I always wanted to be like John Beresford Tipton, the fictional multibillionaire on the 1950s TV program “The Millionaire.”

I would call in my attorney, give him a brief moralizing lecture as a prelude to the identity of the unsuspecting person who would be receiving an anonymous tax-free cashier’s check for $1 million from me.

Many of us have dreams of coming into untold riches, but, of course, for all but a fortunate few, it all remains just that - a fantasy.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you are probably aware that we just went through another of those periodic big-money jackpots which get us salivating about what might have been. A friend of mine in Lansford even makes a list of all that he would buy, donate and do if he defied to 303 million-to-1 odds and hit the Mega Millions jackpot.

Someone in Illinois is holding the one and only winner of the most recent Mega Millions jackpot of $1.337 billion, second largest in the game’s 26-year history. Of course, if the winner does as most and takes the lump-sum option, the amount drops to $780.5 million. The larger amount is if the winner opts to take an annuity in 19 equal payments.

I rarely play the lottery, but as many in our area, I make an exception when the jackpot really gets up there, so I was in for the last three Mega Million drawings before there was a winner. That’s right, I laid out 6 of my hard-earned dollars for a shot at millions. In those three drawings, just one of my numbers came up once, so I had nothing to show for my $6 investment except several hours of heightened anticipation followed by next-day disappointments when I compared my numbers to the winning numbers. I did not play in the Aug. 2 drawing because the jackpot had reset to a paltry $20 million - chump change.

I was doing some research on big lottery winners, and I found that life is not always a bed of roses when you come into that kind of money, so then I changed my thinking and decided that I was fortunate - even relieved - that I didn’t win.

Lottery winners face a variety of personal and financial challenges that can significantly change their lives - and not always for the better. Some winners even end up going broke after winning millions.

My late wife’s grandmother would always say “money makes the blind see,” and after reading some of these lottery winners’ horror stories, I can understand why. Money can make people do some ugly things.

Personal relationships among spouses might sour and turn contentious over how the winnings are to be spent. The wife wants her Uncle Joe to have $10,000, but the husband, who hates Joe, refuses. Some have even split up and divorced. OK then, big number divided by two.

Some lottery winners tell stories of how long-lost relatives came out of the woodwork and tried to become their new best friends forever after ghosting them for decades.

I was amazed to learn that some family members and friends felt the lottery winner had a “duty” to give them a slice of the wealth pie. I thought about that for a moment. If I had won the Mega Millions jackpot, where would I have drawn the line with my newfound wealth, and how many would I have alienated by my decision?

Would the servers at my favorite bagel place expect a much bigger tip than I normally give? Would my parish priest be salivating about the possibility of a sizable gift to fund a needed church project? If I gave my three children and two stepchildren $100,000 each, would they be disappointed and call me a cheapskate thinking that it should have been a million each? Would my neighbors expect a neighborly stipend as a goodwill gesture for the privilege of living next to them? Would I be badgered to make contributions to every cause that came down the pike? Would I become scammers’ new favorite target? I also must not forget that Uncle Sam will have his sizable hand stretched out for a big tax bite - in this case, $117.1 million.

Some people who suddenly become super wealthy just can’t handle it. Time magazine reported that Billie Bob Harrell of Texas squandered his $31 million jackpot by giving handouts to friends and family members and made poor financial choices, all of which led him to commit suicide.

Lottery winners often lack the financial knowledge and discipline to handle large sums of money. They go on spending sprees and buy Ferraris, mansions and fancy jewelry.

Most admitted that a big lottery win is a life-changer, but warn not to forget the cons alongside of the pros. It is hard to believe that some go broke after coming into all of that prize money.

But after all is said and done, I am sure most of us would like to have $780.5 million sent our way, and we would do our best to make a go of it. Certainly life would be different, but in my case one thing would not change: I would continue writing opinion columns for the Times News. Wait a minute! Come to think of it, I could even buy the Times News.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.