An Orlando man took a big gamble to achieve fame and fortune by setting his sights on winning the lottery.
Instead of pursuing fame through the usual routes—like joining a talent show or creating a dance account on TikTok (which, to be fair, didn’t exist at the time)—Jose Salmon decided his shot at fame would come through a lottery win.
And while his approach was, to say the least, quite extreme, it actually worked in his favor.
What Was Jose Salmon’s Strategy to Win the Lottery?
In a 2007 interview with WESH 2 News, Salmon shared, “I said to myself if I want to be famous I have to win the lottery.”
Rather than spending years studying lottery patterns or creating a complex formula, Salmon’s plan was simple: he would play the lottery every single day. And he didn’t just play casually—he fully committed by spending an eye-watering $600 daily on lottery tickets, starting in 1998 and continuing for almost a decade.
Thankfully, in 2007, Salmon’s dedication paid off with a lottery win. But the question remains, did he win enough to cover the substantial debt he racked up along the way?
Jose Salmon’s Big Lottery Win
In August 2007, Salmon’s dream finally came true when he became one of four winners of a $52 million jackpot. He received a check for $13 million from the Florida Lottery, which was more than enough to pay off the $600,000 debt he had accumulated from buying tickets daily for nearly a decade.
His wife remarked, “Now I’m like, ‘Oh I’m so glad you played.'”
However, Salmon didn’t actually get to take the full $13 million home.
How Much Did Jose Salmon Actually Receive?
Salmon mentioned he faced a “penalty for being lucky,” with $6 million being deducted from his winnings.
This deduction came from Salmon’s choice to take a lump sum payment instead of receiving the money in installments over 20 years. So, in the end, he took home $7 million—before taxes.
Salmon reflected, “To be honest with you today I don’t have any money. It’s already in the bank, they wired it, but they only wired $5,300,000.”
Even after his big win, Salmon continued working seven days a week and said he didn’t want to quit his job. Although he had spent nearly a decade investing $600 every day in lottery tickets, he has since decided to step away from playing.
