Powerball Jackpot Reaches $1.5 Billion, Largest Lottery in U.S. History
528 replies, posted
The lines getting tickets last night was incredible. Nothing like good old brainwashing to get money out of the public.
That said, I got my $10 worth last night.
I remember working at a gas station when I was 20 watching poor saps purchase tickets scratch and lotto like power ball every god damn day. It's in my opinion that the lottery is for losers they don't do it to give money away it's there to make money as most of us know. But some people are just delusional and think they must win. There's a fine line between a power ball ticket here and there and being addicted to it. To this day I don't go to casinos and don't buy lotto tickets. With the exception of this big jackpot. I've only gambled maybe a half a dozen times in my life lol. As they say gambling is a poor man's game. It's smarter to keep your money. But for a jackpot like this and $3 why the hell not? Other than that no.
If I ever won any lottery, I'd probably tell my parents, I trust them enough after all. I'd also probably give each of them a nice sum for raising me right. Otherwise, I'd keep it completely secret, set up a fund for myself, invest it for some nice, reliable returns and continue living my life as I were, steadily raising my standard of living to an upper-middle class level, free of the stress of financial trouble. Perhaps invest in some things I personally believe in down the line. The only trouble I could see arise would be when to tell it to any future significant others. Before marriage? After marriage? Never?
[QUOTE=sgman91;49477232]Funny how gambling is illegal most places, except for when the government does it.[/QUOTE]
But its fer the children goodsir, think about the very small slice that goes to the education budget
[QUOTE=OvB;49497085]If you are smart you won't tell anyone if you won. Not until you gathered an army of lawyers and financial advisors. Also, write your name in pen on the ticket because the money goes to the person listed on the ticket.[/QUOTE]
You'd need them immediately, I don't even think you can just deposit your winnings into a standard bank account.
[QUOTE=SPESSMEHREN;49501114]You'd need them immediately, I don't even think you can just deposit your winnings into a standard bank account.[/QUOTE]
You can, although the bank will probably try to get you to invest in their financial products or at least get you to keep your money with their private banking arm. A lawyer is highly recommended, financial advisors less so if you actually bothered to read a bit about markets and the economy.
Also, if you write multiple names on the ticket, the money is divided between all the names. Don't join a pool unless all members have written their names down before the drawing.
[editline]10th January 2016[/editline]
Because unless there's written proof it's a pool, the person who turns in the winning ticket legally owns all of it. People have gotten screwed by friends in the past.
[editline]10th January 2016[/editline]
Also confirm the winning numbers yourself. There's a story of a guy that won the jackpot, but had the gas station clerk check it for him. The clerk said he didn't win anything and threw the ticket away, then dug it out if the garbage after the guy left.
Does it say anything about me that I'm more motivated to go get a power ball ticket then I am to actually put on pants?
[QUOTE=FinalHunter;49487620]That's the reason why so many of these people end up bankrupt or dead after they win, because it's a fools game. Getting rid of the lottery isn't going to solve this problem. It says right on the ticket what your odds of winning are, if they're too stupid to understand what that means then they're beyond help.[/QUOTE]
That's not just stupidity, it's one of the side effects of poverty, if you've lived under the poverty line for any reasonable amount of time your understanding and perception of income is horrendously skewed. Any money you get on payday [I]has[/I] to be spent then and there so you can actually get the shit you want before it "vanishes". The "vanishes" part varies but it could be debts, or falling into a shitty savings account that is constantly raided for emergency funds. Winning the Lottery in any form is a massively exaggerated version of that payday problem.
We've seen it a lot in the UK, most of the poorer National Lottery winners go public with it very quickly because the media coverage could lead to more income. But due to poverty, their understanding of the money is fucked and it gets spent instantly. One quite infamous winner blew his enormous win in under two years on a massive mansion, back garden demolition derby ring and a shitload of coke.
He very rapidly ended up broke. But not all of our winners have this problem, a lot of them have gone on to lead somewhat successful lives after getting financial help with their winnings. These people tended to have already been somewhere around lower-middle to middle class however, their experience with poverty was minimal at best.
I literally have no idea what I would even do with my life if I won anything worthwhile in these things. Just quitting my job would probably kill me as it's something to do. I quite enjoy it after all. But working would be near worthless as I wouldn't need the money. Winning the Lottery is a damn nightmare, even if you don't go public, a huge change up in how your life works that might backfire horribly.
If I won the lottery, I'd do my best to just keep going to work(I obviously wouldn't be super motivated anymore), keep the same life and friends and I honestly wouldn't even move from where I live now.
I think i'd rather sit on a fortune like that and wait til I'm smarter, and know what to do with the money. Anyone who asks me for money would get a stern "Not today" and seeing as I already am a loner by choice, that doesn't seem to bother me any.
[QUOTE=usaokay;49501958]If I won the lottery, I would buy a house made of money.[/QUOTE]
I would buy a house made of houses.
I would buy a mega yacht with a plane and helicopter and donate it to scientists when I'm not using it.
[QUOTE=TheTalon;49498587] you'd get $550m, and then the nearly 40% tax rate would drop it to $220m. [/QUOTE]
Um, wouldn't that be $330m instead?
I'd buy a few islands and start my own country.
Step 1) win lottery
Step 2) get a really really good financial adviser
Step 3) go over to microcenters and make one salesmen's day
Step 4) fix everything on my car
Step 5) don't ever look at steam sales pages ever again, and live low profile
[QUOTE=Firo;49497134]I didn't really think of it not existing in so many years. I'd still probably not take the lump sum though, there's so much shit that can go wrong when you have it all at once, and even a single 30 million is more than I'll ever need.
All hypothetical though since I'll never have that kind of option anyway.[/QUOTE]
What exactly could go wrong with having $400,000,000 all at once vs having $30,000,000 a year for 30 years?
[editline]10th January 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=laserpanda;49497622]This is the powerball I'd want to win the least. Chances are I'd never be able to spend all the money from an average one so the extra money doesn't matter, but this one's attracted so much attention that the winner is pretty much guaranteed to have to live in fear of being murdered or kidnapped for the rest of their life.[/QUOTE]
With that much money you can hire personal security for the rest of your life as a pittance.
Alternatively, do what I'd do. Go off grid. If I ever won that much money I'd totally buy thousands of acres in the midwest and build a house in the middle of it on solar/wind power and a well. On a butte or something so there's no road access, only way there is private helicopter that I'd own.
1)win lottery
2)Lawyer/financial advisor up
3)leave the country because you are forced to go public
[QUOTE=TheTalon;49498587]At $900 Mil, In the USA if you took one lump sum you'd get $550m, and then the nearly 40% tax rate would drop it to $220m. And if your state has income tax then it drops even more
Lotteries in other countries like Aussieland IIRC doesn't do that[/QUOTE]
Actually it'd be $558m lump sum, 39% tax takes it to $337m
$220m would be how much tax would be taken out of $550m (That's 40%). To get the number you'd end up with, multiply by a decimal of the remainder.
For example: If tax takes 40% of $550m, to find out what you'd get, you multiply the $550m by 0.6 (60% remaining after tax) to get $330
[editline]10th January 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=Wii60;49502559]1)win lottery
2)Lawyer/financial advisor up
3)leave the country because you are forced to go public[/QUOTE]
Alternate step 3) Change your name after being forced to go public
Why would you need to leave the country that's stupid.
Just change your name and disappear. No one will recognize you after a few weeks anyway once all the furor dies down.
[editline]10th January 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=Th3applek1d;49499915]That $550M lump sum [I]is[/I] the taxed amount.[/QUOTE]
No it's not.
If you take lump sum you don't get the entire jackpot. The jackpot is only the 'jackpot' if you take payments.
[editline]10th January 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=OvB;49501152]Also, if you write multiple names on the ticket, the money is divided between all the names. Don't join a pool unless all members have written their names down before the drawing.
[editline]10th January 2016[/editline]
Because unless there's written proof it's a pool, the person who turns in the winning ticket legally owns all of it. People have gotten screwed by friends in the past.
[editline]10th January 2016[/editline]
Also confirm the winning numbers yourself. There's a story of a guy that won the jackpot, but had the gas station clerk check it for him. The clerk said he didn't win anything and threw the ticket away, then dug it out if the garbage after the guy left.[/QUOTE]
Man I don't know how the hell you could fall for shit like this.
If I won the lottery, even if it was just a $10,000 prize, I'd drive my ass to Tallahassee right to the lotto headquarters and turn it in there.
I ain't fucking around with some gas station clerk or some jackass behind a counter and I'm sure as fuck not trusting that ticket in anyone's hands but mine and a state lotto employee AFTER I've scrawled my full name across both sides of the ticket in permanent marker.
I'm putting down 8 bucks on this, because why the hell not?
If I win, I'll likely disappear myself for at least a year
[QUOTE=phygon;49502656]I'm putting down 8 bucks on this, because why the hell not?
If I win, I'll likely disappear myself for at least a year[/QUOTE]
I call halvsies
You all saw it I get half if he wins
After taxes that's what, 700 million?
Imagine how much raw interest you're gonna be getting from all that cash, you could be making millions a year.
[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;49502771]After taxes that's what, 700 million?
Imagine how much raw interest you're gonna be getting from all that cash, you could be making millions a year.[/QUOTE]
Uh no...
$486m after taxes if you don't have a state level income tax.
Wait, no one won it yet? Holy shit.
[QUOTE=Snoberry Tea;49502776]Uh no...
$486m after taxes if you don't have a state level income tax.[/QUOTE]
Oh jeez, 486 million? That's hardly anything!
I won $100 off of a $2 scratch off.
I think that's all of my lotto luck for life.
[QUOTE=Ricenchicken;49478771]If you were to win the lottery(ever), do not tell ANYONE.
So many things could go wrong with that information out there. Claim it anonymously or through a lawyer.
There have been past stories of people winning the lottery, one guy's brother even tried to kill him after he won. There will be a ton of people begging: friends, family, strangers.
I personally don't play the lottery, but good luck to everyone on here who does! Also try to be smart with the money and don't just go throwing it around and potentially doing something illegal.[/QUOTE]
that's when you do the disappearing trick
[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;49502791]Oh jeez, 486 million? That's hardly anything![/QUOTE]
I mean, my grandest plans for winning the lottery don't even touch $50m.
-10,000 acres of land in Montana for $10.75m
-Sikorsky Helicopter $7m - $15m
-T-72 tank from Mortar Investments $75,000ish
-House & Workshop on land in Montana $500,000
-New truck $100,000
Dunno how much it would cost for enough solar panels and wind turbines to be 100% energy independent for a house + wood/metal shop. Probably not as much as the house would cost. A few tractors and farm tools/vehicles so I can grow my own food. A shitload of guns and ammo for fun. I dunno, I can't imagine spending more than $50m
[QUOTE=Snoberry Tea;49502828]I mean, my grandest plans for winning the lottery don't even touch $50m.
-10,000 acres of land in Montana for $10.75m
-Sikorsky Helicopter $7m - $15m
-T-72 tank from Mortar Investments $75,000ish
-House & Workshop on land in Montana $500,000
-New truck $100,000
Dunno how much it would cost for enough solar panels and wind turbines to be 100% energy independent for a house + wood/metal shop. Probably not as much as the house would cost. A few tractors and farm tools/vehicles so I can grow my own food. A shitload of guns and ammo for fun. I dunno, I can't imagine spending more than $50m[/QUOTE]
You could get into Warhammer 40k, that money would dry up reaaal fast. :v:
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