From Zero to Hero: Gambling Yourself to Financial Freedom!
Do you want to break the shackles of financial constraints?
Warren Buffet suggested that every working person (with a steady recurrent income) should save at least 30% of their income in order to secure their future. In other words, your financials are considered unhealthy if your debt-to-income ratio is above 30 percent. Well, this is just too much “economics” plus it only works for a few.
Quick question…
What would happen to you if you lost your job today? Do you have enough money in your emergency fund to sustain you for the next 3 to 6 months? This is basically everybody’s biggest financial fear. And another thing… nobody wants to work forever!
If you do not plan on keeping your regular job well beyond your 60s, or you if you want to spend more time enjoying life with your family (and loved ones), then listen up… you need to start building some solid groundwork for that right now. You need a master plan. Healthy investments are diversified and they include both low-risk and high-risk options; you only need to find your comfort level and invest in what your financial capabilities can allow. It is a well known fact that most of us are faced with the harsh realities of shouldering (overwhelming) financial burdens that we endure on a regular. Our dreams remain forever out of reach because our debts limit whatever inadequate cash supply we have.
All that can stop today…!
How then can you achieve financial freedom in your life and enjoy a debt free life?
Interlude: One fact you should understand right here and now is that all investments are merely forms of glorified gambling; in one way or another. Even Wall Street (or buying stocks) is just a form of legalized gambling! And to make matters even worse, Wall Street allows other “professionals” to gamble with your money while sugar coating the entire ordeal as “target retirement funds” or “actively managed funds”; just to obfuscate their unsecure investments in a volatile market!
Global Gambling Facts
First things first, gambling is totally legal. However, although there exists countless literature on gambling throughout history, it is not clear when gambling activities began. The other thing is that gambling ventures have funded all sorts of healthcare and social welfare ventures for decades; if not centuries! Gambling descriptions are found even in holy books such as the Quran and the Mahabharata. Evidence clearly shows that gambling might have begun long before these books were written. As a matter of fact, gambling may be older than records of human life itself! According to Schwartz (2006), gambling was invented as a secretive event that was cherished by a few. This is mainly the reason why gambling carries different positions and meanings to different communities (or cultures, legislations, and religions).
Gambling and Financial Freedom
Another fact that most people will never talk about is that despite the amount of money they make from their daily jobs… none of them feel (or experience anything close to being) financially free in any way! A big percentage of the “working population” is secretly drowning in bills that include mortgages, college tuition fees for the kids, or retirement savings among other personal issues.
Please note that smart (and sometimes lucky) gambling strategies can solve all this for you today!
How?
Let’s get to it…
The Truth About Achieving Financial Freedom Through Gambling
Unlike working regular (steady income) jobs or focusing on investments that force you to accumulate cash from a single unpredictable source to “achieve” financial freedom, straight gambling allows you to change your life in an instant; from zero to hero in a blink of an eye… literally! It is very easy to turn a few pounds into millions with just one wise investment. Forget everything they told you about the negative aspects of gambling and gambling disorders… a recent study carried out on behalf of the Finnish government found that 87% of the total (3.7 million) Finnish population over the age of 15 years has tried gambling at least once in their lifetime.
However, the Finns are not the only ones who are smart (and bold) enough to take the gambling route as a means to financial freedom… this wise investment strategy is quickly growing into a global phenomenon.
Case in point…
Jessica Agbunag was just a regular graduate from high school when she decided to try her luck at the Wheel of Fortune in Vegas. One spin and Jess was $1.7 million richer! She had placed (invested) a $12 wager before the huge win. Jessica was on an all girls weekend trip to Vegas after graduation before her amazing win. This automatically turned Jessica into a star/celebrity when she immediately moved from slow sips of her cheap drink to buying drinks for every gambler in the house! How long do you think Jessica would have had to work in order to accumulate a million dollars in her personal account? Or pay off her student loan? Or afford a proper house and a nice car?
Ashley Revell was a desperate British gambler who decided to sell everything he owned (which wasn’t much) in order to invest in gambling as a means to stabilize his finances. He ended up with a £192, 000 win which changed his life forever after placing all his money on RED (lucky 7) while playing roulette at a local casino.
A group of college students from MIT used their card counting trick to win a couple million pounds playing Blackjack. These guys ended up with so much money that they had to form an investment company to handle their finances.
If you think that all the above stories do not fall under the category of extraordinary life changing events, then maybe you should talk to this one lady who had just come from a trip to Africa before trying her luck at her favorite online casino (pinkcasino.co.uk); she won a jaw dropping 80, 000 pounds while playing the “Go Wild on Safari” slots machine! It was like she never spent a penny during her vacation because her amazing win cancelled all her expenses and left her with a substantial surplus.
The famous Bond character Sean Connery is another perfect example of gamblers who landed life changing wins by gambling a few pounds. Even while his wager on the number 17 at a roulette table had left him counting imaginary sheep after the first 2 tries, he kept the faith and tried the number 17 three more times, and won on all tries scooping a total of 163, 000 pounds! A real James Bond move for sure…!
Archie Karas went to Vegas with only $40 to spare but he left Vegas a millionaire after a life changing win amounting to a staggering $30 million! Archie has never known a minute of poverty or financial lack since then… The funny thing is that Archie had borrowed the $40 from friends and family before the huge win!
Fact: No other form of mainstream investments can turn $40 into $30 million over a single weekend. None! And hey… if it worked for James Bond then I guess it can work for you too!
Lifestyle of the “Rich and Infamous”
Now, we all know what gambling critiques are thinking at this point…: “Who in their right mind would risk their future chasing loses in gambling?”
But let’s not forget, as mentioned earlier, every successful (and wealthy) person (both alive and dead) had to gamble with ideas and investments at some point in their life. Bill Gates took a leap of faith when he left college to start Microsoft… Zuckerberg gambled with Facebook and it paid off big time… and this is true for so many other billionaires and millionaires around the world. However, these people spent a lot of money and time (years) chasing their dreams to unknown ends before they finally got their breaks…
Strategic gamblers like the Weirs (winners of £161 million in the EuroMillions lottery jackpot) took a shortcut and achieved what these big names achieved in years of hard toiling… in just a few effortless tries. Collin and Christine now live at the (palatial) Frognal Scottish home which they bought for 3 million pounds! Although the Weirs had worked all their lives and were in their 60s when they landed their jackpot win, they still couldn’t afford to live a fraction of the life they have now…
Dave and Angela Dawes were on their third lottery ticket when they won the EuroMillions jackpot and walked away with £101.2 million! Angela was only a volunteer at the BHF (British Heart Foundation) while Dave was a shift supervisor at Premier Foods. None of these jobs can ever turn you into a millionaire even if you worked forever! The couple lived in a shared 1-bedroom house before the amazing win.
Neil Trotter was a mechanic who earned a living repairing and spraying other people’s cars before winning £107.9 million after investing only 10 GBP for a ticket. Trotter has since hanged his (oily) overalls and is busy chasing his dream as a Hot Rod racer. His wife Nicky who decided horses were more her thing started her own stable and she gets to ride her steeds all day long throughout the 400 –acre Leighton Manor with its own private lake! He now lives in a 5 million estate which is a huge upgrade from his previous 3-bedroom home his father had bought for him. Neil also swapped his old Ford Focus for a Range Rover while his wife settled for a Land Rover. In an interview immediately after the jackpot win, Nicky was quoted saying that she could not comprehend how their lives had suddenly changed from “shoe-string budgets” to affording anything!
Gambling as a Means to an End
Just like investing in any other business, gambling can also be used as a means to an end. For instance, when George Keates and his partner Beryl won £14 million, they changed lives for all their family members in a way they could have imagined before their windfall. Each of their grandchildren received 10, 000 GBP while each of their four sons received £250, 000! The couple lives in £3.5 million mansion.
Les Scadding was an unemployed a lorry driver in Newport when he won 45.5 million GBP and made all his children millionaires by showering them with some of his winnings. A PowerBall lottery also going by the name Les (Robins) used his $111 million win to bring fun to his community by opening a summer camp for both adults and kids. Camp Winnegator has water toys, stables, and a mini golf course. Les quickly moved from being a (near) nobody to becoming the neighborhood hero just like that!
There are several lottery winners who managed to make more money and they’ve been able to stay rich by investing their money in mainstream businesses. The following jackpot winners are perfect examples of how gambling can be used a means to financial freedom.
Brad Duke was a workout instructor and a cycling enthusiast who dreamt of owning a high-end mountain bike all his life. His $220 million PowerBall jackpot win changed all that in a flash…! He now owns over 10 mountain bikes! He also invested in home security and real estate.
Barbara Hamer was a just a funeral home worker when she hit the jackpot banking $21.5 million. She bought herself a Cigar store Indian and now runs her own Marina business. Hamer is still hoping for another jackpot win because she has never stopped lottery tickets.
Another jackpot winner who is still buying lottery tickets is Richard Sandlin who retired from his job as a seasonal state park worker after winning $7.1 million. The old and deaf grandfather now spends his time with his grandchildren and daughter. He has also set up trust funds for all of them! A hero indeed…
Cynthia Stafford’s life changed forever when she won $112 million. In addition to starting her own film production company (Queen Nefertari Productions), she bought a new home with a pool.
After winning $29.5 million in the PowerBall lottery, Philip Pina opened his own automotive shop after working for years as a mechanic and he spends most of his time traveling all over the country. He also became a hero to his family by giving his children and nephews (plus nieces) a cool $12, 000 each. Pina was also able to move from his trailer home to a 3,000 sq ft estate.
Similar to Les Scadding, Bill Poling was not only unemployed, but he couldn’t get a job due to his medical condition. Mr. Poling who is a staunch Christian went ahead and bought land for his local Baptist church and donated to the local Scouts troops as well as the Girl’s Club and the Arthritis Foundation.
The people of Stoughton Wisconsin will forever remember Patrick Nowlin as the guy who saved 4th July celebrations when he offered to pay for the community’s fireworks display. Nowlin had been forced to retire from his job as a factory worker when he developed a hereditary eye condition known as Retinitis Pigmentosa. He was on social security and disability while wife worked at Wal-Mart where she had been for 19 years! Winning $19 million changed his family’s life because each of his children and siblings received $12, 000 cars and he also set up trust funds for them. Additionally, Nowlin was able to take care of his diabetic son, clear his 401(k) debt, and paid off his mortgage in one quick swoop!
Karen Child was struggling to take care of her 3 kids when she won 8.5 million GBP. She was quickly elevated from her single motherhood status to become a shareholder and the director of a local basketball team (Sheffield Sharks), she began supporting a few charities, and she added 2 local bars in her investments.
Wrapping Up: The Parting Shot
As clearly highlighted through the examples above, gambling can be used wisely to change anyone’s life forever. Most of the winners listed here were literally zeroes before their windfall(s) turned them into instant (family and community) heroes. Their finances are now secure and they can spend the rest of their lives doing what they love most…
Many of these jackpot winners were honest enough to reveal that their lives were just a series of problems before winning the jackpot prizes and also that they couldn’t even dare to dream of the luxuries they could now afford… even after working in employment for years! Now they were proud of the many small things they were able to do for their families and communities as a result of their life-changing jackpot wins. All these jackpot winners were able to buy new (and better) homes, new cars, help their families and friends in various ways, go for vacations, invest in their dream businesses and even support a few community charities among other ventures.
Just ask Deana Sampson about her 5.4 million GBP jackpot win… She was a mobile hairdresser before her windfall but everything changed in an instant and she soon had her own bar, a chain of restaurants, an online lingerie business, and a few rental properties! The perfect “Zero to Hero” story…
Do you still think gambling is a waste of time or money? Well, think again…!