Andreas Schmitz, a German man, received a lottery ticket as a wedding gift. It turned out to be a winner, worth a million Deutsch marks.

Instead of keeping the money, spending it on a fancy honeymoon, he donated it all to a dance company that was in financial straits. The dancers had performed at his wedding.

The 40-year-old businessman said he was giving the lottery win to the dance troupe — who had disbanded — to help reestablish a resident company in Cologne.

Mr. Schmitz says he's already been lucky in life and he felt his new fortune came with an obligation. "If I win again, I'll donate that money too."