"Lottery of Death" Winner Dies

Bud Post, Lottery 'Winner,' Dies at 66

Fri Jan 20, 3:54 PM ET

FRANKLIN, Pa. - William "Bud" Post III, who won a $16.2 million jackpot and bitterly called it the "lottery of death" after his life turned sour, has died at 66.

Post, who died of respiratory failure Sunday at a hospital in Seneca, won the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 after pawning a ring for $40 and buying 40 tickets.

Up until then, he had worked odd jobs, had been married five times and was living on
Social Security disability income because of a job-related injury when he won.

But the winnings, which were paid out in annual installments of $498,000 after taxes, brought trouble.

Various businesses he started with siblings failed. His sixth wife moved out, his brother was convicted of trying to kill him, and his landlady and sometimes girlfriend successfully sued for one-third of his winnings. She had purchased 20 tickets with him and the winner was among the 60.

Post was also convicted of assault for firing a shotgun over the head of a man who came to his mansion to collect a bill in the early 1990s.

"For the lack of a better term, he was like the `Beverly Hillbillies,'" said John Lacher, a bankruptcy lawyer who assisted Post. Lacher described Post as impulsive, saying Post was the type of person would buy 30 of the same item.

"He did everything you would expect of a guy who became a millionaire overnight," Lacher said.

In 1996, a bankruptcy judge auctioned off what was left of Post's prize payments — $4.9 million — to pay off his debts, leaving him with about $1 million.

"I truly won the lottery of death, I think," he said.

Survivors include his seventh wife, Debra Wice, and nine children.