LOTTO MOO-LAH FOR A COWHAND
STRUGGLING RANCHER GETS A HAY-BALEOUT WITH $232M POWERBALL WIN
Last updated: 7:36 am
June 6, 2009
A dirt-poor cowboy whose ranch was in big trouble lassoed a huge jackpot when he won $232.1 million in the Powerball lottery , officials said yesterday.
HAPPY NEWS FOR A HARD LUCK TOWN
Handsome rancher Neal Wanless, 23, lives on a 320-acre family ranch in Mission, SD, where he raises cattle, sheep and horses with his mother, Nancy, and father, Arlen.
Times have been tough for Wanless and his family. Last fall, their mobile home was repossessed and the family was forced to move into a camper, pals said.
Their ranch -- tiny by Western standards -- also was too small to support them in the current market, and they were forced to gather hay from ditches on the side of the highway to feed their animals.
"If anybody needed to win this, it was them," said Chris Assman, the owner of a ranch-supply store in Mission. "They struggled financially, so it's a blessing that they won."
Wanless bought his $5 ticket for the May 27 Powerball drawing during a trip to buy feed at the nearest big town -- the aptly named Winner, SD -- about 35 miles from Mission. He played the days and months of family members' birthdays.
Yesterday, he said he had no plans to change his cowboy lifestyle, now that he has enough dough to go to Hollywood.
"I want to thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this great fortune. I will not squander it," he said.
Wanless took a lump-sum payout of $118 million -- and after taxes he will take home a cool $88.5 million. He was so lucky that he even won a $100 prize on the same ticket.
Wearing a black hat and big belt buckle, he accepted a giant check at the lottery award ceremony yesterday. Wanless would have made John Wayne proud as he read from a prepared statement that showed he was a man of few words.
While taking no questions, he thanked his neighbors in Mission who helped out in hard times.
"My family has been helped by the community, and I intend to repay that help many times over," he said.
He also talked of his horse, Eleanor.
He said he had recently told her, "It'd be nice if we could go for a longer ride than usual on a bigger ranch of our own."
His dad said he was blown away when he learned his son had won.
"I was in shock," Arlen Wanless said. "I don't remember what I said. [Neal] whispered real quiet, 'We won.' "
Nancy Wanless said that as she looked at the computer screen and saw the winning numbers matched, she couldn't believe what was happening.
"It's just something you don't believe could happen to you," she said.
Neal Wanless, however, remained cool after the win -- while his parents admitted they tossed and turned the next night.
"I slept just fine," Wanless said.
After finding that he had won, Wanless didn't forget about his animals and continued to get up at the crack of dawn to feed and care for them, lottery officials said.
The money will go a long way to fix up the farm -- since the tractor was in the shop and the hay baler bailed on them.
Now they can get their farm implements gold plated.
"I hope they enjoy their money," said county assessor Cathy Vrbka, who is a friend of the family. "They work hard, back-breaking, hard work."
Their work had done little to get them ahead.
Before the lottery win, their ranch was in deep trouble. According to Todd County records, they owe $3,552 in back property taxes for the past three years.
That's quite a sum in a county where the average personal income is about $7,500.
"They have 320 acres. That's not really enough land to sustain a family," Assman said. "They really existed poorly."
Arlen Wanless, 54, recently started trading scrap metal to make ends meet. He would often buy items at auctions that no one wanted, which helped pal Dan Clark, an auctioneer.
"Over the last 20 years, Arlen's bailed me out a lot of times," Clark said.
Other people in town have aided the family, helping out with what they could -- although most people in the county don't like to talk about that kind of charity in public. They expect he will not forget his neighbors' kindness.
"I think there will be a positive upturn for the community," town Mayor Tim Grablander said. "They are going to be supportive of local families, and I expect they will do good with their new fortune."
Now pals hope they are able to enjoy their money and don't run into the kind of trouble that many lottery winners find after the initial elation fades.
"I pray a blessing to them that they listen to good financial advice," Assman said. "And that no one takes advantage of them." With Post Wire Services
todd.venezia@nypost.com
Great story? I wonder if he needs my help spending his money 
Christine
