A man who won $45million in the New York Lotto says he is still "so happy" and has shared advice on how someone can hold on to such a whopping sum through the years - and not let it ruin their life.
John Falcon, a lucky man from Puerto Rico, was 43-years-old when he became the single-largest winner in the city's history in 1999.
Today, 24 years later, he admits that his creative drive has dulled due to complacency and that he has become accustomed to an easy life.
Despite the wealth, he advises other lottery winners to say "no" until they get used to their money.
After winning the life-changing amount, equivalent to £35.5 million, the lucky man first invested $175,000 (£138,000) in dental work, using cow bone for a new set of teeth costing £140,000.
He then went from living in a modest apartment to residing in a luxury pad in the Trump Tower and hiring his own theatres to perform his music.
John Falcon's advice to future lottery winners is to be careful with their prize funds, hire financial advisors to manage their money, and avoid spending it all at once.
"Everyone assumes it's an endless amount of money but it takes some holding onto," he told the Sun. However, he added: "I am so happy. I have no regrets."
He also advises getting the money in instalments rather than all at once and being wary of investment opportunities.
The millionaire himself has financial advisors who help him make decisions, and he took his money over 26 years instead of as a lump sum.
He warns others who make it big that a tax attorney, a good accountant, and a bookkeeper are absolutely necessary for tracking finances and is the readon why he is "so happy".
He also revealed he askd to receive his lottery winnings in instalments over 26 years.
Mr Falcon said he also avoided taking up any of the investment opportunities that were suddenly being constantly thrown his way.
Asked about his home at the Trump Tower, he told the Sun: "It was nothing truly extravagant. I wanted to buy a house - I wanted a home. I've lived in the same apartment since 2002. [Trump] built one good thing and I happen to live in it."
In a previous interview, he spoke to ABC News about his life before the big win, which he described as Dickensian.
Mr Falcon said: "There was no sun, I tell you. There was just darkness, clouds, rain, constant snow. I was working. It was very Dickensian, I was like Oliver Twist."
And added that when he won, he was puzzled as to what his next steps should be: "There is nothing on the ticket that tells you what your next step is. So, do you know what I mean? I didn't know what to do. Do I go back to the bodega where I bought it and ask for my $45 million? I mean, what do I do?"
In 2005, he told ABC News that he was a struggling actor in dire straits
He said at the time: "There was no sun, I tell you. There was just darkness, clouds, rain, constant snow. I was working. It was very Dickensian, I was like Oliver Twist."
But his lucky numbers, made up of old addresses, came up good in October of 1999, and all that changed.
He told ABC at the time: "There is nothing on the ticket that tells you what your next step is. So, do you know what I mean? I didn't know what to do.
"Do I go back to the bodega where I bought it and ask for my $45million? I mean, what do I do?"
Mr Falcon was badly beaten up in a homophobic attack ten years before his jackpot win. He suffered serious injuries.
Mr Falcon says holding onto his money was as simple as learning to use the word 'no'.
He watched a Broadway musical 'Spend Spend Spend soon after his win, and its tale of a cake factory worker who blew a lotery win on champagne and cars saw him determined not to follow suit.
He jokes he would have been broke had he won the Lotto aged 24, instead of 44.
