Most of us probably know that money cannot buy happiness.  In fact, if we pay attention to the experiences of those around us who have acquired large sums of money, we sometimes see that money can, in fact, bring upon more unhappiness than anything else.  Such a scenario appears to be that of the infamous Powerball lottery winner, Jack Whittaker, who since becoming a multimillionaire on Christmas day, 2002, has faced some very tragic hardships.

The latest obstacle in Jack Whittaker's life is a wrongful death lawsuit filed against him, which is now scheduled in the West Virginia State Court of Law in March of 2007.  As part of this lawsuit, which was initiated by James Tribble - the father of a son who allegedly died from a drug overdose the same night Whittaker's granddaughter passed away - records of Whittaker's gambling exploits at several Atlantic City casinos are being scoured to trace his whereabouts at the time of the deaths.  According to Tribble's lawyers, Whittaker is responsible for giving his granddaughter unsupervised access to his home while he was away gambling at casinos in Atlantic City, as well as giving her large sums of money that his granddaughter ultimately used to buy drugs, which in turn, resulted in the overdose of Tribble's son.

In addition to these accusations, Whittaker was hit with another lawsuit last month by Boardwalk Regency Corporation, who owns the Caesars Casino in Atlantic City.  According to Regency, Whittaker bounced over $1.5 million in checks, which he is obligated to paying them.  Whittaker, however, has filed a counter-suit, claiming that Caesar's Casino made an agreement with him to cover 10% of all his losses gambling since he was a consistent, high-rolling visitor, in addition to owing him royalties on the Cowboy Jack slot machine, which Whittaker designed and manufactured for the casino to use.

Jack Whittaker was the biggest single winner in Powerball history, winning a grand prize of $315 million, which he decided to receive in a one-lump-sum of $113 million.  Less than five years later, there is no telling how much of that money - if any - is left in Whittaker's name.  Let his experiences be an example for all who think that money will buy them happiness and peace of mind.