Why Winning the Lottery Ruin Lives?

For Keith Gough, a humble baker from Shropshire, the day he won a staggering £9 million on the National Lottery in 2005 was supposed to be the start of a new life. Instead, it became the prologue to a tragedy, culminating in his death just five years later at the age of 58. His story has become a grim cautionary tale about the perils of sudden, unearned wealth.

Gough, who had been married to his wife Louise for 25 years, was living in a modest £160,000 semi-detached home when he purchased the winning ticket. The initial celebration involved champagne and lavish spending, but the sudden absence of a daily routine quickly eroded the foundation of his life.

The former baker embarked on an immediate and radical lifestyle inflation, purchasing a plush BMW, several racehorses, and an executive box at Aston Villa's stadium worth £350,000. He quit his job, a move that he would later regret. Without the structure and purpose of work, he confessed to becoming "bored," a state that fuelled a descent into heavy drinking.

His marriage to Louise dissolved in 2007. Despite receiving an additional £1.5 million from the separation settlement, Gough's problems intensified. He moved into a £1 million rented home in Cheshire, hiring a chauffeur and gardener, but continued to lose control.

In a heartbreaking interview in 2009, a year before his death, Gough revealed the profound psychological toll: “Before the win all I would drink was some wine with a meal... My life was brilliant. But the lottery has ruined everything. What's the point of having money when it sends you to bed crying.”

His final years were marked by ruinous gambling and a devastating scam. While in a rehabilitation clinic for his alcohol addiction, he was duped by convicted fraudster James Prince, losing a massive £700,000 in bogus business schemes. Prince was later jailed, but the financial and emotional damage was done.

Gough died in 2010 from a heart attack, an event described as being brought on by the combination of stress and heavy alcohol consumption. As his friend and local councillor, Les Winwood, noted, Keith "knew he’d made mistakes with the money." The owner of the newsagent that sold the winning ticket echoed a grim sentiment: “It may sound strange, but winning the money was probably the worst thing that could have happened to him. It is very sad.”

Though he was assumed to be penniless, Gough's will later revealed he left behind nearly £800,000. However, the legacy he left behind is not one of wealth, but a stark reminder that a sudden jackpot can be a curse, destroying stability, relationships, and health.