8 years after winning $10.8 million, Delaware Lottery winner says life is 'marvelous'

Eight years. That's how long it's been since Rose and Robert Crowther won the first Hot Lotto jackpot in Delaware history. 

They took home $10.774 million. Since then, life has been "marvelous," Robert Crowther said. 

"It changed our whole structure," the 75-year-old retiree said. Rose is now 74. 

The couple has long lived in Pennsylvania, but Crowther worked at the Chrysler Assembly Plant in Newark for more than 30 years before retiring in 2001. 

"We previously lived in a mobile home for 37 years," Crowther said Tuesday. "We moved out of that and live in a four-bedroom house in Garnet Valley. 

“We pretty much do what we want, when we want. But really, I'm still the same old Bob I've always been." 

He said Rose is still the same old Rose, too. Except she finally has the pool she always wanted. And she's in love with their 5,200-square-foot house. She never wants to leave. 

Bob Crowther bought the winning lottery ticket eight years ago, in August 2009, at the old Gulf Express on Philadelphia Pike in Claymont, he said. It's since closed. 

He didn't really expect to win. He and his wife frequently played the lottery, in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware and had already had their fair share of luck. 

Can't see the article? Hit refresh.

In fact, just three or four weeks earlier, Rose had won $100,000 on a scratch-off in Pennsylvania. In 1986, they won another $5,000 in Delaware. 

Rose used some money she won in another scratch-off to buy the big ticket in 2009.  

"My wife came home from the store after trying to check it and thought we'd only won $16,000," Crowther told Delaware Lottery officials in 2009.

"I took another look at it and was sure that we had all the numbers right but I still didn't know how much it was worth because I didn't know if there had been any other winners in the drawing. It was thrilling to hear that we'd hit for the whole jackpot! My first reaction was: 'No more bills.' I think my wife is still in a state of shock."

Crowther opted to take the jackpot as a lump sum payment of $10,774,362, rather than a deferred annuity. The odds of winning were 1 in 10,939,383, according to News Journal archives.

"This is a real life changer," Crowther said at the time. 

The Crowthers are in many ways still defying the odds, depending on what statistics about the lottery you believe. 

It is often reported that about 70 percent of people who experience a huge financial windfall lose all the money within several years.

But the National Endowment for Financial Education, often the source to which the statistic is attributed, says they can't confirm it. 

"This statistic is not backed by research from NEFE, nor can it be confirmed by the organization," the organization said in a recent statement. "Frequent reporting — without validation from NEFE — has allowed this 'stat' to survive online in perpetuity." 

Other estimates say 44 percent of lottery winners spend their earning within five years. But again, it's hard to tell just how accurate that number is. 

Regardless, there are stories about lottery winners who have lost it all.

You won't want to win Mega Millions or Powerball after reading these horror stories

Michael Carroll, a UK garbage man who won about $15.4 million in 2002, reportedly spent much of the money on crack cocaine, parties, jewelry and cars and in 2010, re-applied for his old job hauling trash. 

British tabloids nicknamed him a "lotto lout." His wife and daughter left him as well. 

Andrew "Jack" Whittaker is another winner who met a tragic end. He was already a millionaire when he won the $315 million lottery in West Virginia in 2002, according to media reports. 

The then-55-year-old construction company president claimed he went broke four years later. His granddaughter and daughter died soon after from drug overdoses, and he was robbed of $545,000 sitting in his car while he was at a strip club. 

Billionaire's accountant: Hey, Mega Millions winner — life's not all Ferraris and mansions

"I wish that we had torn the ticket up," Whittaker said later. 

Crowther said he had heard similar stories before winning the $10 million in 2009. 

That's why he and Rose met with a lawyer and financial advisors at his bank before claiming the cash. They immediately drew up a will, splitting up their assets to keep them safe, and started a trust fund with about $4 million for their kids, grandkids and great grandkids. 

Here are the 5 biggest lottery prizes ever — and who won them

“I didn’t know how to do it, which is why I had the bank do it," Crowther said. “I would really, really suggest that anyone who wins large amounts of money have a good lawyer and a good financial advisor." 

Crowther also set aside a good amount of money for himself and Rose, and invested in a few stocks. After cashing in their winning ticket, they closed the tavern they owned in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and retired for real. 

In 2009, Crowther told lottery officials that he and Rose were going to buy a house and use the rest of the money to take care of their family. They've done just that, he said Tuesday. 

The Crowthers paid off their daughter's mortgage and remodeled her house, bought both their grandson and grandaughter houses and cars and have lavished their three great-grandchildren with countless gifts. 

They also go on trips over the summer. They've been to Universal Studios and Disney, as well as Jamaica and Turks and Caicos, an archipelago of coral islands southeast of the Bahamas. 

Crowther said no one has really pressured them for money, though he's lent some to his brother and a nephew. He and Rose aren't really worried about spending all the money anymore, either. 

Eight years ago their accountant told them they'd eventually reach the point where they wouldn't want to buy anything else. 

"And he was right," Bob said. 

The couple does still invest in lottery tickets. Old habits die hard and after such a big brush with Lady Luck, it's hard to give up. 

"My wife still plays," Crowther said. "She plays them all. Every day." 

"We've had small wins since then, but nothing big." 

FEELING LUCKY? 

Picking your own lottery numbers? These are the most commonly drawn 

Mega Millions, Powerballoffer more than $2 billion in 2 upcoming drawings

Retiring state Rep. Helene Keeley appointed to No. 2 job at Delaware Lottery Office

Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.