.
The Rumors Continue
Her Family
Prior to her big win, Marie was balancing jobs at Walmart and McDonald’s in order to support her kids. She has four children: Brayden, Charisma, Andrea, and Ebony. One of her children has cerebral palsy.
Her Family
A Struggling Single Mom
The single mom has to take care of four kids from two different fathers. One of the fathers is in prison, while the other does not speak to Marie any more. The latter was her high school sweetheart who no longer lives in the same state as her.
A Struggling Single Mom
The Winner’s Solidarity
Financial studies have found that nearly 33% of people who win the lottery become bankrupt. Often, the money ends up making their lives worse than when they started off. Many end up in a downwards negative spiral and alienated from friends and family.
The Winner’s Solidarity
Her Relationship With Her Mom
In an interview with the two women, Marie revealed that she had a complicated relationship with her mother throughout her childhood. She said her mother mistreated her as well as her siblings. Despite this, Marie sent her children to live with their grandmother in Seattle.
Her Relationship With Her Mom
Is The Lottery A Sin?
Many people consider lottery a sin, since gambling is thought of to be very sinful. Many Christians believe that money that’s spent on the lottery could go to the church instead, and therefore buying lottery tickets is akin to stealing from the church.
Is The Lottery A Sin?
Fixing Up Her Life
Marie was determined to get her life together, and so she agreed to appear on relationship expert and TV personality Iyanla Vanzant. After seeing Marie’s troubles, Vanzant brought her on as a guest on her TV show Fix My Life to help Marie straighten everything out.
Fixing Up Her Life
Advice To Winners
One of the most common words of advice given to lottery winners is not to spend everything in one go or in one place. Hiring a lawyer and/or a financial advisor is a smart idea so you can have an expert helping you keep you money safe and even invest it properly.
Advice To Winners
Not Totally Wrong
The one thing that Marie seemed to do correctly was to receive a lump sum of the winnings at one time rather than space it out over 30 years. Financial experts agree that if you invest wisely, you could grow your money to a larger amount than of the broken up amount. However, it’s important to invest wisely, which Marie did not do.
Not Totally Wrong
She’s Stayed Grounded
Even though Marie came into a large amount of money that eventually led her into a whole lot of trouble, throughout it all, she kept saying she did not want the money to change her. Her family members admitted that she was a very down to earth and grounded person to begin with.
She’s Stayed Grounded
Overnight Lifestyle Changes
Financial experts say that it is important to wait six months after winning the lottery before making huge lifestyle changes like buying a home, a car, or leaving your job. It’s easy to understand why Marie did not follow this advice, but maybe things could have ended up differently for her if she had.
Overnight Lifestyle Changes
The Marie Holmes Foundation
In 2016, Marie founded a charity foundation under her name. The Marie Holmes Foundation hosts holiday giveaways that helps benefit underprivileged kids. She invested $9.7 million in the organization because she felt it was important to help people who were once not so different from her.
The Marie Holmes Foundation
A Cautionary Tale
A story that is quite similar to Marie’s is that of Michael Carroll. He won $14.5 million at the age of 19. He immediately bought himself a mansion, but soon found himself without a job and then without his home. He spent all of his money and was forced to find a way to support himself. However, he claims his current $300 per week salary makes him happier than he was when he was temporarily rich.
A Cautionary Tale
