Can winning nearly a million dollars in the lottery be a bad thing? Strangely, for Donald and Danette Sigmon the answer is apparently, "yes."
On July 26, Donald won $800,000 in the Powerball Lottery after accurately choosing five winning numbers. The Sigmons went to Raleigh to claim their prize. Ever since, they have worried over the fact that playing the lottery might have shamed them.
They say they have been shunned and ridiculed — and aren't entirely proud of having played. They're so uncomfortable that Donald has written an open letter to the community about the morality of winning the North Carolina Educational Lottery.
The Sigmons, members of a local Baptist church, were apprehensive at first. She's the child of a Baptist minister, and he is a Baptist after a childhood as a Catholic.
Donald says he had bought the Powerball ticket on a whim. He'd been dealing with the death of his mother earlier this year and said he had some numbers in mind, numbers he chose for personal reasons. He bought the PowerPlay option, which would multiply his winnings by four.
Then he and Danette went to the Outer Banks for a vacation. Only after they returned did they discover that Donald held a ticket worth $200,000. With the multiplier, he had $800,000.
"I didn't think he'd won because he didn't match the last number" or the Powerball number, Danette said.
Although he hadn't hit the jackpot, he had won.
And in the ensuing five weeks, they say, they've been strained by the way some people treat them differently.
"I have learned many things about the beliefs people have towards playing and winning the lottery," Donald wrote. "Is it right or wrong to play the lottery if you are a Christian or attend church? If you feel in your heart that the right thing to do, when winning the lottery, is to tithe the 10 percent of the winnings to a charity or church ... will the church accept it?" he asks.
They gave money to charity and to their church, but the church returned it.
"We understand why the money was returned; we just do not understand the criticism and shunning of our fellow Christian brothers and sisters," Donald wrote.
I "did not intend to win," he said. "But I did. Since that time, my family and I have been congratulated and ridiculed at the same time. The people in our community who know (us) were happy for us because they know how much it will help us financially, now and in the future. On the other hand, the people who should know my family best have ridiculed and shunned us due to this."
Danette, a part-time school bus driver, said the ride to Raleigh to claim their winnings "was the longest ride I've ever taken." After they made it through the maze of paperwork, they were given a check and looked for the first branch they could find of their bank.
That branch was too busy, they were told, as they wanted to deal directly with a banker. So they asked directions to the next branch. There, they were ushered in but greeted with wariness.
"She said they get lots of fake lottery checks," Danette said. "She said she'd never had a winning check come in."
After collecting, they came home and avoided publicity. But still, the state had announced their winnings, so it was in the paper.
Danette says she was unsettled from the get-go.
"I worried, 'What will my preacher think?' she recalls. "Will I be shunned?"
She said she's never played the lottery herself, and she has words of advice for those who do. When buying a ticket, think hard about it: "You don't think, 'What if I win?'" she said.
Donald, who works for Gilbert Engineering installing utilities, said "some people were for us; some were against us," when word got out about the money.
And what did they do with the winnings? They say they paid the taxes, which were substantial; paid off the mortgage on their West Iredell home; shared some with family; invested some for the children's college; and gave some away.
"We've done good things with this money," Danette said, but winning has been "good and bad."
"It changes your life," she said. "I'm so glad he didn't win the big one" worth tens of millions of dollars, she added.
Because they'd been on the financial brink, they appreciate having money in the bank. But still, they feel they are subject to stares in places they should be treated as friends.
Much of the reaction "has broken my heart," Danette said. "But what are we going to do, sit on this pile of money" and do nothing?
They both intend to continue working, because the amount they won isn't enough to get silly about.
So are they happy?
"I could be," Danette said with a laugh. But she would appreciate being able to let the worry go so she could sleep.
What? A lottery winner losing sleep worrying?
"This has not made us happy," they both said, because winning means "you're struggling with right and wrong."
"I'm happy we are able to pay things off, help our family and help charity," she said.
"But we want it to end," he interjected.
But will their acquaintances forgive them for gambling? Danette thinks many will but said: "I'm not going to beg them."
"You would have to be a strong person to not want that money," she said, sitting at her kitchen table with Donald, but "I don't know if it's a curse or a blessing."
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sigmon,
You have nothing to be ashamed of.
Tell those people that "shun" you to kiss your __.
It is a combination of ignorance and jealousy that makes the idiots treat you the way that they do. Go on with your lives and fuggetabout it.
Sincerely,
DD
It's too bad they worry so much about what other people think about them. I believe in Lord Jesus Christ and his word also and I don't find one iota in the bible where it says that putting money on games is evil. The lottery is a tax game; it has always been used as a tax. Of course you will always have people that want to make you feel very very guilty. I think many of them are simply jealous. And the stares he gets? I'm sure if he gave those folks a big chunk of his money they wouldn't be staring at him so. Just my two cents.
"Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s . . . " Romans 13
and
"The lot is cast into the lap" Proverb 16:23
But its OK to go to a church sponsored picnic that has bingo? Same thing, you pick a board with numbers on and wait for them to be drawn and when you have all the numbers on your board then BINGO and you WIN MONEY! How many people do you know that will sit and play bingo for hours for the heck of it? None, they are all there to win money prizes! Christians are not supposed to be drunkards either but how many church picnics do you see selling beer at beer booths for profits? Many of them do!!!!!!! But I guess that is OK?
The people that are shunning you are called Hypocrites! And that is exactly what they are so next time you see them at a church picnic playing bingo and drinking beer shun them sinners too!!!!! LOL! You can’t get a speck out of your brothers eye when you have one in your own!
Enjoy your blessing because that is what it was!
People who don't want to win some money don't buy a PowerBall lottery ticket and those who buy a ticket that don't expect to win anyting don't pay extra for the PowerPlay. People who do things that they are ashamed of avoid talking about them in public.
I think it says alot about North Carolina, and why it took so long to establish a lottery in that state. It's hard to control the sheep in a flock if they start doing things that are going to make them pull the wool out of their eyes. I think the congregation is doing just that for these lucky people.
Sometime i think the wrong people hit the powerball games. Because, if it was me who hit that powerball game, i wouldn't give a *@!&^# what they say.
I wonder if they went through this when they bought Insurance? Did the "Flock" have problems with them gambling with that? Or what kind of Insurance they bought? I wonder if the "Flock" has problems with them having a 401k that is growing from the Stock Market. I wonder if the "Flock" has 401k's growing in the Stock Market. OMG! Could the "Flock" be "Gambling"? SOMEBODY TELL GOD!!!!!! The World is going to HELL! Oh wait a minute, it's already there.
That does show how narrow minded North Carolinans are. This always has eerked me. You can definetly tell that NC is a red state. Glad I don't live there.
Brad
I obviously completely disagree with the anti-gambling croud, but I would not be so judgmental to deem all North Carolinians as "close-minded," as you do.
I think a large segment of the population in N.C. despises gambling, which is their right. I don't think some of the comments about BINGO mentioned above apply to such people, because I don't think BINGO is used as a fundraiser in Born Again ministries. Someone can certainly correct me on this if I'm wrong.
I guess it's not in my personality to give a hoot about what someone else thinks, so it's hard to sympathize with the "shameful winners" described in the story. I do feel bad for them, in that they do not have the ability to enjoy their new-found wealth, and are dragged down by feelings of guilt.
By the way, regarding the "red state" comment mentioned by Brad, I would rather live in a red state any day of the week. And this comes from someone living in a blue state (me). If I'm lucky, someday I'll move to a red state, and it may even be one of the eight without a lottery.
Yes, this is the Bible Belt and many people have been brow beaten with religion....all in the presence of bigotry. But that doesn't make all of us stupid. Intelligence is an individual thing.
I'm glad you don't live here either, Bradley_60. God know we don't need another stupid person. Oh, did I say God.
Everyone who lives is Michigan are super intelligent and great people, except Bradly_60. He is stupid. You can paint him "red."
There are too many wonderful Michigan people on LP for me to be ignorant enough to insult the entire state.
A very valid point about gambling and BINGO. I think the reason many churches here were opposed to a lottery was for that very reason, it was competition against BINGO. My parents used to help out with BINGO for the Catholic school my brother attended and they raked in alot of money from it. Since lottery, video poker, and casinos came to Louisiana, BINGO revenues have been in decline and that will probably start happening in NC. The church doesn't like the competition.
I remember a story from several years ago about a Louisiana priest who actually refused to have BINGO for his church becuase he saw alot of people cashing Social Security and even Public Assistance(aka Welfare) checks to play BINGO. He caught alot of flack from the upper ranks of the area Catholic Church for it. The Catholic church wanted gambling but didn't want anyone else to have it since it cut in on their revenue.
I also agree with the shunning, those people are hypocrites pure and simple. For all anyone knows, some of them are probably closet lottery players themselves and may have even gone to Vegas or some other place with casinos and gambled. I tend to think people who engage in this sort of shunning or persecution of "sinners" probably have or are doing all the things they are telling the rest of us not to do and a few other things we haven't heard of or knew were physically possible<grin>.
My message to these people is enjoy your winnings and live a good life.
Sorry about my post earlier I guess I did come across as blunt. But it does seem like everyone is on the same page as to how we feel about this subject.
Brad
D.D. is absolutely correct. Your community's mindset is obviously located in the lowest part of the intestine. Take an enema and get out of there...fast. The brain is about 3 feet due north and your neighbors don't have a compass. Sad thing is, they'll have a GPS honed onto your wallet when it suits them.
Shame on them. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods". Must be a verse missing from their bible.
Get on with your life and leave the toilet paper in the toilet.
Congrats on your win!
And yet you don't seem to have a problem with being judgemental towards democrats and liberals do you Todd? I am really surprised at seeing such hypocrisy from a conservative.
Do all those do goodies harrass the lottery players in the stores when they are buying tickets?
How did they get lottery sales in that town any how.
The anti lottery people of N.C. knew what they were talking about when they said N.C. should not have a lottery.
Now look at what has happen.
This sounds like the reactions the PA Amish give to members of their community who do anything "modern". I've heard of one Amish family who was shunned by the community for buying an electric water pump to wash things on their farm, but not to use for drinking water.
Closed minded societies are a scary thing. I have found in my travels that the bible belt is such a society. It is a blanket description, but the blanket definitely has some moth holes in it, so to speak. I speak from experiences I've had in Southern Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Southwest Virginia.
Yay!!
I was so excited when I read this post that I dropped my Hillary For President button!
I have a different take on this from nearly everyone. Aside from the incident of the church returning their donation, this article is rather short on specifics. We see that they have been "shunned" and "ridiculed" with no mention of how they were shunned and ridiculed.
I might be playing armchair psychiatrist here, but maybe they feel guilty about playing and winning (from what I hear, this is common among lottery winners, even if it's not justified) and are reading too much into the way others are interacting with them.
Before my wife and I were married we were driving through Oklahoma and wanted to rent a motel room for the night but were refused because we weren't married. We drove out of the state through the night and never crossed its border again.
When those motel owners are standing before St. Peter, I hope he tells them "There is no room in the inn".
Mangeydog, I just tell the facts, and the facts burn like hot acid when applied to those who embody the facts that I describe. To say that my reporting of the facts is being "judgmental" is incorrect, and I will not take the bait you are offering.
If you would like to point out where I have ever failed to describe the facts surrounding any allegation about liberals and/or Democrats, I would appreciate it.
JE, I actually hope that Hillary Clinton wins the Democrat primary and becomes the candidate, because that means that the other side will win. I think Hillary realizes that, which is why her staff is "leaking" rumors that she may not run for prez, and will just seek the Senate leadership. One loss on Hillary's record will tarnish her forever, and she knows it.
Most people are not swayed by the arguments of the other side, and I do not expect you or other liberals to be swayed by the reasoned arguments that I put forth. (I try to keep political statements in my blog, but occasionally have to respond in the public forums when other people do not employ the same good faith that I do.)
However, if I can help one person to think logically instead of emotionally, and help one person to think on their own, rather than following the talking points of whatever political party they align with, then I feel it is worth it.
By the way mangeydog, I sincerely appreciate that you have labeled me as "conservative", rather than "Republican". In all honesty, the label I would attach to myself is "traditionalist", as I favor the philosophies that this country was founded on: freedom in all things that do not cause harm to others or impede others' freedoms, equality of all people, and freedom from oppressive government. The term "conservative" fits me pretty well most of the time, and Republican tends to also, but not all the time. So I guess that's the "label pecking order" for me, just in case you care.
Let our country's history be the facts.
I am a Christian. People are wary because there may have been cases where someone won big and sounded all holy and then their life was torn asunder between their own behavior and those around them. Maybe not the case with these people but we tend to remember the negative stories because the positive stories are rarely reported.
I don't have the Bible memorized. If someone knows could you tell me on what page does it say "Thou Shalt Not Gamble"? Wouldn't the stock market be a form of gambling? For that matter, the risks that one takes on a daily basis in order to survive? If the Lord wants me to be rich it will happen by some means, whether by a clever algorithm in the Lottery or some other way.
Thank$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.............RJOh!!!!
Have you ever.........ever??????????????????????.............WON???
Won??? anything of VALUE??????
"DEATH" in a family......
can DO some......strange
""""THING$$""""
PSYKOMO
I concur with your excellent diagnosis. To sum it up, misery loves company!
Blue
MANGEYA$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.........psykomo
agree$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$......."WITCH"
you..............................................MANGEY
"YOU" are the Jacka$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
to....."LEAD" the TROOPS from Bagdad to IOWA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
when "YOU" give...........................................................................
YOUR "BASTARD" friends (PERMISSION) to cut OFF HEADS<<<<<
DON'T ask HELP from the.............................................................
"National Guard"
PSYKOMO.
I'm glad we agree.
I disagree with you wholeheartedly.