William “Bud” Post III, who won a $16.2 million jackpot and bitterly called it the “lottery of death” after his life turned sour, died Sunday at a hospital in Franklin, Pa. He was 66.

Post won the Pennsylvania Lottery in 1988 after pawning a ring for $40 and buying 40 tickets.

Until then, he had worked odd jobs, including as a carnival worker. He had been married five times and was living on Social Security disability income because of a job-related injury when he won.

But the winnings, which amounted to annual payments of $498,000 after taxes, brought more hardship.

Various businesses he started with siblings failed. His sixth wife moved out, his brother was convicted of trying to kill him, and his landlady and sometimes girlfriend successfully sued for one-third of his winnings. She had purchased 20 tickets with him and the winner was among the 60.

“For the lack of a better term, he was like the ‘Beverly Hillbillies,'” a bankruptcy lawyer who assisted Post, John Lacher, said. Mr. Lacher described Post as impulsive, saying while one person would buy a single item, Post would buy 30.

“He did everything you would expect of a guy who became a millionaire overnight,” Mr. Lacher said.

In 1996, a federal bankruptcy judge auctioned off what was left of Post’s prize payments, $4.9 million, to pay off his debts. He was left with about $1 million.

“I want to get rid of the lottery, believe me, your honor. It’s really been a pain,” Post told the judge.

Post was also convicted of simple assault for firing a shotgun over the head of a man who came to his mansion to collect a bill in the early 1990s. Post fought the conviction for six years.

Survivors include his seventh wife, Debra Wice, and nine children.

Burial was simple, as Post instructed, said Jim Hutchinson, of the Hutchinson Funeral Home.

“It was his wife and a couple of the kids who came in for it,” Mr. Hutchinson said.