Soccer Dad: Winning correctly

January 31, 2006

Winning correctly

Having just written about the misfortune of those who won lotteries I just read an article that had good advice for lottery winners. The Baltimore Sun reported on the end of Maryland's Lotto game "Number's up for MD's Lotto. In the course of the story it tells us of how one Lotto winner managed his newfound wealth:

Jeffrey Kimble, then principal of New Windsor Middle School in Carroll County, scored an $18 million payday back in 1994 when his numbers matched the winning Lotto ticket: 11, 26, 20, 32, 41, 48. He went to school that day and, according to a Sun article at the time, told his colleagues: "I've won the lottery. I'm taking the day off. I'm not retiring."

And he didn't. He stayed on as principal for four more years.

"I felt it was important to send the message that no matter what, it's important that you're a productive person, that you continue to set your goals," Kimble said in a recent interview. "And in the line of work I was in, working with young people, it was important for my children and the kids I was working with."

Kimble said he doesn't live extravagantly, despite his huge winnings.

Yes, he moved into a bigger home, traveled and donated to his church and charities. But he stayed in Westminster and maintains the same lifestyle, he said.

No, he hasn't kept playing Lotto. "Your chances of winning again are very slim," Kimble said.

He said he was unaware of Lotto's end but hoped the replacement, Multi-Match, would continue to spread the wealth.

"It's made a big difference in my life and my family's life," Kimble said of the Lotto game. "I didn't know it was ending, but I guess that the new game will be just as beneficial for people, and maybe more."

In other words he was careful with his newfound wealth and didn't squander it.

I wonder if state lottery agencies provide financial advice to big winners. Obviously it's not the state's job to provide the advice. But certainly a state could suggest a number of well regarded financial advisors to lottery winners in the hope that they'd engage the advisors to ensure that they enjoy their winnings and not squander them. It's not the state's job to protect people from themselves, but there's nothing wrong with pointing people in the right direction.

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