The missing case of the crorepatis

PUBLICATION : MID – DAY
EDITION : Delhi
DATE : 04.02.09
PAGE NO : 1 & 4

Lottery winners find it difficult to handle the sudden fame after bagging a handsome jackpot amount; disappear to unknown places, change phone numbers and prefer a life of anonymity

By: Hemal Ashar

V FOR VICTORY: Tulsiram Bandu Chintale after receiving his winning cheque of Rs 1.04 crore. PIC/BIPIN KOKATE

While the Oscar spotlight continues to be trained on filmmaker Danny Boyle and the cast of his blockbuster movie Slumdog Millionaire, real-life millionaires shun the spotlight, preferring to lead a life of anonymity after winning a huge sum in a lottery. Many of them often change their contact numbers and shift homes as well.

Playwin Super Lotto’s latest millionaire Tulsiram Bandu Chintale, 50, who was presented with a Rs 1.04 crore cheque on January 31 for winning the lottery, has left for his village Kannurwadi in Karnataka for a month.

“It is perseverance which makes them win”

Rajesh Bhasin, chief financial officer, Playwin, talks about lottery-winning crorepatis

Parizaad Khan

How many crorepatis has Playwin created?

Playwin started in 2002 and since then, there have been 76 jackpot winners. Out of these, 64 people have won more than Rs2 crore. The biggest amount so far has been won by Jaiprakash Jaiswal, a Kolkata-based scrap dealer, who won Rs17.29 crore in 2006.

What do winners usually do with the money?

Most of the lottery winners have been from the lower economic strata, so the win changes their life overnight. I heard about a sweeper at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital who won about Rs2 crore in the lottery a few years ago. He has bought flats in Mumbai and two cars, one of which is a BMW. I have heard of others who have started businesses or bought multiple flats. Many have invested and lead a retired life. When they win the money, many say that they will give some portion of the money to charity, invest in their children’s education and buy a home.

Are they bothered by relatives for money?

Most of them change their mobile numbers and are not contactable after they get the money. Many do not like to publicize what they are doing with the winnings, as they are bothered for money by relatives and other people.

Are the winners’ people who buy lottery tickets regularly or are the tickets a one-off purchase?

I ask the winners this question, and most of them buy tickets week on week—two, three or even sometimes ten tickets a week, for a year or two years. It is perseverance which makes them win, but of course, there is some element of luck as well.

What are your weekly ticket sales?

We have the Saturday Super Lotto and the Thursday Super Lotto, for which the guaranteed prize money us Rs2 crore. There is also the Thunder Ball which happens every Tuesday and Fast Lotto games which take place twice a day. Sales for all these games is Rs70lakh to Rs1 crore every week.

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