Hit the jackpot – now what? First of all, take a deep breath, advises Rainer Holmer, Lotto Bayern’s prize consultant. And for those still waiting for the drawing: never iron crumpled game receipts!
Barbara: Mr. Holmer, you have been advising lottery winners for 20 years. How do you get a job like that?
Rainer Holmer: I have a degree in finance, but I didn’t like it at all. That’s why I applied for a job at the Lotto customer magazine and got it. When the profit consultant at the time went on parental leave, I took over his job. Today I work in press and public relations and also advise the big winners.
From what amount are you even switched on?
From a winning sum of 100,000 euros, the person gets the offer to voluntarily get advice from me. This year we also had 16 million winners in Bavaria.
How does such a consultation work?
Well, I don’t drive around with a bouquet of flowers. People come to my Munich office and I offer them coffee. It’s not about investment or financial advice, I can’t and don’t want that. I don’t send them anywhere either. I always ask first how they have been in the past few days. When they come to me, the money isn’t in the account yet and they’re still flabbergasted. There’s a lot going on in people when they become multi-millionaires overnight, you get the whole roller coaster ride of emotions.
What is the most important thing first?
If someone wants to share the profits with God and the world, then I’ll say carefully that I wouldn’t advise it. Not even quitting the job right away. Especially if you “only” won a few hundred thousand.
Is there a “typical” winner?
No. They are as different as people are – all walks of life are there. There are also millionaires who win.
How unfair!
Why then? You paid the stake. It is often entrepreneurs who are responsible for personnel or who have several companies. They often invest the money back into the business.
But you really treat yourself to those who really need such a profit.
I remember a very nice couple who had a small child and were worried that the car wouldn’t make it through the next MOT. The man was a warehouse worker and had won so much money that he could have afforded to stop the really heavy work immediately. But he did something else: for years he’d wanted a raise, and now he knew he could afford to ask for it. So he went to the payroll office, asked for 500 marks more and said he would otherwise quit. Later his wife called and said it had worked. Her husband wanted to continue working for a while.
Does a huge win scare some people?
Many are rightly concerned about how life is going on and how they are going to pull it all together. Because a completely different lifestyle comes up to you, you suddenly become an asset manager. Especially those who previously thought about the rent now have completely different topics on their agenda and still want to remain anonymous.
Sure, how do you explain to the neighbors that there’s suddenly a Porsche in the driveway?
The nice thing about winning the lottery is that you’re not famous and no one knows you have money – if you don’t spread the word. So you can slowly approach wealth. We once had a winner from a very poor background who only got in touch many weeks later. He was clever. He said he’s not going to change anything for now. On your next vacation you can sleep in a five-star hotel and not on an air mattress on a campsite – see how that feels. His second idea was to start his own business because he wouldn’t be dependent on the store making a lot.
During counseling, do you sometimes worry that someone might not be able to handle the money?
Yes. A very young man once had “only” won a few hundred thousand. He wanted to quit and slap the money on his head. Buying a motorbike and an apartment, partying non-stop. I had him write down everything he wanted to buy and the prices for it. This made him realize that it wasn’t going to be enough. By the way, if you do it clumsily, several million can be gone quickly. As a mere mortal, you may not have the connection to high amounts in the millions and do not know that you have to invest hundreds of thousands of euros in a yacht for the fuel costs alone.
Are you still in contact with the winners later?
Usually not. A new millionaire once called me from a craft market a few weeks after we spoke and said she could now buy anything but was no longer interested. The money made her free, but she didn’t have to have the things.
Why did she contact you?
Because she couldn’t tell anyone around her.
Have the wishes of lottery winners actually changed?
Something is happening. I’ve noticed that younger people in particular want to protect the environment and see where the materials come from when they want to build. For example, a woman from Lower Franconia who recently won 33 million wanted to build a house that is in harmony with nature and from now on eat organically.
Have you observed over the years whether money now makes people happy?
Of course, in our society you can’t say that money doesn’t play a role at all. If you have to constantly worry about whether your apartment will be evicted, winning the lottery is of course a blessing. But something that comes from outside alone cannot bring happiness. One’s own happiness lies within oneself. I like to quote Hermann Hesse: “Happiness is love, nothing else. He who can love is happy.” If that’s the case, you can no doubt enjoy material things, but you can also be heartbroken at the bar of a posh hotel.
Do you remember an unlucky winner?
Once a man came to me who said his wife was very ill and he couldn’t enjoy all the money. Encounters like this remind me that nothing in life can be taken for granted.
And even? Have you ever dreamed of great wealth and filled out a lottery ticket?
If the jackpot is high, I play it too. If I ever won a lot of money, I would give someone else the opportunity to do this pleasant job. I would buy an old farmhouse, restore it and then dedicate myself to social projects. With a few million you also have completely different possibilities to make a difference.
Can you tell us another strategy to increase the chances of winning?
I think it’s just luck. But it starts with the fact that you should definitely keep the game receipt, because it is a kind of security. If the receipt is gone, the millions are gone too. Sometimes people call customer service and say they didn’t take good care of the receipt but they can iron it. Don’t! Otherwise everything goes black.
Rainer Holmer51, loves his job because he usually deals with very happy people.