PSA: Megamillions won by some lucky people in MD, Kansas, Illiinois

[Harrod]

Time to pay the stupid tax. That is all.

I'm convinced that you live in Arkansas.

 

[drebo]

I would take $20 out of every single ATM I could find and leave the transaction receipt every time: http://www.break.com/pictures/oops-i-dropped-my-million-dollar-atm-receipt-2077260

 

[Attic]

First i'd commit to donating a dollar for every dollar I spend.

I'd stop shaving, hire a professional trainer and nutritionist and masseuse and proceed to get down with high priced hookers 3-4x a day 3x a week. Other days i'd go hiking and drive cars w/ 6spd manny's and 400-500hp across interstates.

 

[Noirish]

$250K is not a crappy payout.

Maybe in other states. CA only gets $56,382 for 5/5 because too many people matched the numbers.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

When is the next drawing?

 

[Mike Gayner]

How does lottery work over there? Here lotto is where you pick a few numbers (6 or 7 I think) and they draw them on Saturday night. But I always hear of scratch off tickets referred to as lottery over there. Are the two related or totally separate? We have scratch tickets here but it's completely separate and not referred to as lottery.

Also, what is the probability of winning this draw? If the probability is better than 1/290,000,000 (which seems likely) why not buy one of every combination of numbers for a guaranteed win?

 

[Doppel]

Also, what is the probability of winning this draw? If the probability is better than 1/290,000,000 (which seems likely) why not buy one of every combination of numbers for a guaranteed win?

Even if it is better than $290M at this point, if multiple people have matching numbers it's split between them.

There's no way to gain the tax for those bad on math, I mean the lottery. It really is a mechanism to monitor stupid people's behavior.

 

[HydroSqueegee]

oh man... what i would do with all that cash...
id get a nicer house in a better neighborhood with a BIG safe in the basement. It would contain 5 Million worth of gold and silver as well as 10 million in cash (all in 20's).

I would work with those crazy Germans to bring a Miniture Wonderland exibit stateside. All my free time would be spend doing whatever i damn well please. I would go to "work" every morning like usual to my office filled with all my hobbies to work on.

Alternately, open up my own hobby shop

 

[mnewsham]

Even if it is better than $290M at this point, if multiple people have matching numbers it's split between them.

There's no way to gain the tax for those bad on math, I mean the lottery. It really is a mechanism to monitor stupid people's behavior.

Well IIRC in Europe you aren't taxed on the winnings you are taxed on the ticket so everyone pays the tax and the winner actually gets what is advertised in the jackpot. at least that's how I think it is with euromillions.

 

[SearchMaster]

why not buy one of every combination of numbers for a guaranteed win?

Logistics.

 

[hellfire88]

Here's how I'd spend the $100 million:

1) $30k to buy 50x Ipad 3's ("new" iPad, w/e) and run a drawing on ATOT to give them out to ATers, free iPads!

2) Give $10m to parents on both sides (mine and wife's) to retire etc.

3) Pay off all debts for immediate family + select uncles/aunts I like

4) $5m to build a new house made out of concrete, no creaky-@$$ wood. Bonus since its concrete I can probably trick it out with panic rooms and defenses for upcoming zombie apocalypse...make that $10m then for anti-zombie/survival upgrades

5) Put away $50m in financial investments/savings

6) $10m to charity

7) $900k divided among siblings to get them started.

8) $70k to buy 3 new cars for my wife, myself, and my dad to replace our current beaters (get new beaters like Honda Civics w/e).

9) $2m to travel the world for a bit

10) The rest to live off of conservatively for retirement.

 

[crownjules]

Logistics.

That and there are far more than even the full payout worth of numbers. So if you won, you wouldn't come close to recouping the amount you spent on winning.

56*55*54*53*52*46 = over 21 billion combinations

That's assuming the same number can't be drawn twice (other than the Match ball). Over the last 25 drawings there hasn't been a duplicate number within the first 5. If that can occur, then there's 25.3B combos.

 

[rcpratt]

That and there are far more than even the full payout worth of numbers. So if you won, you wouldn't come close to recouping the amount you spent on winning.

56*55*54*53*52*46 = over 21 billion combinations

That's assuming the same number can't be drawn twice (other than the Match ball). Over the last 25 drawings there hasn't been a duplicate number within the first 5. If that can occur, then there's 25.3B combos.

Math fail. The odds are 1:176M.

((56*55*54*53*52)/(1*2*3*4*5))*46

 

[crownjules]

Math fail. The odds are 1:176M.

((56*55*54*53*52)/(1*2*3*4*5))*46

Probability was never my strong suit. Why divided by (1*2*3*4*5)?

 

[zzuupp]

Probability was never my strong suit. Why divided by (1*2*3*4*5)?

the first 5 numbers can be in any order

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Office pool got 68 tickets. Heh.

Just under $3m/person though. Can't retire off that

 

[Svnla]

Just bought 3 tickets. Come on big money.

 

[JB24]

1. Win lottery
2. Buy a bunch of rental properties
3. Spend the rest of my life trying to collect rent from deadbeats, fixing plumbing, and painting patched walls
4.???
5. Profit?

 

[Anonemous]

1. Win lottery
2. Buy a bunch of rental properties
3. Spend the rest of my life trying to collect rent from deadbeats, fixing plumbing, and painting patched walls
4.???
5. Profit?

Sounds like a lot of liability.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

I could do so many good things with that kind of money. I hope I win!

 

[highland145]

Alright. These are mine so 1) keep off my lawn 2)you'll know why I stopped posting and am living the dream a beach somewhere.

19 41 42 49 55 06

 

[DrPizza]

Alright. These are mine so 1) keep off my lawn 2)you'll know why I stopped posting and am living the dream a beach somewhere.

19 41 42 49 55 06

I'm going to buy 10 tickets with those numbers tonight. If you win, you'll only get 9% of the money!

And, I'll buy a 2,3,4,5,6,7 because no one plays those numbers; but hundreds (or thousands) play 1,2,3,4,5,6

 

[highland145]

I'm going to buy 10 tickets with those numbers tonight. If you win, you'll only get 9% of the money!

Wrong, just plain wrong. Think of my family. $9M after tax isn't enough.:'(

 

[rh71]

I am always against gambling but I wouldn't call $1/day a stupid tax. There's been MANY winners.

 

[ElFenix]

How does lottery work over there? Here lotto is where you pick a few numbers (6 or 7 I think) and they draw them on Saturday night. But I always hear of scratch off tickets referred to as lottery over there. Are the two related or totally separate? We have scratch tickets here but it's completely separate and not referred to as lottery.

Also, what is the probability of winning this draw? If the probability is better than 1/290,000,000 (which seems likely) why not buy one of every combination of numbers for a guaranteed win?

usually the state lottery bureaucracy sells both jackpot type games and scratch off tickets.

the problem with doing that is a) huge jackpots have an increasing likelihood of multiple winners; b) you have to pay federal and state income taxes on the winnings; c) the number quoted is the total payout of a 20 year annuity payment, if you take all the money up front you get ~70% of that.