I hear ya Mike. One ticket is enough for me. I rarely do this stuff anyway and the $1 spent on the Mega Millions saves me a trip to the vending machine at work. :)

Good idea on the ticket. I think the $341mil is after discounting and taxes. For some reason the government wants it money up front.

Don't want to upset you but after the first million all supplemental income is taxed 35% for Federal.

Then there's state and local. I still would be very happy with 200 million

The $341.4M is the cash they have on hand for the jackpot, and what you receive before the tax man takes his cut. After taxes, most end up with 60-65% of the cash or roughly half of the annuity prize.

The posted prize ($476M) is just what the lottery thinks they can pay out over 29 years if they invest all the cash into bonds. The winner then pays taxes every year on the annuity check.

Of course, as the prize goes up, your chances of winning the total amount go down, as more people are likely to play, and the odds of multiple people winning increases.

You'd be getting a lot less than that. Check again -- Fed Income tax on that would bump you up into the 35% tax bracket. Most states also have different taxes when it comes to gambling winnings.

Mark, I wonder why the government does that, don't they trust us? ;o)

Either way, with that kind of a prize, one would be foolish not to spend a buck or two, even though your odds are slim. You may not win, but you absolutely won't if you don't spend that buck or two in an attempt. I've never spent any money on these things, but I will be breaking from tradition, and spending two, or three bucks. You can't win if you don't play....

I agree with those who say that one ticket is sufficient. Contrary to popular belief, one doesn't double one's chances of winning by buying a second ticket. Statistically speaking, you still have no chance.

AEO-23,

While your statement that as more people play the likely hood of you winning the Full Jackpot decreases is correct, it is statistically insignificant, compared to the odds of actually hitting all six numbers. The number of non-jackpot winners does increase as more people play, but those payout amounts don't reduce the Jackpot amount, and each of those "winners" received a set prize amount also is not affected by number of people that "hit" that category.

It was designed that way for a reason. So some "Rich" guy couldn't "buy" the jackpot. That said; if odds of winning the Jackpot are 1 in 176 million and current jackpot is over $ 475 million, a person with the funding could purchase 176 million tickets, each with a unique set of numbers, thus having a ticket with every possible combination of numbers. This would then guarantee that they would "Hit" the winning combination at the drawing, and win the Jackpot. Invest $176 million for a week, receive $ 475 + million in return. Looks like a good "investment" to me. You just have to be Rich enough to do it.

Sounds like a road trip for me to go to the state next door to get some tickets. A little gas money and a couple bucks for a chance like this! I only wish my God fearing, Bible thumping State would see the benefit of the lottery to education. Instead they are stuck 50 years ago on their high laurels. All this does is make people like me go to Indian Casinos and other states and put the money in their education system instead of ours and at 49th in the nation (in education), we could use all the help we can get!!!How dumb can they be? But, of course it's the 3% calling the shots and I guess they don't need the money like most of us only dream about. How nice it would be to be debt free, have a nice house, kids in a good school, and to finally be able to take a real vacation. The last "vacation" was a 20 year high school reunion 12 years ago.

@htdjpf

Putting the money aspect aside, the logistics of buying 176,000,000 lottery tickets in 3 days makes the theory all the more difficult.

Not all states tax lottery winnings so if you're in a state that doesn't if you take cash you're probably ending up with 250ish million take home after fed tax.

Greg. Sorry to inform you that the money does go to education, but the tax money stopped long ago, so it cancelled each other out. Another lie about doing good with the lotto, as it did not increase monies for education.

Sorry Aeo,, you are incorrect, the odds of your winning doesn't change with more or less people playing. Its not a sweepstakes where your chances change depending on the amount of entries. If its one person or a trillion, your chances are still the same.

Aeo-2354752, you misspoke. You chance of winning does NOT change based on the number of people playing. Every set of numbers has a 1 in 175,711,536 chance of being the winning set.

I think what you meant to say was that your chances of being the SOLE winner decrease with more players.

Mikn Joy, you are correct that it only takes one ticket to win. HOWEVER, buying more than one is not "stupid". It actually increases your chances. If you buy ONE ticket, you have a 1 in 175,711,536 chance of winning. if you buy TWO tickets, you have a 2 in 175,711,536 (assuming they sets are different). FOUR tickets doubles that chances and EIGHT tickets doubles that chance.

In fact, if you were capable of buying 175,711,536 unique tickets, you'd guarantee a win, though the risk there is that you'd have to split the jackpot with other winners, and not recouping your cost. Not to mention the fact that it would be virtually impossible to fill out 175 million unique scantron sheets and run them through machines to enter them in the allotted time (3 days, in this case).

Wouldn't it be 'funny' if the guy right after you bought a winning ticket and you only bought 'one cause that's all it takes'. You see. the key is, 'which one'!

That is what Aeo was saying: "your chances of winning the total amount go down."

You know what? If'n I won that kind of change, I don't think I'd sweat those gas stations anymore.

I'd probably PAY somebody to cut my hair instead of doing it myself.

My driveway wouldn't look like a mine field post detonation.

I might buy new clothes instead of gently used.

I'd build me a greenhouse so I could eat tomatoes in January.

I'd go to the eye doctor and replace my five-year-old glasses.

I'd sell both my vehicles, take my $150 to the car dealership and buy a REAL car.

And then I'd go to school and just take classes of fun stuff!

But that'd be weeks after my month-long vacation in Hawaii.

htdjpf: Yes, it would be statistically insignificant, but it still happens. The three previous Mega Millions jackpots over $330M were all split.

GreatRewards: "...as the prize goes up, your chances of winning the total amount go down..." None of that disagrees with what you said.

FSNY: You're right. Your odds of winning don't change. Your odds of winning the total amount go down, albeit, as htdjpf stated, statistically insignificantly.

If the winner takes the money in a "lump sum" the lottery starts by keeping 40% of the jackpot. To make it easy, if the jackpot is 500M, the lotter keeps 200M. Then Fenderal taxes gets 50% of the 300M that's left. The winner then gets 150M or about 30%. If the winner has to pay state taxes, that's another 7-10%, or another 15M lost. Still, I'd be happy with $135M.

I think it's rigged. Ever notice that back a year or so ago, they drawed @ 11 p.m as always and @ 11.30 p.m the numbers were already posted? Not anymore, you can't get the numbers till about 3 or 3.30 a.m. I think they go through all the numbers to see which ones haven't been picked and list those as the winning numbers. On the Powerball you can still get the winning numbers @ 11.30 that same night of the drawing. I know, I know, it's the lottery it just has to legit, right?

Thanks, Indiana! Always on the hunt for great fiscal savings!

How come in your state the Federal tax is only 25%?

Everywhere else the top Federal rate is 35%.

"That said; if odds of winning the Jackpot are 1 in 176 million and current jackpot is over $ 475 million, a person with the funding could purchase 176 million tickets, each with a unique set of numbers, thus having a ticket with every possible combination of numbers. This would then guarantee that they would "Hit" the winning combination at the drawing, and win the Jackpot. Invest $176 million for a week, receive $ 475 + million in return. Looks like a good "investment" to me. You just have to be Rich enough to do it."

So lets say you are rich enough to do it..be a fool if you did. What makes you think others didn't have same winning numbers (can be more then one winner)..have to share prize then..and that means you take a lost for playing every possible combo...and being a GREEDY SOB!

not taxes

Go Mega Millions. I am giving the finger to Powerball and their $2 tickets.

Easy tax math. 60% of the cash value, presuming lump sum payment.

Annual payments based on payments over 27 PAYMENTS so years 0-26. Advertised total jackpot divided by 27. less first payment more last payment. All payments are roughly 60% of that /27 payment..

that 60% is presuming your state takes 5%.

Of course $1 = any winnings works for most of us. The odds are 1 in 40 to win any amount.

if i won the money i would have to ask mit romney to help with my taxes to get a lower tax bill

I think it's rigged. Ever notice that back a year or so ago, they drawed @ 11 p.m as always and @ 11.30 p.m the numbers were already posted?

You can watch the drawing live on TV...

jjd-179467- I'm not sure where you got your information from or if these are numbers that you just pulled out of thin air but to break it down appropriately here is how it actually goes down. First of all "The Lottery" DOES NOT keep any of the actual jackpot. Their revenue comes from ticket sales and is a flat percentage of that with the remainder going to the jackpot account which is an annuity. The annuity is set up to pay out over 29 years time so the original investment, the amount deposited into the account, does not equal the jackpot amount advertised of 500 million. 359 million THE CASH amount of the jackpot if you were to take that option which you are a fool if you do not, is what then becomes fair game for taxes. The annuity investment would pay you 500 million over 29 years because it is invested in bonds that gain interest of the other 141 million during that 29 years. Saying the Lottery pilfers 40% off the top of a jackpot puts the whole lottery system in a bad light. The federal government really stepped into a windfall when it comes to taxing gambling winnings. I think all taxes from gambling should go directly to the education fund and be held accountable for going directly toward our children's education. However your 50% fed tax amount is inaccurate again as the highest amount the feds ever takes is 40% of gambling winnings. The next highest 35% is on capital gains for the highest income brackets. If you are fortunate enough to live in a state like I do that does not believe in taxing your winnings since it is your money you are gambling with then the CASH AMOUNT of 359 million minus 40% fed income tax would leave you depositing into your account a check for 225,400,000.00 which is a far amount better than your figure of 135 million by 90 plus million dollars. By the way that gives our government a check JUST FROM THIS ONE JACKPOT of 143,600,000. We need to pass laws that applies these massive checks either to our education fund or directly toward our national dept. Since everyone that plays is contributing these funds should be going toward things that benefit us all.

Mark-510849

Good idea on the ticket. I think the $341mil is after discounting and taxes. For some reason the government wants it money up front.

I find this amusing.....why is it not that we could collect the entire amount, and then pay the taxes due on April 15, 2013???

Seriously? Like there would be 10 people ever that wouldn't skip the country with an extra 125 million dollars and just disappear. April 14th they would just board a private plain and fly to some private island they bought and we would never hear or see them or their family again. Seriously?

mqira --

Even in the course of every day life, the government gets their money first. You pay your payroll taxes before April 15, etc. Further, if in any given year, you end up having to write a check on tax day of over $1,000 then the next year you have to pay quarterly estimated taxes. And, think about it...if someone took the whole amount, blew it all, then they wouldn't have the cash to pay the taxes. This is on of the rules of the lottery...they pay the taxes on your behalf.

Why is everone concered about how much tax they would have to pay? Who cares, you would die rich.

I say if you have been playing the lotto for over a year you should only be taxed 15%. That's the capital gains rate.

The way I see it, I have just as much of a chance of winning as the person or persons who WILL eventually win. With that said, you can't win unless you play, and I've already purchased my one ticket for the next drawing.

While it may be possible in this case to buy $176 million tickets and win $345 million in cash, it would be physically impossible to do that within the time fram allowed. Say you can fill out a ticket in 10 seconds, (this does not include the time to purchase the ticket and give it back to the store to input your numbers) it would take over 200 days of around the clock filling out bubbles to fill out a ticket for each possible combination. Even if you could do it at a pace of 1 ticket per second, it would still take 85 days.

I hope the eventual winner will reflect upon the community they live in and take the opportunity to help improve the lives of many.

Like NBC's Brian Williams says, To win the big one is the same thing as scoring two holes in one in the same eighteen hole round of golf! I'm keeping my buck!

yeah with everyone buying a ticket, somebody is bound to win....hopefully that somebody is me!!!!

If you use the "Quick Pick " method where the computer picks your numbers, can the computer give 2 people the same 6 numbers ? If you pick your own numbers, then can the computer also give someone else those same numbers ? I am so confused.

I will be perfectly happy to split it with 10 other winners, $20 mill right now after taxes will be pleasantly received.

Of course if I win it all, I will donate it to World PEace...or maybe just buy a Piece of the World. One of the smaller Hawaiian Islands will do fine

Hmmm... Someone said the odds of winning are about 174 million to one. Still, I will buy a few tickets. It would be great fun to share this with two or three other winners. It would be fun to pay off all of my bills, take care of my family and friends, and then start giving it away to worthy charitable causes. With that type of money, one would have to have more than just a few tax deductions. Years ago, I heard the old saying - "Money it a lot like manure. If it sits in a big pile, it stinks; but if you spread a little here, and a little there, it helps things grow." Unfortunately, too many millionaires and billionaires have not heard of that concept.

One thing for sure - you can't win if you do not buy a ticket. More likely than not, unlike most of us, Brian Williams does not worry about having enough money to pay the rent and buy food. So, he can keep his money...

Adding 500 mil to my retirement would give me 500,000,010.

All you statistics Freaks are boring. Its fricken millions for what maybe ten bucks at most. Hell i'll do 20 if the numbers are different. I spend more sitting at a black jack table tipping the dealer. The only rule to follow when gambling is never spend more than you can afford to lose.

Other than that you'll spend that $20 on something stupid in your lifetime anyways. So take your panties out of a bunch and have fun with it.

If I win I am going to hire a crackpot team of Brain washers and make conservatives vote for Obama just because I CAN. Then i'll move to another country where I can make that huge jackpot ten times as big. Oh my evil ways HUHAUHAUHA

if i won i would buy a barge , a tugboat to move the barge ,a dump truck, a @!$%#tload of dynomite, and a dmptruck! id use the dynamite to blow up the mountain,the dumptruck to haulthe mountain to the barge,and the tug to tow the barge 250 miles out to sea,build my own new island nation and legalize pot on it and make my $$ backLOL

If I won, I would buy a billboard that says "I finally caught up to Romney, now can I be President?"

And then, I'll take all that money, dig a big hole and then hide inside it - who knows who's looking at me, with all that moolah.

That takes away the incentive to play pete. The lottery lowers property taxes so in a sense, we all win a little anyways even when we don't play.

Lenin would have liked your thinking.

Steve, lol! My property was assessed last year at a lower value than the years before. My property tax went up about $100. Apparently my county needs more cash...

@Pete

You must be a true Communist at heart....as Steve said it takes away the incentive to play...look at the number of people that play Mega Millions and compare that to the number of people that play games that pay out a lot less....I'm pretty sure there more that play MM than all the other combined....why....because the pay-out is so large

Spread the wealth....I don't think so...I think if I will I'll just keep it all

I predict that the winning ticket will be sold in Ca, Fl, or NY..

Sure wont be FL, We dont have it

Ohio, they always seem to win big.

@American - Actually its a misnomer that a lower property tax assessment means you will pay lower property taxes. If it was only YOUR property that went down in value than your assumption would be correct. But if EVERYONES assessment went down (at the same rate) all that will happen is you will end paying a higher percentage of your overall value in taxes. The problem is the county has a fixed amount of debt they need to pay off with the taxes they collect. The extra $100 you paid may simply be a result of your home dropping in value at a slower rate than the average home in your county.

Georgia,

Heading out to buy one now :)

I'm with Pete.

@american-2051576

At least they lowered the assessed value. My county has fixed time periods where they reevaluate (like 7 years or something). I just purchased my house and the "assessed value" is 3x what I paid for it! Im not due to have it assessed for another three years, and with my luck, property values will be back up a little by then.

I thought that creating millionaires would be more interesting than creating one big millionaire. I'd say to the $1,000,000 winners, "OK. here's your million. Now go out and turn it into $2,000,000." It would require intelligence and responsibilty to do it but the reward for that accomplishment would be priceless......well not priceless. The reward would be $1,000,000

Well it has to be won someday, hope a group that pools their tickets win..this way more then one or two share the prize..I like to see a factory with 25 in a pool group win as second choice...first choice is ME of course alone (narried now..but be divorce easy if I win).

Steve, your posting reminds me of something Jeff Foxworthy said:

A redneck walks into a 7-11 and ask what's the lottery up to. The cashier tells him $26,000,000. The redneck thinks for a couple of seconds then tells the cashier, "Awwwww, just gimme a slurpee."

(Guess it wasn't enough to pay off the singlewide.)

These stratospheric jackpots are really ridiculous.....Someone needs to offer a game where there is a weekly ceiling of, say 10 million clams. Once that ceiling is hit, pull the winning numbers and on to the next game/games. Share the wealth, give more people a real chance of winning. It's only common sense; as it is, the odds of winning are ludicrous. Give people a choice!!!

Take a small town, make them all millionaires and you know what happens? All of a sudden a gallon of milk costs $10,000. Carton of eggs, $15,000. Hey, they got the money now, so why not raise the prices on everything?

That's what alot of people fail to understand. Pricing is almost never about what the actual cost to make or grow something is. It's about what the market can support. So if a whole bunch of people suddenly didn't need to count pennies before buying something, it's human nature to charge them more.

Share the wealth, give more people a real chance of winning. It's only common sense; as it is, the odds of winning are ludicrous. Give people a choice!!!

Bernie ... but it is those stratospheric payoffs that make people like me play. I know that, statistically, the lottery is a losing proposition and I won't waste my money when the payoff is only a "few" million. When the jackpot reaches $400+ million, my logic takes a back seat because the potential return, however slight, is just too much to resist.

Those of us who play poker know this as pot odds.

If you buy 1 ticket for 1 dollar then you are getting 500 mil to 1 ......

I CALL !

Calling me a communist?

Do you even know what that word means?

Sorry about your education level. It is funny that you've revealed your reasoning skills here for us to enjoy and mock, though. Good show!

Also, your math skills need work, which is not surprising considering your misconceptions of communism.

So, I'll spell it out for you in simple terms that a 5th grader from 20 years ago could understand:

More winners = better odds.

ZOMG! That's communism!

Doubleplusungood!

if you only end up with 10 million out of 341 million then you are not the person to be giving anybody advice.

Roughly $195 million will be going to charities. Roughly $70 million will be going to family and friends. We are keeping enough to live well for the rest of our lives. That amount varies with the age of the winner, which in my case, is 65, so your snippy little comment is noted and not appreciated.

take a joke man. you are free to do whatever you want with your money. im sorry if you felt insulted.

I like your winning attitude Dave. You are Dave, my long lost second cousin aren't you? Can I borrow.....

Holy cow Dave is that you? This is your old HS buddy Dano...Remember that pact we made if either one one us hit the big one ?

I will be in touch....

Dave..each state doesn't take out state taxes on a lottery win..eight states so far still don't tax a win so no need to place this money on a state tax return as income. Get your facts correct!

CA,TX,TENN,PA,DEL,ND,NH and the state of WASH. no state tax on a lottery win.

Dave - i like the way you think when it comes to how much to keep and how much to give away. I have the same thoughts...keep enough to change your families life forever but give away enough to change the lives of as many as you can. Imagine the feeling you'd have knowing that you were able to change the course of someone life and future. To me it's more about "paying it forward" then being greedy and selfish.

@htdjpf sounds great in theory but lets say they're multiple winners (3 or 4), it will get split and the 176 million tickets would be a loss.

I'll go along with Dave's thinking on giving most away. I'm 47 and should I be lucky enough to win this thing, I'd keep $60 mil for my immediate family and myself, and spread the remaining $180 (estimate of course) to my relatives and friends, they'd receive around $6 mil apiece. I'd donate to charities from the interest earned annually.

Better be real careful when it comes to giving away money. People have gotten divorced, murdered, etc. over money. Giving $195 million to charity all at once is foolish. By, saving/investing, you and your heirs could give out billions, maybe trillions in decades/centuries to come.

For you REAL REAL smarties, it's called gambling: risking something of value on an event whose outcome is uncertain.

It's not the uncertainty that makes it gambling, it's making a bet when the odds do not favor you that makes it gambling.

lolfattynerdswhoknew,

I'm sorry you have trouble with the big words. If you are making a bet, you are risking something of value. If there are odds, then the outcome is uncertain. Just because you are more likely to win than not doesn't mean you can't lose. If you can lose, you're gambling.

I'm sorry you have trouble with the big words. If you are making a bet, you are risking something of value. If there are odds, then the outcome is uncertain. Just because you are more likely to win than not doesn't mean you can't lose. If you can lose, you're gambling.

So that means all professional athletes are gamblers right?

Pro athletes are employees, or under contract. Gambling is the correct term, in the context used in lotteries . Don't over analyze.

Professional athletes who bet on games are gamblers, such as Alex Karras or Pete Rose. Not all professional athletes bet on games. Therefore, not all professional athletes are gamblers. Are you purposely obtuse, or just ignorant?

For you REAL smarties,.....it's NOT an "investment",.....it is a cost to try to win.

Then why do they call it an investment when you gamble on the price of a companies stock going up? The stock market is no less gambling than playing the lotto, but then it makes about the same number of people obscenely wealthy......

Ahh word play is fun...

AfghanWarVet,

Agreed.

"The gambling that is known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling." ---Ambrose Bierce, in The Devil's Dictionary

That will just guarantee him a winning ticket if he played every combination, but he would lose half of that is someone else ALSO had a winning ticket. (multiple winners)

In order to buy 175,711,536 tickets (thus guaranteeing a win), assuming you could fill out one slip a second (as quick picks would undoubtedly get duplicate tickets), would take 48,809 hours or roughly 5.5 years.

You obviously have no understanding of probability. The odds of each ticket that you purchase reset each time. So the odds of ticket number 1 winning are 1 in 176 million. If you have 2 tickets, then the odds for each one are 1 in 176 million. Just because you have 2 tickets does not mean your odds go up to 2 in 176 million. Furthermore, let's get crazy with some math;

Just because the odds of winning are 1 in 176 million, that does not mean that the total number of possible combinations is 176 million.

56*55*54*53*52 * 46 (megaball number) is about 21,085,384,320 (over 21 billion) combinations.

The first number has 56 possibilities. Once that number is set, the second number can be anything except the first (56 - 1=55). After that, the third number can be anything except the first two (56-2=54), etc.
The megaball is independent of the regular numbers, and it can be the same as regular number, so multiply the possible combinations of reg numbers by 46 (megaball number goes up to 46)

176 million is referring to the one in 176mil chance to win *any* amount of money. The chances of winning the actual Jackpot would be closer to one in 21 billion.

jaydiz5928483's computations are incorrect.

The posted odds (1 in 176 million) are (approximately) correct (rounded).

There are actually 175,711,536 possible drawing outcomes.

That number is found by multiplying the Combination of 56 numbers taken 5 at a time by 46 (the PowerBall).

OR: 5/56 times 4/55 times 3/54 times 2/53 times 1/52 times 1/46 = 1 out of 175,711,536.

Do a search if you don't believe me (but this is one of the subjects I teach....)

jaydiz, you 're wrong. Follow along with the simple math:

http://www.durangobill.com/MegaMillionsOdds.html

Are you retarded? If you have two tickets, then you can bet your ass that you odds will go up to 2 in 176 million. You have 2 different set of numbers for 176 million combinations.

Yes, your math works if the order of the numbers picked matters. If it were a two ball lottery, according to your "crazy" math, picking 10 first then 20 would be different from 20 first then 10.

The odds of winning *any* amount of money is 1/40.

Your math is faulty since you can't have a ticket whose numbers aren't in ascending order, and likewise, the order in which the numbers are drawn is irrelevant, as they too will be placed in ascending order. If the numbers are drawn (4,3,5,1,2) or (5,4,3,2,1) or all 5*4*3*2*1 (120) combinations, the ticket (1,2,3,4,5) will still win. The exception is the megaball as that is its own little drawing and independent of the others.

You have at least a 1/46 chance of winning some money, as all you have to do is match the megaball to win $2.

jaydiz5928483 - hate to break it to you, but your math is wrong. You'd be correct if you had to pick the winning numbers in the EXACT ORDER they came up, but you don't. If your ticket had 1-2-3-4-5, you'd still win if the balls came up 1-2-3-4-5 or 5-4-3-2-1, etc.

SO instead of just multiplying 56*55*54..... You have to use the "combination" function. For the first 5 numbers that would be COMBIN(56,5) which is 5/56*4/55*3/54*2/53*1/52 = 120/458377920. Then you include the odds for the last number, 1/46 for a grand total of 120/21085384320 or 1/175711536.

Thus, your chance of a set of numbers winning the JACKPOT is 1 in about 176 million.

AND, though the odds for each individual set of numbers never changes no matter how many sets you buy, YOUR chance of having a winning set increases with each ticket. If you have 2 tickets, you double your chances. 4 tickets doubles that. 8 tickets doubles that. If you buy 175,711,536 unique sets of numbers (irrespective of order), you have a 100% chance of holding a winning ticket.

perhaps you would be wise not to blast people for having "no understanding of probability" when your own understanding of it is, er, slighty flawed.

You have at least a 1/46 chance of winning some money, as all you have to do is match the megaball to win $2.

actually the odds of winning something are better, about 1 in 39.89 as you have to include ALL winning possibilities. There are 4,405,086 different ways of winning. So odds of winning "something" is 4,405,086/175,711,536

hmmm perhaps I should have researched it a bit before commenting. I assumed that you had to have the numbers in the order they were drawn and didn't realize that they put them in ascending order no matter what. Shows how familiar I am with the lotto. I'll take my lumps on this one and apologize.

Voter-in-LA: That's why I said "at least." I knew the odds were better, but for simplicity sake, it was easier to just go with that. I knew someone would crunch the numbers, so thanks for that!

jaydiz,

Look up the difference between permutations and combinations. And, by the way, if buying two tickets didn't increase your odds of winning, then buying 100,000,000 tickets wouldn't either.

Not saying it doesn't increase your odds, just not as much as you think.

jaydiz,

I base what I think on a knowledge of probability. How about you? I can provide calculations to back up my thoughts. How about you? I have a BA in Mathematics and Computer Science. How about you?

jaydiz5928483 - How is it that you know that the mega ball is only up to 46 but you don't know that drawn numbers are always rearranged from smallest to largest? Have you ever seen lottery numbers that where NOT smallest to largest. It's not that you didn't KNOW, it's that you didn't THINK. You were in such a hurry too talk down to people and show how much you know, or in this case, DON'T KNOW. But you did warn us by saying, "let's get crazy with some math".

This reminds me of a quote I made up:

"When people are wrong, it's becasue they argue with no facts. If they had facts, they wouldn't have been wrong in the first place."

And another one I made up:

"If you don't have facts, alway assume that the other person COULD be right"

OK, let's get this straight! Buying 2 tickets DOUBLES your odds of matching all the numbers and winning big bucks vs. buying one ticket. However, as your chance with one ticket is almost zero (1 X 0=0) ... your chance with 2 tickets is 2 X 0=0. STILL ALMOST ZERO!! LOL

I will ignore Pittsburgh's original statement that a "rich guy" should buy 176 million tickets to double his money... as I can't discuss that commment without saying something mean about Mr. Pitts and/or his education. ;)

Denver,

I bet your BA in Math and Computer Science is serving you well in your parents' basement. Way to major in two obscure fields and not something that puts those two things to use in the real world like Engineering or Physics. I can imagine your college experience now....it reeks of Hot Pockets, Code Red Mountain Dew, and computer games.

Anthony,

Your first "quote" is gammatically weak. If you start a sentence with "if", then you should use the word "then" after the comma to connect the condition to the consequence. This is what is known as a conditional sentence. I'm not saying it is grammatically incorrect, just weaksauce.

As for the second quote, well that one is just dumb.

Ahhh yes ... at last we come to the personal attack ... the last resort of someone who doesn't have a good argument.

You'd make more money setting up a vending stand at a lottery location...especially on the Nevada California Border...

People get hungry and thirsty standing in line for 3 hours!!! to buy tickets! and those lines will be longggggggggggggg!

And I'll be one of the idiots (thank you) to volunteer a couple dollars to the abyss.....

Lotteries are a tax on fools. Fortunately, it's a completely voluntary tax, and we have plenty of idiots lining up to contribute.

Someone will be disagreeing with you shortly.

Buy a couple lottery tickets for a chance to win millions, or buy a double cheeseburger and up my cholesterol? Hrmm.

Lotteries are a tax on fools. Fortunately, it's a completely voluntary tax, and we have plenty of idiots lining up to contribute.

The joy of buying lottery tickets comes not from actually winning the jackpot, but from imagining or discussing what we would do if we won the jackpot.

I could spend an hour talking about what I'd do with that much money, so $1 for an hour's worth of entertainment seems like a good deal to me.

Amen. Sometimes it is nice to just sit back and dream!

Knowing the odds, I still play. A buck ain't worth much to me. And if I happen to get struck by lighting in the middle of a bear attack (about the same odds as winning) then all the better.

A lack of trust that the government will still be solvent in 29 years (or even 10).

Take the money & run (and diversify like crazy).

You take the lump sum because in the end you can end up with more money. The way it is setup, the lottery has a projected $359.4 million dollars on hand. If you take the annuity, they take this money and invest it in an annuity which at the end of the 26 years will equal a projected $500 million. I believe they have insurance on this money to guarantee you will get every one of these payments for a total of $500 million.

There are a couple of problems with this. One, you can possibly get a better return than they can. Secondly, if you take the lump sum, you pay taxes on the lump sum as ordinary income at a rate of 35%. After you take the big hit, in theory you will invest the lump sum and pay taxes on additional money at the capital gains rate of 15% (expected to rise to 20% by some). With the annuity, you are paying ordinary income on the amount every year. If rates go up for high earning individuals, you will get hit even harder than we are now -- of course it can go the other way, but with our high national debt and political gridlock, i think taxes have a better chance of going up in the future than going down (just my humble opinion).

If you invested your money in big safe blue chip stocks which pay a dividend at an average rate of 3%, you would make $6-7million a year and only pay 15% tax on this money w/out ever touching your principal. If the stocks appreciated on top of the 3% dividend, your principle can grow substantially as well (of course it can go the other way as well). Its the flexibility and maximizing the growth of your new found wealth which is the reason to take the lump sum. It is also locking in your tax hit now, so you don't have to worry about it later.

If you plan on moving from the state you won all that money, you're liable for taxes in the new state you move to and the old state you won from. So, taxes are a big reason.

Personally I'd feel comfortable enough investing the bulk of it on my own that I wouldn't want to bother with payouts.

if you die while opting for annuity payments. It's over! You cannot "will" the remaining money. Take the cash!

that is not true. If you take the annuity, it gets paid out to the estate. The only problem is the tax implications. The heirs get hit with the death tax on the remaining balance of the annuity and they get taxed at the ordinary income tax rate on the annuity itself. If you die halfway through the payout, and there is $250MM still to be paid, the estate has to pay taxes on the $250MM in that tax year. The lottery has made some provisions to help out the estate, but I am sure its not very favorable compared to if you just took the lump sum.

highlyseasoned, I do not believe you are correct. The annuity payments, according to the megamillions website, will follow your estate. I have heard the same thing on multiple occasions, but I read the rules to know for myself.

@BigBirdNoSesame, personally I always choose the annuity payments for one specific reason. I am not educated or skilled enough to invest that portion of money and have it accumulate wealth. Most big lottery winners end up filing bankruptcy within a couple of years. I would rather take my annuity payments live on that and maybe even work on an education that would aid me in investing the annuity I do receive. To many people let the money change them too quickly. It becomes burdensome. The investment work is already done with the annuity. Already farmed out, bid on by multiple firms, and the best offer accepted. And it is all done before anyone receives a dollar. Since the money does follow the estate, I see no legitimate reason not to choose the annuity. Personally I would have difficulty spending more than 7 million in a year. The 14 I would get after taxes would be plenty to live on, at least long enough to learn how to invest the annuity as it comes.

@cokeorpepsi, seems you beat me to the estate issue, but something to consider. At ones death the estate is taxed at 50% either way. If they have provisions to help pay it out, I would still find it preferable. Besides, your spouse can receive the estate 100% tax free. Take Mrs. Jobs for instance, she paid 0 in taxes from the estate of Steve. When she dies and leaves the money to the kids though, that will be taxed (at current rates) @ 50%

I'd rather my son know how to work for money before he hits it big, it's only my wife I want to live the good life.

Since the money does follow the estate, I see no legitimate reason not to choose the annuity.

Taxes, taxes, taxes. Do you plan on sticking around in the state you're in? Then it probably won't matter much. If you plan on moving, then you're going to get dinged for taxes in your state of residence and the state you won the lottery if you pick an annuity. I'd just as soon avoid that.

Personally I would have difficulty spending more than 7 million in a year.

I'd like to get a Manhattan condo and a reasonably sized yacht myself. That'd burn through about $20 mil on its own easily.

good point leeroy, but I would still prefer the money.

I'm not sure if lolfattynerdswhoknew is right or not, but if he is, then I certainly wouldn't want the annuity. Of course, I am sure you keep residence in the state you won and still have another place where you live 'part time'. Seems like it would be pretty easy to do, but I have never looked into such a thing.

I would rather rent my place in NYC for the summer and Rent my Chateau in the Rockies in the Winter, and of course have my beach get away when I am tired of skiing -- :)

One reason to take the lump sum is for estate planning. It is my understanding that the annuity from the state cannot be passed to your heirs in the event of your death. That means the state gets to keep the rest of the payments. As the church lady on SNL used to say, "isn't that convenient"...

If you take the lump sum, you can do all sorts of things to make sure that both you and your heirs are set for life! And live really large while you are at it! Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go buy a single CASH OPTION ticket and begin dreaming large. Woo Hoo!!!!$$$$$$$$!!!!!!

Thanks everyone for clearly this up. special thanks to cokeorpepsi and Leroy for taking the extra time to leave a detailed explanation. after considering your thoughts I would probably take the annual payment considering the point of a constant flow of income it would be hard to mess it up. lol.

lets help the hungry,the poor,the ones just making it bye on pennies,the homeless kids who still find a way to go to school and feel un normal,the nerds or kids who get picked on and are a thought away from leaving us.The familys who are on the streets,living in cars.Lets help some people over here to show through all of this dwn sizing, differing jobs over seas rich trashing people out to squeeze 10 more cents into thier pockets so they can say ive made another 10 million off my company from doing that.Lets have one person start a fire over here to give back the morels we still should be teaching which we arent.Lets build up the week,help the hopeless,teach the young,be a friend to the differs.IS THAT SOMETHING SOME ONE WOULD DO INSTEAD OF ITS ABOUT ME,ALL THE TIME.THATS MY FANTASY WISH LIST,ID START THERE WITH THE MILLIONS!!!!!!!!!!!