Have you ever thought about what you’d do if you won a Powerball jackpot? I suspect many if not most of us have, at one time or another, although I don’t play lotteries, so my chances of winning are infinitely slim.
Anyway, I’m sure you’ve also seen the stories through the years about lottery winners ending in up worse shape than they were before winning, with more than a few of the big winners going broke.
Welp, while a Kentucky man who recently won a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot might not be broke or worse off (yet), he did end up behind bars in Florida just three days later after law enforcement authorities say he kicked a deputy in the face during a fight at a popular beach resort.
According to an arrest affidavit filed by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, 50-year-old James Farthing got into a fight with another guest at the TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida, shortly after 11 p.m. last Tuesday, as reported by Fox News.
The new multimillionaire then proceeded to make things even worse for himself.
When he was ordered by law enforcement officers to turn around and place his hands behind his back, he refused and attempted to run out of the hotel. He was also accused of punching a victim in the face with a closed fist during an argument.
Deputies ultimately arrested Farthing, as well as his girlfriend, Jaqueline Fightmaster (yeah, Fightmaster), both of whom were also charged with — try to control your shock and amazement — disorderly intoxication, according to Fox.
— MikesRight (@RealLibSmacker) May 5, 2025
Farthing spoke to WKYT-TV in Louisville last Monday after winning the lottery the previous Saturday, and said, in part:
I’m always buying [lottery tickets] ‘cause I’m like, ‘Somebody’s gotta win.’
So yeah, despite “winning,” Farthing remains in custody because of a parole violation stemming from a prior incident in Kentucky, while his girlfriend has bonded out, according to FOX 13 in Tampa.
I couldn’t help but include a link to my 2022 article about CNN ridiculously claiming a then-recent Powerball $2.04 billion payout was a form of systemic racism that targets poor black and brown communities across America.
HILARIOUS: CNN Makes Predictable Claim: $2 Billion Powerball Payout Due to ‘Systemic Racism’
And there it was, gang: from the ridiculous to the sublime. Then again, it’s CNN.
According to the Powerball website, Farthing bought a $2 ticket from a gas station in Georgetown, Kentucky. After hitting all of the numbers, the man and his mother, Linda Grizzle, made Kentucky history with the $167.3 million jackpot prize, the largest ever awarded in the Bluegrass State.
Not to sound smug, but one of the reasons I don’t play lotteries is because I’ve always thought of them as a tax on “less than intelligent” people. While I know that probably isn’t fair, I think we can go out on a safe limb and bet that Mr. Farthing and his girlfriend aren’t exactly Mensa members.
Joking aside, let’s genuinely hope Mr. Farthing and his girlfriend, Jaqueline Fightmaster, have learned a valuable lesson or two since winning Powerball and just three days later, un-winning in life — and that they use those lessons to put their nonsense behind them.
Then again, people do have a tendency to revert to form, so there’s that.
