Mere mortals are not the only ones playing the lottery. Celebrities have been known to indulge in playing their lucky numbers. You might be asking, why are famous people buying lottery tickets? They have piles of money! What’s the point? Motivations vary, but we decided to focus on identifying celebrities who are not shy about admitting they play the lotto.
Quick Jump
- Hugh Jackman Rewards Colleagues with Lottery Tickets
- Madonna Won $250K Playing the Lottery
- Simon Cowell Has a Passion for the Lottery
- Sandra Bullock Won a Powerball Prize
- George Clooney Played SuperEnaLotto
- Hilary Clinton Tried Her Luck with PowerBall
- Wayne Rooney Likes to Play the National Lottery
- NBA Player Chris Singleton Prefers the Mega Millions
- 50 Cent Missed Out on a Powerball Jackpot
- Paris Hilton’s Attempted to Win the SuperEnalotto
- FAQs
Hugh Jackman Rewards Colleagues with Lottery Tickets
Australian actor Hugh Jackman plays the lottery out of altruism. He picked up the habit during the filming of Les Miserables. After a couple of months of shooting, Hugh decided to improve the atmosphere on the set and create a stronger bond with the film crew. The solution was to invest about $500 in lottery tickets, which Jackman gifted to his colleagues.
Allegedly, this practice evolved into a habit for the Wolverine, who now also provides scratchcards for colleagues. It has been reported that one colleague won $1,500 from a ticket bought by Jackman.
Credit: SuperEnalotto website
Madonna Won $250K Playing the Lottery
The queen of pop made millions in the music industry but also cashed in a $250,000 winning lottery ticket. To be more precise, while playing the SuperEnalotto, Madonna won €120,000, which at the time was equal to $250K. The singer decided to purchase 100 SuperEnaLotto tickets, while on an Italian tour in 2012.
One of the tickets produced a second-tier prize. However, Madonna did not keep the money but used the funds to construct a school in Malawi. There have been news reports that Madonna is still playing SuperEnalotto, but her original success remains unmatched.
Simon Cowell Has a Passion for the Lottery
The creator of X-Factor, Simon Cowell likes to play the lottery regularly but prefers to stay anonymous when winning prizes. Although, Cowell is not hiding his passion for the lottery but is secretive about which games he prefers playing. However, in 2014, Simon co-hosted a gala for the UK’s Health Lottery.
Sandra Bullock Won a Powerball Prize
Academy Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock can brag that she won $10,000 in 2006 while playing Powerball. Similar to fellow actor Hugh Jackman, Bullock chose to use the prize money and rewarded her colleagues from the movie The Lake House with gifts. The star of blockbuster movies such as Speed and Gravity has revealed she started playing the lottery at 18 years old and donates a percentage of her winnings to charity.
George Clooney Played SuperEnaLotto
Movie and TV star George Clooney owns a villa at Lake Como in Italy. This location makes it convenient for the American actor to play SuperEnalotto. However, George entered the lottery game, after the 2010 Haiti earthquake created a humanitarian disaster. Clooney bought 1,000 lottery tickets and vowed to donate any winnings. The gesture did not generate any donations, but many praised Clooney’s initiative.
Hilary Clinton Tried Her Luck with PowerBall
The former first lady of the United States and presidential candidate in the 2016 elections, played the Powerball lottery in 2018. Hilary Clinton purchased a ticket during an appearance on Good Morning America. Questioned what she plans to do with any potential winnings, Clinton answered that she will fund her campaign. If her political career since 2018 is any indication, Hilary did not have much success playing the lottery.
Wayne Rooney Likes to Play the National Lottery
Former English football player Wayne Rooney has retired for nearly a decade and is using his free time to play the lottery. The former Manchester United player prefers to play the National Lottery. Rooney always dreamed of winning a big jackpot, and despite having millions in the bank account is not giving up on his childhood dream of winning the lottery. However, Wayne is not strolling into retail stores in person but sends friends to buy tickets.
NBA Player Chris Singleton Prefers the Mega Millions
During his tenure at the Washington Wizards, then rookie Chris Singleton got an idea to play for the half-billion dollar jackpot offered by the Mega Millions lottery. Chris invested $10,000 in lottery tickets and published the game plan to strike it rich on social media. The basketball player had to disappoint fans, informing them in a follow-up post that the massive jackpot stayed out of his grasp. However, Chris made it clear he won some condolence money.
50 Cent Missed Out on a Powerball Jackpot
Hip-Hop star 50 Cent has had money issues, even declaring bankruptcy at one point. It’s not clear if 50 Cent played the lottery to fix money problems or for fun. But in 2016, the rapper posted his Powerball ticket on social media, joking with fans that he matched three out of the six winning numbers and was close to pocketing the nearly billion dollars worth jackpot. The three numbers allowed 50 Cent to cash in a $7 prize.
Paris Hilton’s Attempted to Win the SuperEnalotto
For some reason, celebrities view SuperEnalotto as a great lottery for charity purposes. Reality show star and socialite Paris Hilton also chose to buy SuperEnaLotto lottery tickets in 2008. The heiress of the Hilton Hotels bought 1,500 tickets. The purchase was documented by tabloid paparazzi, forcing a response from Hilton, who said that if she won the €30.7 million jackpot, she would allocate 10% to charity.
