Money For Nothing: Winners and Losers and Lotteries, A Book Review

Money For Nothing: One Man's Journey Through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions

Author: Edward Ugel

Publisher: Collins, an imprint of Harper Collins

Suggested retail Price: $24.95

Number of pages: 235

There are no winners in state lotteries   Many of the so-called winners of the past ended up  broke. That's when they called Edward Ugel, author of Money For Nothing,  and his Firm would then buy the remainder of their winnings for a lump sun.   Ugel made hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions off lottery "winners" and he used that money to fund his own gambling habit.  The sub title of his book tells it all, "One Man's Journey Through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions."

He writes that lotteries are a popular, voluntary type of tax that has been around since Biblical times. Both Julius Caesar and Ben Franklin proposed lotteries.  Many people today think lottery money  is earmarked for popular causes like education, when, in fact, it does not increase a state's education budget.  

They create and abet gambling addiction. In Oregon where Ugel once worked as a bartender, Video Poker machines are in all bars and restaurants to tempt the gambling addict. 

Most lottery winners do not know how to invest or save money.  They are not given counseling.  Nor do they understand that lotteries seldom pay the winner a lump sum.  A two-million-dollar winner might get payments of $70,000 a year after taxes.   But by the time the winner discovers that fact, he has probably already gone on a shopping spree and made lots of promises to family and friends. 

The book has many fun moments as Ugel writes about his misadventures with lottery winners.  It is an easy read, and it is very understandable.  We are a shopaholic, consumer society.  There are too many gluttons and not enough common sense.  You will enjoy this book despite the dark side of society that it describes.