A woman who struck gold, winning more than $1.25 million in a major lottery, is considering suing the game’s organizers after saying the prize money “ruined her life.”
Jane Park, of Edinburgh, Scotland, won one million pounds in 2013 in the Euromillions draw. She was just 17 at the time.
Now 21, Park, who owns two houses, said that while her friends are stressed because of being badly paid, “no one who really understands [how] I feel.”
She told Britain’s Sunday People that she was considering taking legal action against the UK’s National Lottery for negligence. Someone of her young age should never have been allowed to take home the jackpot, she said.
Park was all smiles when she won the lottery. At the time she was earning $10 an hour doing admin work and living with her mom in a small housing commission unit.
She splashed out on a Range Rover, designer handbags and equally designer dogs.
But despite lottery bosses giving her the services of a financial adviser, Park found the win overwhelming.
“At times it feels like winning the lottery has ruined my life. I thought it would make it 10 times better but it’s made it 10 times worse. I wish I had no money most days. I say to myself, ‘My life would be so much easier if I hadn’t won.’”
People envied Park’s lifestyle and cash, but it was nothing worth lusting after, she said.
“They don’t realize the extent of my stress. I have material things but apart from that my life is empty. What is my purpose in life?”
“It’s scary how different my life is from my friends’. When they say they’re stressed about the money they mean their wages are s–t,” she said.
“There’s no one in the same boat as me, no one who really understands. I feel like I’m a 40-year-old.”
Park is sick of shopping, she says, and she can’t hold down a relationship despite showering her suitors with gifts.
“I think 18 should be the minimum age for winning the — lottery, at the least. The current age of 16 is far too young,” she said.
British lottery organizers, Camelot, told the Sunday People they provided Park with financial support and would continue to do so if she requested it. The minimum legal age for lottery players was up to the government, the company said.
This article originally appeared on News.com.au.
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