Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. An old TV commercial once promised, "Only Publishers Clearing House can make you so rich, so fast!" But as some unlucky winners discovered this year, that fortune may not actually last forever. That's what happened to John Wyllie, a 61-year-old Oregon man who won $5,000 a week for life from the PCH Prize Patrol in 2012.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one JPMorgan still sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Learn more with a free guide from Priority Gold The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028 — and experts say most people won't act in time. What to do before the window closes According to NBC affiliate KGW8 (1), he received an annual check for $260,000.
This helped him retire and buy a house on six acres in scenic Bellingham, Washington. But those checks suddenly stopped after PCH filed for bankruptcy in 2025, without warning him or other winners. Wyllie told KGW8 the turn of events "feels like a nightmare," especially as he hasn't worked in over a decade and lives with his four dogs and two goats on his Bellingham property.
Now, he's struggling to find a job. For Wyllie and other winners, the promise of income "for life" has turned into a legal and financial fight. KGW8 reported that Wyllie is one of at least 10 winners still owed prize money they'll likely never receive.
ARB Interactive (NYSE:Arca), which paid $7.1 million to acquire PCH, announced it would only honor prizes won after it took over in July. Past winners still waiting on payments will "have to seek payment from the bankruptcy estate," according to The Wall Street Journal (2). Andrea Coles-Bjerre, a University of Oregon law professor, told KGW8 it's unlikely winners will be able to collect their winnings.
The law treats them as unsecured creditors, meaning they must compete with other creditors for whatever money remains. Read More: Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here's where their money is actually going Winning a life-changing jackpot might sound like a guarantee of lifelong financial security.
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