Powerball Winner Bought $400 Million Ticket Instead of What His Wife Sent Him For

woensdag 25 september 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Maressa Brown 14 hours ago

Imagine you check the winning Powerball numbers only to find that they match yours, and that gigantic jackpot everyone in the country has been coveting is all ... yours. That's the typical daydream we've all indulged in at one point or another. But one man in Columbia, South Carolina wasn't daydreaming last week. The fantasy actually happened to him, and the funniest part is that he says he isn't the type to play or even dream about winning the lottery. In other words, buying his $399.4 million-winning ticket was pretty much a total fluke.

The winner -- who asked to remain anonymous -- said he'd stopped for gas at a Murphy USA service station when his wife called and told him to pick up hot dog buns. He went into the store and instead of buns -- which Murphy's doesn't sell -- he bought $20 worth of tickets on a whim.

Fast-forward to Thursday when he checked his tickets and found out he had won and proceeded to dance around the kitchen with his dog. Ha! Guess his wife can't be too mad about the never-purchased hot dog buns, eh?

Come to think of it ... What if Murphy's actually carried hot dog buns?! Would the guy have used his $20 to buy the winning ticket? Who knows? But the way it all worked out was obviously a beyond-happy turn of events.

Ha, I'm sure tons of Powerball players who buy tickets religiously are a bit peeved that the guy who had only played once before is the one claiming the jackpot. But oh well. It's also a lesson that winning can be a completely random occurrence. And goes to show anything can happen ... Usually the best things when you least expect it.

What's your take on this Powerball winner's story?

Image via El Gran Lee/Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Maressa Brown

has enjoyed reporting and writing for a variety of entertainment and women's magazines and websites. More often than not, you'll find her blogging, hitting the gym, reading, researching something on her iPhone, laughing, chatting at an above-"normal" volume, or getting her caffeine fix.

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Kelly Clarkson Will Elope Instead of Letting a Big Wedding Drive Her Crazy

vrijdag 23 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Maressa Brown 4 hours ago

Kelly Clarkson laid rumors to rest that she's pregnant and having a shotgun wedding, but she confirmed that she is, in fact, eloping! Taking to Twitter late yesterday, she wrote, "FYI ....Brandon & I are getting married & no I am not pregnant. We are eloping for one reason only. We both want an intimate ceremony." Good for them!

Still, people were bound to let their imaginations run wild about why she'd nix the elaborate affair, if only because it's kinda hard to understand why a celeb who can get a killer venue, big lush flowers, Grammy Award winners for entertainment, etc., would throw the towel in on the whole she-bang. But I totally get it.

Considering how Kelly said only earlier this week to Ryan Seacrest that she was "so over ... the wedding" and that she "just got so overwhelmed by ... the decisions," it sounds like scaling things down and eloping was a brilliant way to go.

For many brides, there can come a time when you feel like the planning is just all getting away from you, and it's become way bigger and more out of control and stressful than it needs to be. Above all that, it can feel as if it's become about everything except getting married.

More from The Stir: Kelly Clarkson's Wedding Breakdown Was Inevitable

In my case, we have the kinds of families who would have been totally crushed if they hadn't been a part of it all, people who couldn't travel, and all different personalities with varied priorities and preferences, which contributed to a lot of the stress. I'm actually not sure if eloping could have worked for us, though it sure is amusing to entertain the thought!

At the very least, I'm convinced more brides should consider making like Kelly, putting their foot down, and opting to go the more intimate route if it's at all possible ... Especially if going the other way is driving them completely insane!

What do you think about Kelly Clarkson's decision to elope? Do you wish you had?

Image via Instagram

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Maressa Brown

has enjoyed reporting and writing for a variety of entertainment and women's magazines and websites. More often than not, you'll find her blogging, hitting the gym, reading, researching something on her iPhone, laughing, chatting at an above-"normal" volume, or getting her caffeine fix.

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reacties | | Read More...