You may think that only regular American people play the lottery. After all, why would celebrities, who already have millions of dollars, spend their money on lottery tickets? It will probably surprise you to know that several celebrities do play the lottery, sometimes spending thousands of dollars on tickets.
Let's take a closer look at celebrity lottery players and winners.
Madonna
Considered by many to be the Queen of Pop, Madonna has not only played the lottery but also won. According to close sources, she's a big fan of the SuperEnaLotto – an Italian lottery game that is renowned for its large prizes. She plays regularly to honor her heredity and support the local lottery market. Her dedication to the game has paid off on several occasions. During her 2012 MDNA Tour, while she was in Europe, Madonna purchased 100 SuperEnaLotto tickets and won a total of €120,000 ($130,740.00). She donated every penny of her prize money towards building schools in Malawi.
Simon Cowell
One of the wealthiest celebrities in show business, Simon Cowell, has his fingers in many pies, including the record industry. His face has frequently been seen on the panel of judges in the British Talent shows The X Factor, Pop Idol, and Britain's Got Talent. Despite his fame and fortune, Simon has said in several interviews, “I still buy lottery tickets. I still play.” Preferring to remain anonymous when and where he plays, no one knows whether he has won any major prizes.
Hugh Jackman
As well as being famous for playing Wolverine in the X-Men movies, this Australian actor has a long list of movie roles under his belt, including parts in The Greatest Showman, Deadpool, and Reminiscence. For the past twelve years, Jackman has been buying around 500 lottery tickets for the members of the crew on his movie sets to help them get to know him and boost camaraderie. Speaking at a press conference for Real Steel, he said:
The very first film I did, I was embarrassed to say, two months in, I didn't know half of the crews' names. It was such a huge crew. I come from Australian films where there's no stand-in; you kind of bring your sandwiches and eat with everybody, and everybody knows everybody. There's no star system. In America, a lot of people don't talk. They're told not to talk to you, so you have to go out of your way.
He has certainly made a lot of friends over the years, but unfortunately, no one on his crew has won more than $110.
George Clooney
As well as being a talented actor and a heartthrob for many, George Clooney is a respected philanthropist. In fact, he has won several awards for his humanitarian efforts, including the USC Shoah Foundation's Ambassador for Humanity Award and the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. In 2010, George Clooney purchased a thousand lottery tickets for SuperEnalotto when the jackpot was $117 million – his motivation was also humanitarian. In that same year, a large-scale earthquake struck the island of Haiti, causing widespread devastation and more than 300,000 deaths. Clooney purchased the lottery tickets with the intention of donating any prize money he received to charities helping the victims of the Haiti earthquake. His altruism encouraged actress Elizabeth Hurley to contribute an additional 500 lottery tickets. Unfortunately, no big win materialized.
Chris Singleton
For those who are not avid sports fans, Chris Singleton is an American professional basketball player. He currently plays Power forward for Al-Arabi of the Qatari Basketball League. In 2012, when the 6' 9" player was still a Washington Wizards rookie, he wanted to win the half-billion dollar Mega Millions so badly that he dropped $10,000 on lottery tickets. "It's an investment, guys," he posted on his Twitter account. Though he didn't hit the jackpot, he told his fans that he did win some money.
50 Cent
The renowned rapper, also a T.V. producer and actor 50 Cent, missed hitting a Powerball jackpot in 2016. When the rapper matched three out of the six winning numbers, he posted his ticket online and joked that he almost won. He could have really done with the $949.8 million jackpot, as he had filed for bankruptcy the year before. As it was, his prize was $7.
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock is a successful movie star who has won many awards, including Academy Awards for Best Actress in Gravity and Blindside and a Bambi Award for Best International Film Actress for her role in 28 Days. Bullock is also among the celebrity lottery winners. In 2006, she won a $10,000 Powerball prize. In an interview at the time, she told the press that she used the money to buy gifts for her co-stars in the movie The Lake House. She also mentioned that she has been a regular lottery player since the age of 18, and when she does win, she always donates a percentage of her winnings to charity.
Paris Hilton
Granddaughter to the founder of Hilton Hotels, businesswoman and socialite Paris Hilton became the focus of a tabloid sensation in 2008 when the paparazzi shot pictures of her buying 1,500 tickets for the SuperEnaLotto. Despite having an estimated net worth of $350 million, she admitted to the press that if she won the €30.7 million ($33,447,650.00) lottery prize, she would donate a mere 10% of her prize to charity.
Dan Bilzerian
If you're a follower of Instagram, you may know Bilzerian as a social media influencer, professional poker player, and businessman. Nicknamed “Blitz,” Bilzerian has built his net worth of around $200 million from business ventures and investments. He is known to enjoy gambling, and in 2018, when the Powerball jackpot reached a staggering $559 million, he purchased $100,000 worth of tickets. Unfortunately, he did not win the jackpot.
Hilary Clinton
Apparently, the lottery is not just for movie stars, pop stars, and influencers; politicians sometimes like to take a chance. Hilary Clinton, who was a presidential candidate at the time, participated in the same January 2018 Powerball drawing. She admitted to purchasing a ticket during her appearance on Good Morning America. When asked what she would do with the money if she won, Clinton said, “I'll fund my campaign.”
Woody Allen
American filmmaker, comedian, and actor Woody Allen is a household name throughout America and Europe. He is famous for movies that span six decades, including Hannah and Her Sisters, Zelig, Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris, and Manhattan. In a 2018 article, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported that Allen was spending around $100 a week on lottery tickets. Allen stated, however, that if he won the lottery, it would not change his simple lifestyle. He went on to say that he would continue to live in the same house and carry on working.
Wayne Rooney
English football manager, former player, and record goal scorer for Manchester United, Wayne Rooney, has often admitted that he enjoys playing the lottery. In an interview with England's Daily Star Newspaper, Rooney said that despite having a million-dollar bank account, he's still a working-class lad at heart and dreams of winning a multi-million lottery jackpot. Rumor has it that although Rooney is a regular lottery player, he does not buy his own tickets but makes his friends buy them for him.
So now you know that while some celebrities like to play the lottery to win money for charity, others like to play for fun, and some just want to win. It's perhaps really not so surprising when you think about it. Many regular Americans have won million-dollar lottery jackpots and still carry on playing the lottery every week.
Enjoy playing the U.S. lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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