A Lottery Winner's Rag To Riches Tale
23-Year-Old S.D. Rancher Vows To Help His Community
-
Play CBS Video Video A Rags To Riches Tale After winning the Powerball lottery, a dirt-poor horse rancher from South Dakota vows to help his community. Bianca Solarzano reports.
-
Neal Wanless, 23, holds up the ceremonial Powerball check. (CBS)
-
Interactive Lottery Luck Meet some big winners and check out your odds.
"They were just so darned poor," said family friend Jim Colombe.
The sign to their ranch is broken, showing just how hard financial life's been lately.
The family was barely getting by selling scrap metal -- and they're reportedly behind nearly $4,000 in property taxes.
Just when it seemed things couldn't get worse, they got a whole lot better, reports CBS News correspondent Bianca Solarzano.
"I need some time to let this sink in …" said Neal Wanless, 23. Wanless was on his way to buy livestock feed when he decided to give luck a shot. He picked up Powerball tickets in the nearby town where he was born -- a place named Winner!
"I'd like to thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this great fortune," said Wanless.
After a lump-sum payment and taxes, Wanless takes $88.5 million back to the ranch. And that's where he'll stay, he says, buy some extra land, keep working - and start helping.
"My family has been helped by the community and I intend to repay it back many times over,'' he said.
"That's just the way it is in this part of the state, people help people, we know one another,'' said Timothy Grablander, mayor of Mission, S.D., the tiny town where the Wanless ranch is.
On The Early Show Monday, Grablander described the Wanless family as a "typical ranch family" for that neck of the woods, "very down-to-earth, rural people.
Grablander said he's "sure" Wanless will keep his word and give back to the commnity.
A down on his luck cowboy who won big in a town called Winner -- is Hollywood listening?
©MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.
Michelle Obama tells how her role as the First Lady has changed her perspective.





- 1
- 2
- next
See all 33 CommentsOh, and some gauges that I could see from in the pool, so that I could see how deep the snow was and how hard the wind was blowing outside.
(Off-the-grid solar- and wind-powered, mind you.)
Posted by incog-nito at 1:38 PM : Jun 8, 2009
lolll...so poor people don't work hard to survive?
?Well....yeeee-haw! Wish it were me. Wish I had a ranch to begin with at 23. Most of us city folk are lucky to have an apartment at 23. One without roomates.?
Posted by u-r-right at 4:05 PM : Jun 7, 2009
OK then, some of you ?city folk? ought to consider the life of a rancher on a small ranch, 320 acres, in a rural state like South Dakota. Plus the ranch is not his. He lives with his folks and the Associated Press refers to him as ?A young rancher struggling to eke out a living in one of the poorest corners of the nation?.
If you are up to the seven years of drought just experienced in the area or the three major blizzards in a two week period this spring which killed hundreds, if not thousands, of head of livestock and the many hours of backbreaking work involved, no 9 to 5 job hours, and the total lack of a lot of those amenities you ?city folk? take for granted.
Then, go for it, I'm sure there is land for sale. Take on the ranch life which you probably believe is like the romanticized version portrayed in movies and on TV.
But also consider this about Tripp County, SD where this young man lives:
The median income for a household in the county was $28,333, and the median income for a family was $36,219. Males had a median income of $22,588 versus $18,070 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,776. About 15.90% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.70% of those under age 18 and 17.60% of those age 65 or over.
Happy ranching u-r-right.
Good luck, cowboy.
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 33 Comments