P741M lotto winner is from luzon...

Through its Twitter account, GMANews confirms 1 winner of the P741,176,323.20 Jackpot for the November 29, 2010 draw of the Philippine Grand Lotto 6/55 which has the winning number combination, 11-16-42-47-31-37. The information is said to come from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

Here is what the Twitter status message says:

"PCSO confirms one winner of P741.2M peso Grand Lotto 6/55 Jackpot."

And perhaps it will be a security nightmare for this winner, if ever. In 2005, news broke out on the  alleged kidnapping of a 30-year-old lotto winner by nine neighbors who volunteered to escort him in claiming the P39.5-million jackpot prize. Investigation  showed that Erwin Namia, of Norzagaray, Bulacan, was reportedly abducted along with his wife, Virgie and their two sons on September 29 after getting half of the P79.2 million jackpot at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in Quezon City.

Side effects for these instant millionaires are not farfetched. Those of a poor socioeconomic background may not have proper money management skills. In addition, there are security and safety risks associated with publicly announcing the lottery winners such as holding family members for ransom.

For a lot of people, winning the lottery is the ultimate dream. But for many lottery winners, the reality is more like a nightmare. People who are not used to having money are fragile and vulnerable, and there are plenty of people out there who are willing to prey on that vulnerability -- even friends and family (.http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/8lotteryWinnersWhoLostTheirMillions.aspx)

The purchase of lottery tickets is, from the perspective of classical economics, irrational. However, in addition to the chance of winning, the ticket may enable some purchasers to experience a thrill and to indulge in a fantasy of becoming wealthy. If the entertainment value (or other non-monetary value) obtained by playing is high enough for a given individual, then the purchase of a lottery ticket could represent a gain in overall utility. In such a case, the monetary loss could be outweighed by the non-monetary gain, thus making the purchase a rational decision for that individual.

Lotteries are sometimes described as a regressive tax, albeit a voluntary one, since those most likely to buy tickets, and to spend a larger proportion of their money on them, are typically less affluent people. The astronomically high odds against winning the larger prizes have also led to the epithets of a "tax on stupidity" and a "math tax"