She won an $88 million Powerball, but how much she’s already lost and why is infuriating

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Update: This story was originally posted in October 2015. Now, months later and in January 2016, it’s been reported that lottery winner Marie Holmes has bailed out her fiancé again.

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This time, Lamarr McDow’s been bailed out of a $12 million bond, which was set after he was arrested for violating terms of his pretrial release on drug-related charges, according to WSOC-TV.

You can find more context below.


We all promise to do great things if we can only win the lottery.

I think creating a South DeKalb baseball center to rival the one in East Cobb would create an awesome crosstown rivalry (and maybe generate some Braves players that know how to hit).

My wife thinks it would be cool to not work.

A North Carolina woman who netted $88 million (after taxes) in a February Powerball drawing has spent $9 million to keep her boyfriend out of jail.

It was the largest jackpot in N.C. history.

The attractive and well-spoken mom, Marie Holmes, got quite a bit of media attention after saying the win made her “humble and grateful.” Her goal, she said, was to donate to her church and charity, help her mom, finish college and find a nice place for her and her four children to live.

Holmes, from Shallote, N.C., (near the coast just north of South Carolina) had worked at Wal-Mart, Food Lion, KFC, Subway and multiple other places to support her kids, one of whom has cerebral palsy.

But her live-in boyfriend, Lamarr Andre McDow, aka ‘Hot Sauce’, keeps getting thrown into jail.

Holmes has, on separate occasions, put $3 million and $6 million at risk by bailing Hot Sauce out of hot water, according to media reports.

Reports indicate McDow was arrested last November on criminal charges included heroin trafficking. Holmes, soon after winning the $88 million, paid a $3 million bond to have him released.

He was arrested in July for failure to meet curfew requirements and she put up another $6 million to spring her man. During the search of the home Holmes shares with McDow, police found less than half an ounce of marijuana and arrested Holmes on misdemeanor drug charges. Police also found a gun belonging to McDow.

McDow was arrested again Monday for having that gun while being a convicted felon. The bail was $10,000 and he was quickly released.

There’s nothing that says you have to do great things after you win the lottery, but bailing a repeat offender out of jail doesn’t seem like a wise investment.

Holmes has tried to silence her critics in the past. WWAY once discovered this message posted on Facebook:

What Y’all need to be worried about is Y’all money and not how I spend mine this is benefitting Y’all how? And no he’s no drug dealer or user but who are Y’all to judge anybody? I will definitely pray for Y’all because it’s much need…they talked about Jesus so I’m not surprised Y’all are talking about me but be blessed though.

What do you think?

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