[bloodrayne]

$3M Lotto Winner Is Flat Broke

BUT HE VOWS: 'I WILL WIN AGAIN'

At one time lottery winner Jeff Clark cruised the streets in his $105,000 black Dodge Viper sports car. But one car wasn't enough for Clark. The former mine worker soon bought two more Vipers -- silver and red.

Soon his fleet expanded to six, including a $90,000 Plymouth Prowler, a $70,000 Cadillac Eldorado and a $50,000 Buick Riviera.

Nine years of extravagance, fair-weather friends, the stock market crash, a paternity suit and a devastating gambling addiction have left the 38-year-old nearly penniless.

His only ride now is a rickety mountain bike.

ROLLING HIS CIGARETTES

"Look at me -- I'm rolling my own cigarettes. I'm flat broke, man," Clark said.

"I'm reeling. I constantly wonder, 'How the hell did this happen to me?' "

Clark might still be rich if he simply learned to say no to his impulse buying, the lure of lottery kiosks and video lottery terminals, and moochers expecting everything from drinks to large loans.

"I'm mad at a lot of people, mad at the government about those VLTs, but mostly mad at myself," he said.

"There's no one to blame but myself."

Born and raised in Moose Jaw, Sask., Clark took a job at the potash mine just outside town.

He was single and had few responsibilities. He enjoyed playing softball with his buddies, going out for drinks and watching sports on television.

He once dreamed of getting rich playing professional baseball, but that faded and he put his hopes in the lottery.

Clark spent almost all of his disposable income -- at least $40 a week -- on Lotto 6/49 tickets and Sports Select betting.

"I lived and breathed the lottery. I made up my mind I was gonna win," he said. "Winning the lottery was my way out."

Playing the same set of numbers for more than 10 years, he hit the jackpot in January 1996 when he won $2.5 million.

His mother and relatives got new vehicles and other large gifts. He gave his friends money.

He bought the first Viper "and then I partied my face off" for at least six nights a week for several months.

Less than two years after that first win Clark's numbers came up again and he won almost $500,000 in the 6/49.

He hadn't stopped playing, and that second win convinced him his "system" worked.

Clark started to put down at least $2,200 per week on lottery tickets and continued to bet big on Sports Select.

He bought a large house in Moose Jaw's upscale Sunningdale neighbourhood. He took his friends to concerts and NHL hockey games in Edmonton. He bought countless rounds of drinks following softball games and other events.

VLT ADDICTION

He'd often drive to Casino Regina, where he would drop thousands at the roulette table. He also started hanging out in bars during the day, only drinking at first. One day he decided to put a few dollars into a video lottery terminal.

"I used to make fun of people who played those things. I knew they were bad news."

Clark was soon spending every day in the bars playing VLTs.

The money was also ruining relationships. His friends started to argue among themselves about how much money they got from him.

Clark's bankroll was dwindling fast.

He began selling his cars to pay his expenses and support his gambling habit. Often he recouped only a fraction of the original purchase price.

He sold the house. Eventually he was down to his last vehicle, a rusted 1980 van in which he lived for three months with his dogs.

He now lives in a tiny house in a lower-income neighbourhood and has had to give away two of his three dogs. Finding a job has proven difficult.

Clark says he has kicked his VLT habit but continues to pour all of his money into the lottery.

"I'm going to win the lottery again," he says. "I'll spend whatever I can get on playing."