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Paul Sakuma/AP file
A customer pickets up a Mega Millions lottery ticket in Palo Alto, Calif., on March 30, 2012.
Florida will start selling tickets to the popular Mega Millions game later this year.
Florida Lottery officials told The Associated Press on Thursday that the state will join 42 other states in selling tickets. Tickets will go on sale on May 15.
The state already sells tickets to Powerball, another multistate game. It also has its own game called Florida Lotto.
Lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell said retailers and lottery players have been asking the state to join Mega Millions for years.
Lottery officials contend that adding Mega Millions will generate additional money for the state, despite past fears that adding games would erode sales of existing games.
Last summer the Florida Lottery wrapped up the most financially successful fiscal year in its history, with sales of $4.45 billion.
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I play only once in a while I know I will never win but I can always dream of what I would do with that money!!
Hey, someone is going to get it, right? Why not you?
Why not join in Florida. Along time ago we used to drive across another state line and get our tickets...
I'm laid off any money would be great to win, shucks I will even except a can of Tuna fish to make me a sandwich right now things are really bad I see people eating a donut and I want one??? what is a girl to due!!!
not you, MEEEEEEE
no one wins in ohio its been a long time I live in medina ohio and im finding it a waste of money and time.
talk about a slow news day
" .... America's worst nightmare ...... white trash with money." ---Tom Arnold
I think they cheat by controlling the numbers drawn. That lets them run the pay out up and of coarse they keep a large percentage BEFORE the pay out. About half. After that , they reduce the pay out by half if you take lump sum. Next comes federal tax that takes at least a quarter and in some states , state tax that hits you for more tax. Of coarse , when you spend the money , you will get hit with sales tax. WHAT A RACKET ! By the time the winnings are spent, the government gets over 80%.
CLUELEESS after taxes on any jackpot you end up with roughly 46-50% of the advertised amount that's after taxes.
Hey, 46% - 50% is better then a 100% of nothing.
Do you think using 46-50% makes you sound as if you know something?
The big jackpots are paid in installments over 20+ years. If you want the money now they give you a little more than half. Federal tax is 39.6% + state tax to the state you bought the ticket in.
The first poster was very close to being correct.
States love to tease people with huge numbers and the winners get a little less than a third.
That is the scam, I don't think they would "rig" the drawing to jack up the jackpot, though.
Still, 33% of something is a lot better then a 100% of nothing. Correct.
The lottery is nothing but a scam; It takes your money and gives you Sh*t in return....
Lotteries are GREAT! It's a way to get the BOTTOM 50% who never pay any Income Tax to pay some tax!
You can't buy a cup of coffee or a candy bar for the price of a lottery ticket and it's fun to play a little and dream a little....as long as you don't go overboard!
All things in moderation!
ur an ass
I sure wish Alabama would get it, but we never will.
Be happy you live in Roll Tide state!
but you guys have your sisters to enjoy why complain, lol
Wow, smarty1, how clever you are! lol
Guess you live in one of those "sophisticated" states with no rednecks so you can feel superior about the South... where is that exactly?
Based on your comment, I'm judging your moniker is a misnomer.
The real question is, "What does the state governments do with the billions thay make from the lotteries?"
Seems like there might be a lot of fraud, waste & abuse occurring with those funds.
most lotteries go to schooling, education and senior programs, every state has a source they invest the monies too......just read ur ticket , scratchoff or go to your state lottery web sites.....they do not keep the money , except for what they use to pay out for workers and to keep the whole thing running, also a lot of the money goes to keeping yours and my taxes down.......that is what they do with the money they make, and it is not billions, for if it was, than all top prizes would be in the billions......do some research before you make a dumb comment, please?
djb - the report stated that Florida had sales of $4.45 billion. So what is the cut the state is getting from those sales?
Before calling a person's comment 'dumb,' climb off your intellectual high horse and do a little research yourself.
Spending alot of money dosent really help your chances too much, but you cant win if you dont play, so I just buy one ticket.
It is a hidden tax on hope paid for by the poor and middle class. People play to escape the poverty that they are stuck in with the hopes of making a better life for themselves. They no longer do the live number drawings on TV in Indiana like there use to. So without transparency one has to wonder if the fix is in when it takes upwards of 40- 50 minutes to post the winning numbers to the states lottery web site after the posted drawing time has ended. I find this especially troubling in this era of instantaneous computerized information and software detection programs. I consider their lack of timely information suspicious so I no longer spend my money on this hidden tax. I waste my money on necessities like food, gas and shelter.
If one looks into the demographics, they will find that lower income individuals spend more on lotteries then those in the middle class.
Maryland is opening several more casinos this year & you can be sure that the people gambling in those places honestly could use the money for life's necessities.
...heck, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that their slot machines will accept SNAP cards....
The American Dream used to be working hard and achieving success. Now it's instant fame and/or fortune from the Lottery or American Idol (etc).
I don't want the fame, just the fortune. I have seen what hard work has done for people since the U.S. adopted Keynesian economics. That dream is dead.
i always played both of these mutli state lotteries when i lived in jersey, now i am happy that florida will allow me to play both here now!
And you wonder why cash strapped states like Alabama, Mississippi, and 5 other states aren't jumping on the bandwagon. Those casinos aren't bringing much into the states that have them. Mostly people from out of state go to states that have casinos. Okay, Mississippi just legalized light wine to go along with beer sales in municipalities that sell beer.. But one must note that she still has counties that are dry and this hurts the state more than staying dry.
The lottery, according to my teenage daughter, is for poor people that can't do math.
That's what my grandmother taught me: "Lottery is a tax on people who failed at math!"
I know a pychic who says the Gov controls who wins the lotttery and the money is used any way they want but sometimes they let people win for show and alot of the winners are gov employees acting. Well the Gov is in debt for trillions so I wouldnt doubt it if they rigged the lottery to pay for their phoney baloney jobs
oh great, floriduh joining in will just make it harder to win in states already in it and as so many news stories show that state is so full of white trash that will blow it on house trailers and Oxycontin
I was in Alabama when the 250 million dollar Power Ball Jackpot was playing. I
had to travel to Atlanta just to purchase some tickets and lose. Roll Tide
state really steam roll me. Alabama should get Power Ball and save others like
me the trip.
Last time they promised larger jackpots, they doubled the price of a powerball ticket from $1 to $2. That did nothing that they claimed it was going to do. The increase in size of jackpots may have actually slowed down because people bought less tickets.
I don't have to win the whole pot, just enough so I can retire! I play once or twice a week.
Folks---yes someone eventually wins! But remember this---you have a 50/50 chance of winning whether you play or not!
If you don't buy a ticket, you have 0 chance of winning.
I'd like to see a Loto Game just for poor people. This would be nice for a change.
There's ways to do this too! to detect ways it's Ligit where nobody else with money could be eligible or win. (keep out the wealthy & greed that are well off)
Wouldn't it be refreshing to see someone poor (like me) get a break for a change?
I think so, I had others agree also over the years.
Rob the poor with lottery schemes, then fritter away the money by lining politician's pockets through the "general fund." Yea!!!
I am working on a system to beat the odds involving algorithms. I was just wondering if anyone wants to provide me with the money to try out this new and unique system. I will split any of the winnings with whoever provides me with the money to purchase the tickets on a weekly basis.
Yeah, right.
J.mathew
Your chances of getting money from folks who are already straped for cash is ZERO, you sound like Internet Fraud trying to cash in on the weak and stupid folks who think your soooo real!!! dream on buddy!!
J. Mathew... Will you take a check? or I.O.U.?
Whatever It Takes! Cuz >>> "AS Long As I Owe You, You'll Never Go Broke" :D...