Winning the lottery   is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for many past winners. Sad stories do exist in large numbers for the past lottery winners and that's why some financial experts say "70 percent of lottery winners will squander away   winning within a few years." Some end up losing all within two years, family relationships destroyed or even worse. Wayne Schenk was an old soldier diagnosed with lung cancer. When he won a million dollars in a lottery he thought his troubles were over and he would get the advanced medical treatment that might save his life. But Lottery officials refused to pay him the total sum in a single payment and they said they could not make an exception to the regulations. When Schenk died in 2007, he'd only received one payment of $34,000. Another lottery winner, Billy Bob Harrell, Jr. killed himself two years after winning 31 million dollars in the Texas lottery in 1997.He'd spent large amounts of money and given large amounts away, but he didn't end me expected peace that should have come with the freedom of money. Other lottery winners have ended up in prison for crimes. Many suffer bankruptcy   after the big jackpot   is spent and given away, including some of the eight people who won the 365 million Powerball in 2006. The examples given paint a sad picture of what can happen if you win a big lottery jackpot, but fortunately, these examples don't tell the stories of all jackpot winners. Why did lottery officials refuse to give Wayne Schenk the million dollars in one payment?
He was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was unwilling to give away his money. They had to observe the official rules. They didn't want to disturb his peace.