Thai woman wins S$229,035 lottery, buys more tickets to 'make more money', now left with S$316 in bank account

A former Thai lottery winner's good fortune proved to be short-lived after she tried to make more money out of her winnings, but ended up losing everything.

Her misfortune also extended into her personal life, with her splitting up with her husband.

She eventually turned to selling lottery tickets to make ends meet.

Millionaire to lottery vendor

37-year-old Namwan was a former beautician who she won first prize in the 5.79 million baht (S$229,035) lottery in 2018, according to Thai media Khaosod.

She shared half of the money with close friends and family and made plans to start various businesses, adopting a mindset that "money can buy everything".

Things took a bad turn when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, during which Namwan's relationship with her husband became strained.

They had more frequent arguments than normal and eventually divorced sometime between 2022 and 2023.

By Thai law, the lottery winnings were split evenly between both parties.

Namwan then started frantically buying large quantities of lottery tickets in an attempt to recreate her win and "make more money".

At one point, she reportedly spent 400,000 baht (S$15,827) in a single draw, but did not win anything.

From the originally 5.79 million baht (S$229,035) she had, she was left with only 8,000 baht (S$316) in her account.

"That day's event made me reconsider," she said, adding that the meagre sum she was left with made her stop buying lottery tickets.

Instead, she turned to selling them for a living.

Easy money goes easily

Reflecting on her journey from riches to rags, Namwan said that "easy money goes easily" and advised against spending frivolously.

"If you don't know how to use it wisely and control your desires, your life could be ruined," she added.

She also considered her winning of the lottery a "misfortune", one that broke her family apart and left her with nothing.

Top images via Khaosod & Canva