I am one of millions who keep on thinking how on earth would I spend all that moolah? I am glad that I am not betting on any game of chance because what if I win? How on earth will I answer that question? Ha ha ha!
Last April 22, 2008, Dionie Reyes, a utility worker, won P14,125,032 in the Lotto 6/42 draw and for three months lived
the life of a millionaire, something he had been longing to experience.
He lived in a P4-million house in a
posh subdivision, drove around in a sports utility vehicle (SUV), and
gave goodwill money, ranging P1,000 to P 850,000, to relatives and
friends. He also gambled daily, womanized, and went on regular drinking
sprees.
In an exclusive interview, DR told the
Manila Bulletin that he did not regret throwing all the money away,
because it was his, he enjoyed it to the hilt, and he did not take it
from anybody else. "I won it from a lotto game of PCSO (Philippine
Charity Sweepstakes Office)," DR said. "It was my money. I spent my P14
million in three months," he admits. But in the end, he felt sorry for
his unbridled spending spree.
From being an instant millionaire, DR
now owes some people about P500,000. And to underscore his current state
of living, DR underwent a heart surgery at the Philippine Heart Center
(PHC) last September without any cash on hand. And he had to thank the
PCSO management for helping him pay for the cost of operation of about
P500,000, more or less.
Nearly four years after his lucky
streak, the married native of Las Piñas, now 47, with an 11-year-old
adopted son, said he wants to tell his story so others who may strike
gold, or already did, with the lotto games may learn a lesson or two
from his experience.
When this pen pusher, rather
Blackberry user, told him his name will not be mentioned to shield him
from any uninvited or unintended consequences of his coming out in
public, he won't have it that way. "If you are not going to mention my
name, then there is no use telling my story. Readers may not believe
your article. You may even use my photograph," he insists. "After all, I
have nothing to fear. That was about four years ago already. I had
spent all my winnings. Nothing is left, except my house and the things I
gave my relatives, office mates, friends, and acquaintances," he says.
DR recalled that before his mother Paz
died at 71 in 2004, she used to tell him that she had been praying for
him to win in the lotto play. "Anak, ipinagdarasal ko na manalo ka na ng
lotto para makatikim naman tayo ng ginhawa (Son, I have been praying
that you win in the lotto so we can have a better life)," DR recalls his
mother telling him. DR proudly said that being the youngest of his six
siblings made him the favorite of his mother. He has five sisters and a
brother.
About four years after his mother's
demise, DR finally hit the jackpot, using a Lucky Pick, System 7 bet
worth P70. A System 7 bet has seven combinations. "It was a Tuesday when
I hit the jackpot. My boss announced that a lotto machine gave out the
winning numbers for 6/42, Lucky Pick, and System 7," relates DR. "I had
all the three categories. So, I silently hoped that I am the winner,"
says DR. He did not check his ticket yet.
Wednesday evening, after work, like in
many other days before, DR went on another drinking session. He still
did not check his lotto ticket in his wallet, which by then was already
drenched with his own urine because of too much drinking.
Friday, at lunch time, while eating
with an office mate, DR took out his smelly wallet and got the 6/42
ticket. He had memorized the winning combination, 09-15-18-23-28-40,
which had at stake P14,125,032.
"Uy, I got three... four... five
numbers," DR exclaims, as excitement overwhelmed him. He said he no
longer mentioned he got all the six drawn numbers. He just nudged his
officemate, who got the message. "At 1 p.m., accompanied by my boss, I
had my winning ticket validated at the PCSO's Internal Audit Department.
The lotto machine did not accept it at first because of urine smudge.
So, the validation was done manually, entering into the lotto machine
the security numbers in the ticket," recounts DR.
The PCSO validation machine confirmed
DR won the more than P14-million jackpot. "After about an hour, I got
the check and I went to the bank, still with my boss," he said.
"Lahat tayo may pangarap. Gusto ko
talaga magkaroon ng kotse, magandang bahay, at makahawak ng malaking
pera. Kaya sinabi ko sa bangko bigyan ako ng isang milyon na cash at
tulungan ako makabili ng Toyota Fortuner na usong-uson noon," he recalls
with fondness.
He said he was adamant he wanted to go
home driving his new car, and a million-peso cash with him. The bank
made sure he got them. It was already evening when he got his shiny
Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). Later, DR also bought a P4-million house
and lot at BF Homes in Las Piñas.
Out of his winnings, he gave his six
siblings P50,000 each; another P500,000 to one of his nephews for a
three-door apartment he wanted to build; and from R1,000 to R30,000 to
some of his office mates; and R100,000 to his boss. He gifted a nephew
of his wife with a car worth P850,000, a Mitsubishi Fuzion. DR now
hitches a ride with him every time he goes to work.
For a month, he did not go home to
Cavite where he lived at the time he won. He stayed with a sister-in-law
in Parañaque City. When he finally showed up in Cavite, he gave away
from P5,000 to P50,000 to some friends and neighbors. DR estimated he
gave away about P2 million or more for "balato" to relatives, friends,
neighbors, and office mates, not counting people he did not know who
came to him to borrow money. "I just gave them and told them not to pay
me back," he says. Just over a year later, he sold his car and then his
house at BF Homes. He bought another house also in Las Piñas worth P1.7
million. He now wants to sell the house to pay off debts.
DR narrated that the rest of his
money, about P10 million, was gone in only three months. "I spent all my
money through daily gambling, especially cockfighting, drinking sprees
nightly, and womanizing. Almost every day, I lost a minimum of P100,000
in cockfighting. It was very quick, I had an especial ATM (automated
teller machine) card issued by my bank," DR says.
"Every time I came home, my wife just
cried and cried. She asked me many times to stop. I did not listen. My
siblings also asked me to change ways and have a new life," he recalls.
"I did not listen to any of them. It was my money, anyway. I won it
fairly not at the expense of others," DR maintains.
Source: Manila Bulletin
