THOUGHTFUL RAMBLING No. 6
"Eddie, Please Call Wayne"

About 10 to 12 years ago, the tagline for the New York Lottery was "A Dollar and a Dream." I remember because the advertising agency executing the Lotto marketing at the time did a great campaign featuring juxtaposed images like a Tibetan monk sitting on the hood of a Ferrari and a mechanic standing in front of a castle. In each execution, the headline read, "All it takes is a dollar and a dream."

Sometimes, even that's not enough.

Two months ago on January 12, a man named Wayne Schenk was hanging out with his buddies, enjoying one of their favorite afternoon rituals -- scratching lottery tickets. And as fate would have it, Schenk hit it big, winning a $1 million Jackpot on a $5 High Stakes Blackjack ticket. But fate is a funny thing.

A month before, the 51-year-old Marine veteran from Naples, New York had been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. With no insurance and a $400,000 treatment his only hope to stay alive, things looked bleak. But then, Schenk hit the lottery paying him enough money to pay for his treatment two and a half times over, even after taxes. Or so he thought.

According to New York lottery rules, the payout for Schenk's $1 million win would not come in a lump sum, but in twenty $50,000 payments paid out over two decades. Wayne Schenk couldn't wait that long. Without treatment, Schenk's oncologist had given him 12 to 18 months to live.

Friends and family called the New York lottery commission repeatedly on Schenk's behalf asking for a one-time exemption. Surely, in light of the circumstances, they could bend the rules. It wasn't like there was a house to buy, or a vacation to take. A man's life was at stake. But every time, the answer was no.

As of today, nothing has changed for Wayne Schenk.

Eight hundred miles south, things have changed greatly for Eddie Neighbors. Eddie is a short-haul truck driver from Rocky Face, Georgia - the little town outside of Dalton, Georgia where I grew up. About 10 days ago, Eddie walked into the Favorite Market on Abutment Road and bought six Mega-Millions quick pick lottery tickets. Numbers one, two, three, five and six were a bust. Number four was worth $116 million and change.

Eddie Neighbors won one half of the richest Mega Millions lottery in history - $370 millon! Neighbors one-time lump sum payout was $116 million and even after taxes, he'll clear more than $80 million. No doubt, right now investment counselors from all over the Southeast are making their way to the Carpet Capital of the World to talk to this carpet mill truck driver about how to invest his new found fortune. Where he should put his money, and what will bring him the greatest return.

When asked what he'll do now that he's a millionaire, Eddie Neighbors said he's gonna buy a new bass boat and go fishing for a while. Maybe before he leaves, he can call Wayne Schenk and talk about a loan. If Neighbors made 5% a year on his money, he could live on $4 million a year and never touch the prinicpal. Wayne Schenk's entire cancer treatment is only 10 percent of that. Besides, Schenk can pay the money back. It'll just take eight years.

Personally, I can't think of an investment that would pay a better dividend than that.

UPDATE: Though numerous attempts were made to "bend" the New York State Lottery rules to save Wayne Schenk's life, he succumbed to his cancer, Monday, April 23. He was 51. Shortly before he died, he married his long-time girlfriend so she could inherit his $1 million payout.