It's one thing to win the lottery, especially a third of the record-shattering $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
But what's done after you match the winning numbers is another thing, and the behavior of the Tennessee family who went public with their financial blessing has lottery experts absolutely floored.
John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee, wasted no time letting the world know they were among the three winners who split the jackpot, as they informed America on Friday morning's "Today" show that had the winning numbers. This was BEFORE they even secured the ticket with lottery officials.
"It's a good example of what not to do," Jason Kurland, a New York attorney who has represented several jackpot winners, told Yahoo News.
TRENDING: To DEI for
"I definitely would not have recommended that – very ill-advised for a number of reasons," Karen Gerstner, a Houston attorney who has worked with 48 lottery winners, said in an email. "Now, every long-lost relative and friend will approach them with a sob story, asking for money, and all the 'financial crooks' will come after them."
The couple took their adult daughter, Tiffany Robinson, and their Memphis attorney Joe Townsend and his daughter, Eileen Townsend, to New York City to appear on NBC before going to the lottery office in Nashville. It was on the "Today" show that John Robinson pulled a folded lottery ticket from his shirt pocket and informed everyone he was one of three winners.
"Shocking," Danielle Mayoras, a Michigan estate planning attorney and co-author of the book Trial & Heirs told Yahoo. "Putting it out there on the ‘Today' show before you even make the claim, before you even get everything in order, was extremely surprising. It really put the lottery ticket as well as the family at risk."
To officially cash in on their lump sum of nearly $328 million after taxes, the Robinsons still needed to travel to Nashville after leaving the Big Apple.
What do YOU think? How would YOU behave if you won the lottery? Sound off in today's WND poll.
"Flying back and forth to New York when you have to submit the ticket and make the claim in Tennessee may not be the best idea," Mayoras told Yahoo News. "Whether you're carrying around a Powerball-winning ticket or not, we all know when you go to a big city there's things that can happen. People lose things, and traveling and everything else."
Even NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie appeared surprised the family would seek national attention before securing their windfall.
"Why, though, did you decide not to go to the lottery officials yet and come to us first?" Guthrie asked on "Today."
John Robinson replied, "Well actually, it was his idea," as he pointed to his attorney standing behind him.
Townsend said heading to Manhattan was his way of trying to control the family's story.
"I think the American public wants to hear from them," Townsend said on "Today." "Even though they want to be private after this is over, they want to, you know, let the public know that they're the winners."
But there was a downside to all the publicity, as reporters scurried to the Robinson home north of Memphis for interviews.
One neighbor, Mary Sue Smith, told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that Lisa Robinson, 53, had called after finishing her "Today" appearance to ask a favor.
"They were asking us to put up some 'No trespassing' signs in their yard," Smith said.
Then, the curse of social media struck, as people shared a 2014 family photo from Lisa Robinson's Facebook page.
"This is the family in Munford that won the Power Ball Jackpot," a woman in Mississippi wrote on Facebook. "CONGRATS TO YOU."
Next, it was the city of Munford's turn on Facebook, with some messages of congratulations, and others already putting their hands out for donations.
"So happy for you," one woman wrote. "Sorry, can't help myself – please remember Tipton County Animal Shelter can always use a helping hand. Many wonderful furbabies there."
Jason Kurland has previously represented winners of $254 million and $336 million Powerball jackpots, and says he tells clients to scrub their social-media sites and personally vanish for a few days once they claim their money. The Robinsons, though, have all said they plan to be back at work Monday.
"The rest of your life, people are going to be looking for handouts and asking questions and trying to hit you up for charities and investment opportunities," Kurland told Yahoo. "I think it's going to hit them hard when they realize how famous, at least for 15 minutes, they've now become, when they could have controlled that a little bit more."
"The short time between the day you win and the day you claim is your last chance at any normalcy," said Kurland, who has posted a winner's checklist on TheLotteryLawyer.com. "So you're better off sitting back and thinking about what you want to do, how to properly effectuate your estate planning, rather than parading around on the 'Today' show."