The 7 dumbest things you can possibly do if you win the €153m EuroMillions jackpot of the year

Don't make these mistakes

22 September 2017, 3:51pm

3 min read

The EuroMillions jackpot has rolled over twice and officially stands at €153,000,000, making it the largest jackpot of the year. Lucky for us in Malta, we can take part in the thrill of the bet thanks to Jackpot.com, which gives people in Malta the opportunity to enter lotteries from all over the world without having to leave our homes. The odds of winning EuroMillions stand at 1 in 13 while the odds of winning the guaranteed jackpot are 1 in 139,838,160.

But what if you are that one lucky person to win the life-changing €153,000,000 jackpot – what's the first thing you would do? Just ask your friends and most will say they would quit their jobs with a trail of euro behind them and buy luxury cars and properties. But before you do anything, well, stupid, with your newfound wealth, take the hard-learned lessons from previous lottery winners and avoid these seven mistakes.

1. Bragging about winning the lottery

You've just won €153,000,000. The reality of this will take time to sink in and while you will feel the urge to scream on the top of your lungs that you're the richest person in Malta...take things slow.

2. Being a “Yes man” and giving away your fortune

It’s great to help people and give to your favourite cause... but you need a plan. Believe it or not, but you can spend €153,000,000 especially when you start to fulfill all your heart's desires and the desires of your friends and family too. You can definitely help your friends, family and give to charity but you need to have a system in place.

3. Please don’t #YOLO

That's so 2011 anyways. Going wild and living like there's no tomorrow is a recipe for disaster.

4. Not having a (social) media plan

You just won €153,000,000. You have about the same net worth as Johnny Depp now. Once your friends, family, village, well, all of Malta find out – they’re going to want a piece of your new fortune. Trust us, with MaltaToday’s persistent journalists, your name will be on all headlines. You are going to want to have some control over your social media accounts which will be flooded with messages. On that note, you might even want to change your phone number in case your phone becomes inoperable. Hire your own PR because you’re going to need it with all the cameras and reporters at your door.

5. Thinking budgets are for villagers now that you're a millionaire

First of all, yes, yes, yes - you can spend €153,000,000, especially if you buy Porsche’s new super yacht for €14 million, plus a luxury property in Malta for €2 million, throw in a Tesla model S and maybe even the whole island of Comino. Factor in all the gifts and get-out-of-debt checks you will be giving to friends and family and by this point, you've hopefully considered your game plan for the rest of your life. You need to budget.

6. Not having wealth advisors

Hiring a wealth advisor should be your first move and is the smartest thing you can do to ensure your new fortune's longevity. A wealth advisor will help you put your money in the right places, give you a much needed reality check on all your crazy ideas and set up a system for charitable donations and gifts. If you never want to work another day at your nine to five again, hire a wealth advisor.

7. Thinking you can do whatever you want

Just like everyone else, you still need to follow rules of public decency.

Feeling lucky? The €153,000,000 super draw takes place in Paris tonight at 21:00 CET (20:00 BST/GMT). Head to Jackpot.com, licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission, to enter to win. That's not all! Jackpot.com offers up to 30% off subscription on the EuroMillions lottery until the end of September.