Twenty-two years ago, Romeo Silerio achieved the greatest dream that every man on earth would badly desire — winning the lottery. He won the $6.9 million dollar jackpot in a State lottery.
With this amount of money, Romeo quit his job at the warehouse while his wife Anita left her job at a garment factory in the Philippines. His wife and children soon followed and came to the United States. Moreover, they purchased a home somewhere in Virginia Beach, another one nearby for his parents, and one located in Norfolk that he was about to demolish and reconstruct. Money was spent on belongings, like jewelries, a new car, and the family went on lavish road trips in cities like Orlando, Toronto, and Boston.
A few years later, Romeo and Anita’s marriage began to falter, then ended up in a divorce. An agreement accompanied this divorce and it stated that the winnings would be divided between the couple, and that a child and spousal support would be mandated, then they parted ways.
Until the year 2013 when Romeo ran out of money. Now, he is serving a two-year sentence in the City Jail at Norfolk because he did not comply with the financial support that was mandated by the agreement with his ex-wife.
As a convict at the City Jail, Romeo was left with nothing. All he had left with him was a diamond wedding band.
Romeo was proud of his heritage, being a Filipino and living in his country. However, according to him, he was unsuccessful in finding a decent and a good paying job back home. That is the reason why he decided to try his luck in Virginia through the assistance of his parents and a brother. Romeo reminisced that back then, all he wanted was to look for a good paying job, save some money, and be reunited with his family. Because of these desires, he got a job in one of the warehouses in Virginia. His financial strategy was governed by good fortune. Instead of keeping his paycheck in a savings account, he spent them on lottery tickets at a store nearby.
Months passed by and still there was no return, until April 1993, when the wheel of fortune turned into his favor. The combination of birthdates of family members was the key to the winning combination. Instantly, he became very rich.
The very first thing that he did after winning the lottery was to hire an immigration lawyer to complete the paperwork necessary for him to be reunited with his family. He worried about their safety, especially after the news about his winning spread all over the news. He said, at that very moment, he was making his way to fulfillment. His plans were beginning to blossom. But, unfortunately, they did not end well.
Romeo expressed regret about what happened to him, and said that if he could turn back time, he would have spent money on two vital associates that will help him with financial planning – a lawyer and a financial planner.
As many sad tales of rags to quick-riches ended up in life worse than before, the story of Romeo is something aspiring lottery winners also need to ponder on.