Lucky (2011a)

Synopsis: Americans spend $62 billion each year on lottery tickets, and every time someone buys one they likely imagine what their life would be like if they suddenly won a multi-million dollar prize. But the dream and the reality are often very different, and filmmaker Jeffrey Blitz offers a look into the lives of several folks who won big with unexpected results in this documentary. In Lucky, we meet Quang and Mai Dao, a couple from Vietnam who won over $22 million after settling in Nebraska, and have struggled to hold onto the values and work ethic that first brought them to the United States. Kristine and Steven White won a $110 million prize in the Pennsylvania lottery and found it seriously impacted their friendships and their identity, while they were also inundated with letters from strangers asking for a share of the money. William "Buddy" Post III won $16 million, but lost most of it through poor money management and was nearly killed by his own brother over a financial dispute. Robert Uomini still teaches math in California after winning $22 million though he can now indulge his passion for sports cars, and James Gatzke, who was near the end of his rope, got a second chance at life when an Illinois lottery ticket paid off to the tune of $5 and a half million. Lucky was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.     Source: allmovie.com