In 1977, Ken Proxmire was the lucky recipient of the $1 million (£787k) Michigan State Lottery jackpot, and he opted to receive his windfall in annual instalments of $50,000 (£39k) for the next 14 years. Proxmire jumped in at the deep end of the millionaire’s lifestyle and treated himself and his family to a house in California, a new car, and his own pool parlour.

But the businessman expanded his new venture too quickly and, fuelled by lavish spending and mounting debt, it was the catalyst to his high life collapsing into bankruptcy. Proxmire’s advice for future lottery winners? “Crawl into a hole and pull the top in”, according to an interview with The New York Times.