U.S.A-Unharmed and wasteful, Neal Wanless used part of the winnings to build the 50,000-a-century farm, which is now valued at more than $41 million.
In 2009, Neal Wanless was a young cowboy who lived on a farm in Mission, South Dakota. About 48% of the region's population is under difficulties.
The Wanless family is no exception. After the 2008 financial crisis, they barely lived enough. They were late to pay taxes, their homes were revoked by the bank, forcing Wanless's parents and brother to move to a small tent. Father Wanless had to sell more scrap metal for a living. Wanless himself continued to work and lived on the family's 230-angst (93 hectares) farm. "We really struggled," Wanless confides.
34-year-old Neal Wanless is loyal to his dream of farming despite winning the jackpot. Photo: WSJ.
One day Wanless went to pour gasoline, he conveniently bought a ticket of $ 15. He never expected any luck, but he couldn't have expected the ticket to win the $232.1 million jackpot, making him the winner of the largest lottery jackpot in the state's history.
What's more special is that the ticket is a collection of numbers including Wanless's birthday, brother and grandfather. Upon news of the win, Wanless was sitting er000 on the sofa, while his father ran outside cheering.
"I have never bought a lottery. Maybe I should see if I get struck by lightning a second time. My house laughs at this, that you are twice as likely to be struck by lightning as when you win the jackpot," he said.
Wanless has two options: one is to receive $232.1 million over 30 years; only $88.5 million was received immediately. Wanless decided to choose to receive money once Although much less than the original number but more than enough for the young cowboy to realize his dream - to build a farm.
According to Capjournal, Wanless's grandfather bought a farm in South Dakota. His five sons were born separately, with Wanless's father Arlen inheriting the farm. In an interview at the time of the award, Wanless said: "I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity. I'm not going to squander it.""
Wanless's farm. Photo: Amlu.
He started with a 7,000-a-century (over 2,800 hectares) farm and gradually expanded to 50,000 acres (over 20,200 hectares). Wanless named Bismarck Farm because it contained part of the trail that people went from Bismarck to Deadwood during gold mining in the Black Hills.
According to Robb Nelson, the farm's legal representative, it is home to 3,000 dogs, 1,600 pairs of calves and about 1,000 wild horses. You can also see white-tailed deer, mule deer, antelope, turkey, partridge... wild here. Wanless also leased land to local ranchers to graze livestock.
Over the years, Wanless has built four homes on this site, including two luxury homes for himself and his mother as well as two smaller houses for ranchers and guests. The main house, built in a Western style, has five bedrooms, a large open-plan kitchen and a living room with an insoable stone fireplace. There is also a play room, billiard table, bar, poker room ... The design and interior style are tinkered by the boy himself.
Wanless and his wife Jody Gilson. Photo: Facebook Jody Gilson.
The winnings can help the Wanless family live a lifetime without doing anything. However, the young cowboy still only wants to be a cowboy. He stayed away from the press, but remained actively involved in community activities, philanthropy and horse races. He has set up a charitable foundation and often donates to the local children's hospital
Speaking on the WSJ recently, Wanless said he enjoyed a normal life. So far he still wears cowboy boots, cowboy hats instead of branded items.
About five years ago, Wanless met his current wife Jody Gilson at a hunting conference in Las Vegas. Jody Gilson is the daughter of a major home page in Canada. Love the vast meadows and pets, horse races... have bonded the young couple. They got engaged in 2018 and married last year at Wanless's own farm.
Over the years he herded himself, but things got tougher as he recently got married and the couple began spending more time in Canada and Arizona. The wealthy cowboy is currently looking to sell the farm for $41.15 million. If the transaction is successful, it would be one of the most expensive private farms in South Dakota.
The 34-year-old wanted to spend more time with his wife managing his grandmother's cattle farm. "Winning the lottery only adds to my dream of mastering the farm. I can retire and do nothing. But I love my life. Farming is a hard life, but if you love what you're doing, it's going to be easy," he said.
Baoyi (WSJ, Capjournal))
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