Wednesday, September 09, 2009

'I Wake Up Every Morning, and Everyone is On Me Like Stink on S- - -'

Not that Jimmy Groves is seeking my advice, but assuming he's telling the truth and is indeed a winner of last week's Mega Millions, here it is:

Get out of town fast. Once the folks in your neighborhood see this your safety should probably be the primary concern.
What's in this Harlem man's wallet? He says $168 million.

James "Jimmy" Groves -- a Madison Square Garden laborer who recently defaulted on his Capital One credit-card debt -- yesterday told The Post that he's the person who won half of a $336 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot two weeks ago.

"It feels great!" said Groves, 49, near his home in the crime-riddled Grant Houses. "I'm going to Disney World!

"I was down and out, and I didn't have a dime in my pocket. I asked for a lottery ticket, in 26 installment payments. And the next day, I won $166 million.

"Then the lottery people called me back and told me it was [actually] $168 million," said the father of two, who has not been publicly confirmed by lottery officials as the winner.

Groves has yet to collect on what would be yearly payments of $6.47 million before taxes. But he is already learning that with all that money comes mighty big headaches.

He said that since telling family and pals he won, he's been fielding up to 40 calls each morning from friends, acquaintances and others begging for cash.

"It's hectic," said Groves, who had been working the midnight shift at Madison Square Garden stacking chairs. "I wake up every morning, and everyone is on me like stink on s- - -.

"Right now, I'm frustrated. I feel like my family is in a position of jeopardy," he said. "This is a dangerous neighborhood.

"It's a dream turned into a nightmare. Winning is the beginning. Living with it is pure hell.

"I know people say, 'Give me that hell.' Be careful what you wish for -- you just might get it."

No comments: