There are two main ways winners can receive their lottery payments — as either lottery lump sum payouts or as lottery annuity settlements — but there are billions of ways that money can be spent, some of which are nicer than you might think. Here are a few of the more unique ways people have used their new riches.

Upgrading the ‘Ol Alma Mater.

Gloria MacKenzie won the lottery at the ripe old age of 84-year-old, and knew just what to do with her money. First, she upgraded her home. Rather than continuing to live in a shabby shack with a tin roof, she bought a 6,322-feet-square home in one of Jacksonville’s gated communities to the tune of $1.2 million. Then, she dropped another $2 million upgrading her former hometown high school in Maine, where her daughter taught biology at the time.

Building a Waterpark.

When John Kutey of New York won the lottery back in 2011, he decided to spend his $28.7 million giving back to his community. He used the money to demolish a local wade pool, and install a new, $250,000 spray park. The park opened in 2013, and though Kutey and his family lived in Florida at the time, they made it to the grand opening.

Giving to Charities.

Robert Erb of British Columbia won a cool $25 million in November of 2012. That year, Erb estimated he spent more than $8 million giving charitable donations and gifts to individuals in need, including 10 cars, $300,000 in dental care, and $70,000 fixing up the local community association’s facility. He also left a $10,000 tip at a restaurant after he heard about the owner’s daughter being diagnosed with cancer. Oh, and the 61-year-old donated $1 million to support the legalization of marijuana.

It doesn’t really matter whether you decide to get lump sum payout or an annuity, just so long as you invest it wisely, as these folks have done.
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