VANCOUVER, B.C. — Ivan looks like a big friendly guy who wouldn't attract much attention. Except that he won $9.5 million with a Lotto Max ticket in March 2010.
When interviewed, he wore his trademark fleece vest over a plain black T-shirt, with sweatpants.
"I'm not changing for nobody," he says.
He's never flown first class. "I could, but why?" he asks.
As a new multimillionaire, Ivan gave two weeks' notice — and proceeded to work them — before quitting his job as a delivery driver.
He was now mega-rich and retired.
And it almost killed him.
Ivan's good fortune is no secret in his hometown of Abbotsford, British Columbia.
Any jackpot of more than a few million dollars makes a big splash in the news, and Ivan's $9.5 million share of a $19 million Lotto Max draw was no exception.
Media flocked to the B.C. Lottery Corporation news conference to celebrate his March 2010 win and took photos of a beaming Ivan, his arms spread wide to hold the giant cardboard check. He told reporters he had quit his job and ordered a new Dodge Ram, "candy-apple red with a few extras."
The cat was out of the bag. All of Abbotsford knew who had won the lottery.
"How many brand-new trucks are there out there that are inferno red?" he says now. Not only that: How many guys out there look like Ivan?
With his bushy white beard spilling over his chin, he has the kind of instantly recognizable face that people in the Fraser Valley city of 134,000 people could spot a mile away.
In no time, complete strangers began approaching him in the street, asking for help paying their debts. Others would simply ask, "Oh, why don't you give us some money?"
Two years later, the appeals for money come less frequently — every week rather than every day — but they haven't stopped.
Claiming a lottery win anonymously isn't an option, so winners such as Ivan have no opportunity to keep their jackpot a secret.
"One of the conditions of receiving the prize is consenting to the release of their name and photo," BCLC spokeswoman Kim Steinbart says.
"We publicize wins because we want to demonstrate that players do win prizes."
Winners must claim their checks in person. The media are typically notified when the winner arrives to pick up the check.
Ivan didn't know what he was in for. "If I would've known all the newspapers would be there, I would have never went."
Even now, with an unlisted phone number, the stream of requests never lets up.
"I get people I don't know mailing me letters," he said. "I used to get pictures from a nice house with flower beds out front in Mission. They asked if I could pay their mortgage off so they could live freely."
His estranged brother contacted him, asking for help paying off tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes. Ivan obliged. When he refused to give hundreds of thousands more to pay off the family's house, his brother's wife tore into him via Facebook, trashing him through mutual friends. It got so bad that Ivan deleted his Facebook account.
"If I gave everyone all the money they want, I'd be broke."
Ivan has not gone broke. With the help of his bank, he invested a little more than half his winnings and gave some to his common-law wife, with whom he still lives. He's also used his new-found wealth to indulge his passion for vintage cars. He owns, among others, a 1968 Oldsmobile 442, a 1933 Chevy Hot Rod and a 1926 Model T.
Ivan spends his days visiting with friends, enjoying his new cabin, tinkering with cars and taking the odd trip to a casino. He donates to the Make a Wish Foundation, fulfilling dreams for sick children. He says he's happy.
It nearly wasn't this way.
In the first year after depositing his $9.5 million check, Ivan put on about 170 pounds, topping out at a whopping 415 pounds. Diagnosed as diabetic and forced to use a scooter for mobility, Ivan was given an ultimatum by his doctor: Fly to Toronto for risky gastrointestinal surgery, or die.
Ivan freely admits he caused his own misfortune. Moving from a delivery driver's salary to that of a retired multimillionaire has its perks — especially ordering prime rib whenever the urge hit.
So he began eating out all the time.
When you're poor, you can't afford all that. Almost never," he explained.
Not that he didn't know about food. Ivan is a chef by trade, having trained in French cuisine at George Brown College in Toronto. He once cooked prime rib for former prime minister Pierre Trudeau in Ottawa's parliamentary dining room.
But 12 months after his win, Ivan was sent for a laparoscopic adjustable gastric-band procedure, also known as "lap band," which uses a silicone band to squeeze off the upper part of the stomach. It reduces the stomach to roughly one-tenth its normal size, drastically limiting the amount of food that can be consumed in one sitting, and tricking the brain into thinking the stomach is full.
It's cruel irony for a multimillionaire who could afford to eat anything: All of Ivan's food must be weighed and his diet is now strictly controlled.
"I can't have any piece of meat bigger than the palm of your hand," he says, holding his palm flat. "No potatoes. No milk."
Ivan lost 85 pounds after his surgery, and although he still uses a scooter, he is finally able to get around normally.
The funny thing is, he says, there's little he would have changed since winning the lottery.
At the time of his win, Ivan was renting a small house. He and his wife now enjoy retirement in a Fraser Valley rancher worth $1.5 million.
He still buys a lottery ticket every day.
I was under the impression that Canadians could claim their lottery winnings anonymously.I guess I was wrong.But Ivan is living proof that winners should be allowed to claim their winnings anonymously.
wow. that is one sad tale of woe.
May want to check and see if each province doesn't have its own rules.
While looking at the negatives of Ivan's win ( family greed, strangers greed, massive weight gain) there are a couple of great issues that stood out. Ivan, congrats on your windfall and helping family with tax issues !!! Kudos to you having the surgery to work on your health. Double kudos for the contributions to the Make-a-wish foundation & taking half of your investment to live on. Finally, someone with some common sense on how to live with newly acquired wealth with the ability to give and yet say "no".
Congrat's to Ivan! Considering the barrage of beggars and family members hitting on him for years, he managed to do OK for himself.
He was wise to have invested over half his winnings.
Happy to hear his gastrointestinal surgery went well. Ivan please, no more prime rib. Fruits, salads and small portions of chicken and fish.
Trade in your scooter for a pair of walking shoes, spring for a gym membership, and you'll live a long, healthy and prosperous life!
Congrats Ivan.....
Theres always going to be people begging you to pay their bills when someone wins big. Of course even your own family. They may be first in line. Sounds like this guy has a good head on his shoulders.
Good for him !
His estranged brother and sister in law sound like real gems.
Glad he told them to take a hike before they bled him dry.
Worthless, useless ingrates.
Claiming anonymously should be an added.
This is a sad story how can his own brother and sister in law act like that, this goes to show that people act up over money.
I always cross the sc borderline to purchase my tickets because whatever i win i can claim it anonymous this sounds like nc
Most states will plaster your picture or your name on tv or their website i live in nc and they will post a $5000.00 win and will
post your picture up their like you won $1million i think people should have the option to choose if they want media coverage and pictures etc....
This stated reason for full disclosure is complete bullsh*t. The reason lotteries demand & require winners to be outted has nothing to do with "showing people that a real person won"; that's ridiculous. In real life, the reason they require disclosure is because they know full well that a lottery winner dog & pony show causes ticket sales to spike upwards, increasing lottery officials salaries, bonuses & the overal profitability of the lottery. The proof is the unbelievable increase in sales & profitability of EVERY lottery, in good times & bad.
The reason that the state lotteries require the Dog & Pony show is for free advertisement,pure and simple.
Yup, exactly.
Good for him having the smarts to say no, and put $$ away. He had a rough adjustment period, but in the long urn, he will do just fine.
PS - Dude's got good taste in muscle cars "He owns, among others, a 1968 Oldsmobile 442".
Congrats Ivan on your big win. I like rib eye steak myself medium well.-weshar75
hope hes still on good terms with the rest of his family
sorry, but hard to feel sorry for this overweight canadian buffoon. inasmuch as he had to disclose, he didn't have to buy a candy apple red dodge ram and tool around town in it. he should have moved to manitoba since all his relatives and townsfolk despise him, why stay there. he could have shaved off that hideous white beard and kept a lower profile anywhere else but there. i know you're all going to say he shouldn't have to move unless he wanted to, but it would have alleviated 90% of his issues if he did. he was eccentric before he hit and didn't change much apparently. health issues nonetheless it sounds as if the worst is over for him (as far as being harrassed). hard to believe that his brother's house was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that he wanted him to pay off. come on now. gee, deleting a facebook account must be the end of the world for some people, but he doesn't appear to be the type who had one to begin with. the guy invested half his winnings at least so feeling sorry for him seems foolish.
I'll give him credit for the Make a Wish donation, but he's really dumb for doing another interview. The smart thing to do is keep the wealth low key.
I think the claim anonymously position oversimplifies the issue of wealth possession. Claiming prize anonymously will not help one avoid attention if the person lives in a small town or city and chooses to remain there (WHY?!), immediately displays evidence of newfound wealth in blue-collar neighborhood, quits a job without previous talk of transition to something else. I think best advice lottery winners can be given is as follows:
1. Get personal and business affairs in order before claiming prize (includes legal and financial consultations).
2. Claim prize in timely manner.
3. Get house sale ready and put on market as soon as possible (renters just need to move out and break lease).
4. Get a P.O. Box for all mail (biggest one or ones Post Office has to offer).
5. Put all belongings in storage.
6. Go on a 1 to 3 month vacation. Visits to family in other areas should be limited to a day or two (see how quickly requests for money will come your way and gauge if this is different from past experience. If visit only 1 or 2 days, kinfolk won't think you "left" just because they hit you up for money and fact cash may not have hit your bank accounts yet gives you honest reinsert of "no I don't have that kind of money on me and you would be better off getting a loan from your bank for that amount of money.").
7. Spend part of 1 to 3 month vacation scoping out places you want to live. This should be a part of your initial conversations with your legal and financial team.
8. Move to an income appropriate area (I.e. if you want to drive a Bentley, don't try to live in a trailer park, the hood, or even in cookie cutter suburbia!).
9. Move away from California.
10. Don't move to California.
11. Do visit California.
12. Avoid living in any place Obama has lived (I.e. Chicago, Hawaii, D.C., Indonesia, and Kenya) for various reasons.
13. Don't buy a Lear jet if you only won sub 9 figure after tax jackpot (they are expensive). Using Net Jets or flying first class is more practical.
14. Scrutinize the charities to whom you donate.
15. Become like Donald Trump, Bill Gates, P Diddy and don't be afraid or feel bad about making tough decisions such as who you allow around you. Learn from the mistakes of broke lottery winners, athletes and celebrities who allowed people they knew and trusted to bleed them dry. Remember, the only real vampires exist in your life only if you let them. Just be like a toddler and relearn how to say NO and mean it!
lol ok ... here i am reading your post... and i am with you through #6... #7 even makes sense but it might take longer than 1 to 3 months to make a 'perm' move choice for those who are picky...
then i get to 9,10 & 11 and i started laughing... ok i will take your word and wipe california off my list (darn! and it was #47 too!!!)
#12... now you lost me. i LOVE chicago (granted only visited the 'windy' city - long enough for locals to correct my meaning of WHY its called the 'windy' city... although either reason seem valid to me) and hawaii is another place that i truly love (ok i have only vaca'd there... but it is the #1 vaca spot for me with DREAMS of posting on Lottery Post from my beach front villa/condo/shack)
but 13-15 - again you have me on track with you. a lear jet (50M$+???)... um no... how about a nice diamond? or cessna 182? (not a fan of cirrus's... too much active pull for me) ... that would slow travel down, but its more fun (LOTS) and the costs are pennys on the dollar compared to owning a jet... and i would rather own my own NEW plane rather than the VERY old one now :(
but you got a great list there OSPa!
"12. Avoid living in any place Obama has lived (I.e. Chicago, Hawaii, D.C., Indonesia, and Kenya) for various reasons."
I'd like to hear those reasons. Specifically, I'd be interested in finding out whether they are legitimate reasons or just more Obama-hating bullsh!t that doesn't belong on a lottery forum.
Good advice. My wife and I were talking about this earlier, and one thing I think I'd do is actually wait around 6 months before quitting my job, after the excitement of a big win in my area had died down. That way, it's less likely someone will think it's me as opposed to if I quit my job right away.
As for purchases, my car is 3 years old and runs great, so I won't be getting another one, but my wife would like a new car, but she's looking more at Toyota or Suzuki, not Mercedes.
Well, since overly sensitive, "mainstream" mediabrat asked, here are all the reasons I would not want to LIVE in the places I listed that also coincide with places Obama has lived:
Chicago - too dang cold, too much snow, too much corruption (and Obama has nothing to do with 2 of the 3)!
Hawaii - great place to visit but not sure I would want to live there! Traveling anywhere else would always be a long plane ride.
D.C. - most everyone who lives in D.C. have no choice but to live there. If people were polled and asked to rank their top 10 places to live out of Myrtle Beach, D.C., Miami, Seattle, San Diego, Tampa, Houston, Denver, Atlanta, Tucson, and Nashville, I suspect D.C. would rank near the bottom and likely outside the top 10.
Indonesia - too much radical Muslim presence. Why they even ruined Bali which rivals any tropical ideal of paradise. They are also the main reason people avoid other places as well. I am not hating on Islam...just pointing out problem with radical Islamists. I would do the same if the perpetrators of terror were radical fundamental Christians, Buddhists, Jehoviah Witnesses, Catholics, Hindus, or Wiccans.
Kenya - ok I am not a "birther" and I actually like Kenya (I have actually visited Kenya on more occasions and for longer durations than I have the country of my father's birth, Jamaica, so that is me backing up my words with substance). But the fact I do disagree with current administration policies and tone of leadership would make conversations with most Kenyans awkward because they ADORE Obama. So that would be a reason I would just choose to visit Kenya vice live there...at least until Obama becomes "former president Obama".
So are any of those reasons BS to you media brat? And I think any lottery winner who lives in less desirable cities would want to consider where and where not to live. The fact I threw Obama in the same sentence was mainly coincidental...I don't live my life for Obama, even though he does seem to think the men and women of the Armed Forces serve HIM, and that Air Force One is HIS private jet. Newsflash! The men and women of the US Armed Forces serve their God, their country, and their family, and it is a privilege for the Commander In Chief to know that his orders puts their lives into harms way on behalf of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! Oh, and Air Force One is actually owned by the taxpayers of the USA, because last I checked, Obama wouldn't be able to afford 3 hours of flying time if it was he who was paying the tab. Those are the facts and not BS.
Also, don't hate on me because I didn't list any place in NY as being a top 10 destination to live. Only New Yorkers think NY is a great place to live. I appreciate visiting NY and flying through NY...but to live in NY, I don't think so.
Ivan, it's good to hear that things are going much better for you and your partner nowadays. It is good to have cars, houses, and people that you're enjoying and helping. This should probably be your last interview now.
Congratulations on your recent weight loss, your success is encouraging! Once you've released your final 120 lbs., or so, of extra weight, you could treat yourself and your partner to a luxurious feeling spa weekend. You could follow with a facial hair trim and haircut from the 'hippest barber' in your chosen town, and end with a clothes shopping spree for you and your partner.
Ivan, as you begin traveling again, you and your partner will be thrilled to begin always flying either business or first class (which ever your chosen airline offers)!
I pretty much agree with you, OSP, except for DC.
I like DC a lot just cuzza the history.
And the burgers at the Capitol Brewery.
And not that I'd want to live there long-term cuz I don't like any city that much that I can deal with large concentrations of Homo sapiens (they grate on my nerves).
I much prefer (and indeed require) the solitude and serenity of my peaceful hidden holler in the mountains. But I would love to spend an entire Spring or Fall in DC, exploring and taking in all the history (while staying in a Penthouse Suite, of course).
And whatshisname'll be gone after 1/20/13 anyway.
Wow. Such anger, and all because I called you out for inserting politics into a discussion where it wasn't needed and it doesn't belong.
You claim "I don't live my life for Obama", but your posts prove otherwise. Why else would you have phrased it "Avoid living in any place Obama has lived" rather than saying "avoid living in places that are expensive and/or have cold weather" and "avoid living overseas in areas that may be unfriendly to Americans"? It would have been simple to offer your advice without reaffirming your membership in the Obama-haters club, but apparently that was too much for you. What a shame.
For the record, I wouldn't want to live in any of those places either, but not a bit of it is at all related to the President of the United States.
No offense taken.
I wouldn't want to live in NYC or Long Island... too crowded and too expensive. I wouldn't want to go too much to the west of here; before long you start running into lake effect snows, and I already don't like the amount of snow we get in the eastern part of the state. (This mild, almost snowless winter was quite nice.) I'd have to think about north; the farther north you go, the lower the temperatures drop and it seems like there's more snow up there. I'm happy living where I am... most of the time.