Man Goes Through Dry Run of Winning Lottery
- la Nación

Buenos Aires - After a lifetime of delusion and several months of careful planning, Max Lindez has decided it's time to go through a "dry run" of what it will be like when he actually wins the lottery. This dress rehearsal lasted nearly two weeks and touched the soil of three South American countries: Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

Following the advice of his father for the first time in his life, Max skipped town to experience the initial phase of becoming a millionaire overnight-getting out of sight. Although he did not change his phone number per his fathers urging, he did however, stay on hold with the local phone company for just under thirty minutes in an effort to remain sharp for when that day finally comes. "It's just like training for a triathlon," Max said.

In order to begin adjusting to the finer things in life, Peter Goodman, a wealthy entrepreneur in his own right and long time, was invited along with completely unaware that he was acting as a mentor and maestro of refined elegance. The training grounds chosen were the areas adjacent to the Rio de la Plata on the east coast of the Southern American continent, approximately 33 degrees south latitude. Included in this area is the world renowned megalopolis Buneos Aires, Argentina and the ocean resort town of Punta del Este, Uruguay, a notorious playground for wealthy Argentines.

Just over one year ago the Argentine Peso was pared with the US dollar. Today the Peso has sunk to over a 3 to 1 mismatch with its former partner making those possessing the US dollar kings in the arena of good times. Argentina is the perfect place to go to act being rich. Argentina is the perfect place for a poor, frugal American to vacation and act like a big shot. Argentina is a good place to pick up chicks.

Steak dinners are ten dollars. Four star hotel rooms are forty dollars a night. A (therapeutic) massage is sixteen dollars. A cappuccino costs one dollar. A simple apartment with utilities is two hundred dollars.

Like any other individual in pursuit of success, Max did not embark this endeavor without the prior knowledge required to succeed. Several people were interviewed on the subject of financial management and in the area of personal safety. As Max told his Buenos Aires person driver Marcello Rodriguez, "This is not something to be rushed into. This is something that requires discipline, planning and knowledge otherwise you'll blow the whole thing."

	Above: Max is spotted trying to be discrete avoiding kidnappers  in the resort town of Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Max's father, a Certified Managerial Accountant and conservative investor, advises a Family Limited Partnership to split up the money fairly. Also to seek out a good financial advisor (or two) with a good balanced portfolio to include semi-liquid assets like CD's (certificates of deposit, not music), real estate and stocks. "You want to set it up so that every year your income increases to match the cost of living increase as well as adding to principal investment, otherwise you'll run out of money." Max's father seemed a little too interested in planning how to best divide and invest his son's lottery winnings.

Longtime friend and Certified Public Accountant Noel Dalzell, proposed a simple non-taxable strategy. According to Noel, "I'd change my residence to a state which has no state income tax like Nevada and put everything in non-taxable municipal bonds, investing in local and state governments. That'd earn me 3-5% interest annually, all tax free and I'd never have to pay income tax again. These days a corporation's or a partnership is no longer necessary and if anyone tells you it is they're just trying to get a hold of your money. That's what usually happens, someone has a fight then gets sued and loses it all to a family member."

 A more aggressive and less traditional plan was given by Business Strategy Consultant Nick Bush, "What you wanna do Max is start a money losing S-Corporation where you'll pay no corporate income tax, only payroll tax. Now according to the Bush Dividend Plan, you can pay yourself in dividends which will be tax free, and you'll be the sole employee. The only thing you'll have to do is prove to the IRS you're doing something, you're engaged in enterprise, a negative profit enterprise. Sell one shirt a year and you'll be legal."

To discuss matters of personal safety, Matt the Rockabilly Cop, an investigator with the Chicago Police Department, was consulted. He strongly urged Max to stay within the tourist areas being careful of kidnappers. According to a radio news segment Matt the Cop heard, "The cops will kill anyone who messes with you in the tourist areas because that's income for them but if you take one step outside the safe areas they'll kidnap you. They'll take you to the ATM machine just before midnight, wait a few minutes until just past twelve and take you there again. They'll clean out your account then leave you in the middle of nowhere."

These last two weeks of experiencing firsthand "in the field" what it's like to be filthy rich has assured Max that he possesses the required discipline and resources to accomplish the task of winning the lottery while keeping his head on straight. "The last thing to do now is wait and make sure I don't rack up too many debts just in case I don't win for a few more years, people may not want to wait that long, " Max said. "What I just learned will give me an advantage over all the other poor people that won the lottery because they had no plan and no idea of what to do wit themselves."

The trip home concluded the unemployed geographer's run of the finer things in life. The United Airlines "Buddy Pass" offered by Pete's sister allowed the two a free upgrade to business class on the flight from Buenos Aires to Washington D.C. For only three cents a mile Max enjoyed the comforts of a reclining chair with lumbar support, a shrimp appetizer, filet mignon dinner and an omelet breakfast.