SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - DILAPIDATED DIGS OF $232M LOTTO COWBOY

nypost.com ^ | June 7, 2009 | LACHLAN CARTWRIGHT

[Free ThinkerNY]

MISSION, SD -- That's a lotto junk!

Here's a peek at the "palatial" digs where newly-minted $232 million lot tery winner Neal Wan less hangs his cowboy hat at night.

Scrap metal, refrig erators and a mess of tables, lawn chairs and tires litter the grounds in front of the ramshackle trailer where the once-im poverished cowpoke lives with mom Nancy and dad Arlen.

Sheep, geese and ducks run freely on the grounds of the 320-acre ranch in this rural town of 900 where the aver age annual income is about $7,500.

The Wanless family's mobile home, standing behind a wooden gate with family members' names carved in it, is so cramped that they use three broken-down cars as storage space for clothes.

[9YearLurker]

Why do I fear another tragic story in the making?

[Jolla]

Indeed; I recall a story from my youth about a millionaire that drove through a small town that needed help and no one helped him. Later he sent everyone in the town $1000s of dollars and to make a long story short, it totally destroyed the town.
On the other hand I liked the guy that won the lottery and said, I am spending half on wild women and wild times and wasting the rest of it.

[ConservativeMind]

Media has no class.

They go to basically make fun of a private guy’s living environment.

[ConservativeMind]

If we won the lottery, we’d have our lawyer act as our representative and not be named, ourselves.

[Krankor]

He looks a little like Woody Harrelson

[NCBraveheart]

Ditto. I would claim the prize in the NOYDB Trust (None of Your Damned Business)

[Boiling point]

I thought that was the life style the left wants ALL of us to live.

[lefty-lie-spy]

Great story. I see a future senator if he’s a conservative. I can’t say that I know too many cowboys that are libs. At least in Northern California all the cowboys are conservative - can’t say much for the rest of the nation.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

You can legally set up a corporation and declare that to be the winner, and claim the money. I don’t understand the tax ramifications of it, whether you’ll be paying more or not in it, but it’s perfectly legal. But yeah, it sucks that lottery winners have to be publicized. They should just announce the city and state where the jackpot was won.

[meyer]

I thought that was the life style the left wants ALL of us to live.

Yep, starting with the right-wing, white male auto dealers.

[Gay State Conservative]

I guarantee that this guy will be in bankruptcy court within 5 years of having deposited his check.

[mysterio]

Maybe he's happy living there. I know plenty of people who are miserable living in much nicer houses.

Winning the lottery would be something else. My plan would be to pick a certain amount to invest in something safe and live off the interest. With the rest, I'd probably travel around and help people with small problems. Imagine what you could do with a well placed couple thousand dollars. Find people who are going bankrupt and pay a couple bills for them. Help a college kid. Make a car payment for somebody. Travel overseas and help a random family there. Would be neat to have that kind of money to play around with.

I don't usually buy lottery tickets, though.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Don’t knock it, that much living space on the Upper East Side, even in today’s market, would go for about $2,000,000.

[Yossarian]

Nice job violating this (once) suffering family’s privacy.

[pesto]

It’s not that bad of a place. He’s got his own ferris wheel.

[Hawthorn]

>> Why do I fear another tragic story in the making? <<

Maybe because you remember John Beresford Tipton and Michael Anthony?

[9YearLurker]

It’s unfortunate, this kid sounds like a good guy.

[9YearLurker]

What is that, a ferris wheel for gophers?

[steve86]

I would put a newer mobile home and a big out building on the property; otherwise, looks fine to me.

Would spend some of the rest on a very high surrounding fence-wall with security.