Publishers Clearing House's bankruptcy means 'forever' winners will no longer get paid

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Business

PUBLISHED Sep 16, 2025, 7:00 AM ET


For nearly 60 years, Publishers Clearing House had been known for changing individuals’ lives, fulfilling their dreams with prize money it promised would keep coming for as long as they lived.

But now the company is in bankruptcy, and winners’ dreams have turned into nightmares. ARB Interactive, a mobile gaming company that bought PCH’s remaining assets, said that under the terms of the sales agreement it would not honor payouts for those who won their life-changing prizes before July 15th of this year.

Some winners, who thought they’d never have to work again, are now finding themselves uncertain of how they’ll pay their bills .“This feels like a nightmare. I thought this was going to go on for the rest of my life, so I didn’t really have to worry about money,” John Wyllie told CNN affiliate KGW.

Wyllie, 61, of Bellingham, Washington, had been promised $5,000 a week for life. Now he’s looking for a new job, but he’s not hopeful, since he hasn’t worked for more than 10 years. He is currently living on the proceeds of sales of some of his prized possessions, like a jet ski and a trailer. But Wylie said he had no idea the company was even in trouble until his annual check for $260,000 didn’t show up, as expected, in January.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/16/business/publishers-clearing-house-bankruptcy-winners-lose-prizes

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. If he had invested just half of that annual $260,000 check for ten years

He’d be a multimillionaire right now.

(Yes, I know after taxes he’d net much less than $260,000, but the point remains the same- he could’ve lived on a lot less)

[yardwork]

3. Sure, but he was promised he didn't have to.

Yes, it would have been wiser to invest his money but he had no reason to believe he wouldn't be getting the payouts for the rest of his life.

[NoRethugFriends]

7. He had every reason in the world to believe it was a possibility.

It was a company. Companies go broke.
Please note I said possibility, not likelihood

[exboyfil]

14. Yes. He should have treated the annuity like stock in the company

As an unsecured creditor without a seat at the table, he will be the first non-equity holder to take a haircut.

Don't know if he could have found an early buyer for the annuity to cash it out. Once PCH's credit rating started to drop, then he was done.

Would like to see how well the company was managed. I suspect excessive executive compensation and unjustified dividend payments might have drained the company as well (still the headwind was strong against it).

[IbogaProject]

25. Most of the magazine business has dried up.

These "winners" should have seen this coming and reduced spending and put money aside for awhile now. Magazines have been struggling for 10-20 years now.

[raccoon]

16. But couldn't that happen to somebody even with a regular annuity?

I mean, one that you bought not that you won in a contest?

[niyad]

23. Sadly, he was a fool not to think of the possibilities. From what I

gathered from what he was selling, he just assumed that the party would never end. Oooops. On 260k/annum, I could have supported myself and at least 4 friends nicely (none of us have extravagant tastes!), or been a great benefactor to various groups and causes dear to my very being.

He is a perfect example of all the stories I have read over the years about big lottery winners who are broke within a couple of years. Somehow, my sympathies are not engaged.

[SWBTATTReg]

4. I absolutely agree w/ you. Put some money aside until you build your own nest egg, and then truly celebrate/live.

I can't really feel bad for the guy, if he had just taken some simple steps before hand.

[niyad]

6. I have had plans in mind for decades of what to do if I were ever to come into

a VERY large sum of money, depending on the size of said windfall. Being of a somewhat thrifty, frugal, nature, those plans do NOT include spending every penny !

[niyad]

2. And THAT is exactly the reason I would take a cash payout up front

on the lottery, or any sweepstakes, drawing, settlement, whatever.

[moniss]

20. You are so right. Always get

as much money as possible upfront because the future promises of businesses and governments can't be trusted. They've demonstrated that over and over again in broken treaties, failed pension promises, bankruptcies and stock and bond swindles etc.

[thesquanderer]

38. I intended to wait for 70 to get Social Security for largest payout, now I think I should take it sooner. (n/t)

[moniss]

42. I expect full blown "means testing" to

come in at the very least.

[Torchlight]

5. Industry squeeze's a way out from under responsibility

Consumers get the shaft by the market... as well as the blame from the self-righteous.

[yardwork]

9. Yes.

And I don't think it's right that another company is allowed to buy the name without paying the previous winners. The name's value is based on the winners.

[twodogsbarking]

8. Ed McMahon is at fault.

[twodogsbarking]

10. If they do come to your house don't answer the door. They want their money back.

[Mosby]

11. If I was a prize winner I would talk to a lawyer.

This doesn't sound legal.

[The Mouth]

17. Bankruptcy for corporations needs to be done away with.

Make the execs of the purchasing company jointly and severally liable for all debts.

Better yet, get rid of bankruptcy entirely- with all executive officers of both old and buying entities being on the hook for any debts.

Corporations and the people who own/run them do not deserve forgiveness.

[IbogaProject]

27. I think PCH was a family operation

I believe it was a family on Long Island, NY. But this was really about the magazine business evaporating.

[The Mouth]

30. It should be about NO ONE having ANY way to avoid obligations they willingly undertook

Thro 'em in the pen and make them sweep roads.

Harry Truman paid back EVERY SINGLE PENNY he owed after going bankrupt; anyone unwilling to do the same needs to be breaking rocks in the hot sun.

Medical debt, well there shouldn't be such a thing, of course; corporate debt? Let's see the CEO cleaning toilets for minimum wage for the rest of their life.

[niyad]

34. May you receive everything you deserve.

[The Mouth]

41. I have no idea of what you are talking about

But if you're a fan of corporations screwing people with no consequences, why are you here?

[niyad]

43. remdi95

[ClaudetteCC]

12. I always assumed that PCH and similar prize givers bought an annuity

from a 3rd party to pay out rather than financing it themselves. That said, I'm surprised at $5000/week all he has saved up is a trailer and jet skis.

[exboyfil]

15. That is what Steve Young had the USFL do

You know how much your annuity is worth if you look to sell it on the open market.

[rubbersole]

35. BTW, tsf destroyed the USFL.

Everything tsf touches dies.

[niyad]

28. 5k/week for the last ten years.

[niyad]

31. I remember looking at the REALLLLLLLLY FINE PRINT on one of

those things one time, and remember alll sorts of little alarm bells going off in my head. But then, I am of a very cynical and suspicious nature anyway.

[LeftInTX]

13. One less worry for me, since I never won PCH!

I remember when their mailer would come and we would place their stickers on things. I wanted to subscribe to all those magazines.

[PSPS]

18. So, buyout outfits like J.G. Wentworth are left holding the bag?

If I were to win an annuity like PCH, I would have instantly sold it to someone like J.G. Wentworth. 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

[FakeNoose]

19. On the other hand, maybe Wentworth went out of business along with PCH?

It wouldn't surprise me, they're probably in business together anyway.

[Oneironaut]

21. All "forever" payments are never guaranteed. Companies often will screw you over.

I remember when buying iPhone applications “forever” was a thing, only for all those companies to revise their terms of service and demand payment after so much as a year or less. It’s usually written in their TOS they can do it, and, they often do.

The money isn’t yours until it’s in your bank account. Plan accordingly. Same with crypto, or, investment platforms like Robinhood.

Edit: It’s not even yours in your bank account. Fully, that is. Some banks will charge you for having a certain account type, or, for having a total below a certain amount. Check your accounts for corporate thievery.

[Mysterian]

22. Sort of like how social security recipients and disabled veterans will feel

when the republikkkan regime decides they are no longer worthy of receiving money that billionaires need.

[niyad]

24. Slight difference being that Social Security is OUR MONEY that they

are stealing.

[angrychair]

26. Unless the terms of the winning

Allow them to cancel or modify terms, there is no way that's legal.
This is how things like Luigi the happen.

[niyad]

32. Ummmmm, do you remember Hostess? Went "bankrupt", was "bought out",

(same people,more than likely), union contracts, pensions, etc., gone. I have not purchased a hostess product since. How many corporations conveniently go bankrupt when time to shell out for pensioners?

The corporate/billionaire game is rigged to screw us, legally, and in every other way they can, with no recourse.

[angrychair]

40. I had forgotten

To be clear though I think I got a Hostess fruit pie once in like the last 20 years.

As always...fuck billionaires.

[3Hotdogs]

29. Isn't/wasn't one of the midwest states that had annuity lottery winners in default?

[ImNotGod]

33. The only thing forever under capitalism is the rich will get richer forever. nt

[niyad]

36. exactly

[Initech]

37. I had no idea that was still a thing!

[thesquanderer]

39. He thought he'd get $ the rest of his life. I thought I'd be living in a democracy. Life is full of disappointments. nt

[fujiyamasan]

44. Unfortunately like with a lot of sports players that got super wealthy quickly

These winners didn’t get the financial advice needed. With that much money, you need good financial and legal advice as well.

Investing a small portion of their proceeds weekly in just a simple S&P index ETF or mutual fund would have set them up for life. And they should have at least had a trust established for future generations.

And always take the lump sum. I’m sure PCH and others have small print disclaimers that guarantees are void in case of bankruptcy. And of course there’s really no way to sue. It would all be in arbitration. So they’re really screwed.