Homeless Guy Drops Last Cash on Lotto, Wins $2.8M

Establishing foundations to fight addiction, domestic abuse
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 17, 2014 8:16 AM CST
Homeless Guy Drops Last Cash on Lotto, Wins $2.8M
A homeless man won the lottery.   (Shutterstock)

Reality doesn't really tend to work this way, but László Andraschek's tale is the stuff of fantasy: En route to a program for recovering alcoholics, the unemployed, indebted Hungarian man was down to his last few coins when he decided to buy a lottery ticket. "I had only picked six numbers and the female shop assistant reminded me that I needed to pick a seventh," he said. "I told her to make it 24—it doesn't matter, anyway." In fact, it did: Andraschek won some $2.8 million, the Guardian reports.

The 55-year-old paid his debts and biked to a car dealer to get a new mode of transportation—though he can't drive, so his three kids will have to take the wheel. He also bought apartments for those children, is planning a trip to Italy, and has taken care of other family members' debts. But notably, he's using the money to help others: Andraschek's good fortune was kept quiet until he recently made a hefty donation to a homeless shelter. He's also setting up foundations to help addicts and victims of domestic abuse. "I have become rich, but I have not become a different person," he says. (Click for another tale of surprising wealth.)

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