Mega Millions

[ratto]

If I win, I would immediately put on my old clothes & sweaters with a lot of holes on them already.

 

[MichaelB]

Last week the Danish lotto told 300 people they had each won $3.8B. That is serious money and they are lucky no one died from surprise.

All 300 had received an email from the head of the Danish state-run lottery company, Danske Spil, congratulating them on the astronomical sums they had won, Danske Spil spokesman Thomas Roersig said.

"Three hundred of our lottery players who won the lottery, the Keno, received a message saying they had won a sum in the billions. And they never won that amount ... We are of course very sorry. We have now written to them to inform them of the sum that they really won," Mr Roersig said.

One of the winners, Flemming Dahl, "was a billionaire for an-hour-and-a-half" on Wednesday after receiving an email informing him he had won 28 billion kroner (some $3.8 billion), the Nordjyske newspaper website reported.

 

[rescueme]

Today is DW's last day of w*rk.

Even though she's in the office pool, she already feels she has "won" ...

 

[scrabbler1]

That's true, for a single drawing. Things get interesting if the jackpot rolls over for several weeks running. There have been documented cases of syndicates attempting to purchase every possible combination of numbers to guarantee winning a jackpot which is, say, 3 times the total stake. Their risk, of course, is that there are 4 or more winning tickets that week, but that's offset somewhat by the fact that they will also win all of the minor prizes too. See for example here.

I recall this happening in Virginia back in the 1990s. The syndicate arranged with several ticket vendors in advance to buy certain blocks of numbers but some of its members did not end up buying their share so they had some holes. They won anyway.

Question: Did a lottery syndicate EVER buy ALL combinations of California Lottery numbers?

The link mentions the Virginia although the questioner asked about California.

 

[W2R]

W2R, you are not even going to move without bothering to sell your existing home? Don't you still want to move? Anywhere in the US (not the world since you do not care to travel) that you want?

That sounds like a nightmare to me. In my opinion all it would do is give me the extra hassles and worry of taking care of two homes instead of one. I could hire someone to see that my house here was rented or taken care of, but then one has to deal with an employee or employees in a distant location reporting all the time.That would interfere iwth my tranquility and would not improve my quality of life.

Today is DW's last day of w*rk.

Even though she's in the office pool, she already feels she has "won" ...

Congratulations to your DW!! I hope she enjoys retired life tremendously.

 

[NW-Bound]

You could just donate the house to charity if you got this rich from the lottery, and walked off free.

Have you bought your lottery tickets? All this talk might just cause me to go get some.

 

[Independent]

When I was with megacorp, a few times when the grand prize got this big, I would organize a pool. Nearly everyone in the department bought in, including the department manager.

Quite a few told me that they would not count on winning, but just to hedge the risk that in the remotest chance that we won, they would not be left behind at work, sitting lonely among vacant cubicles. Of course, the department manager would have the most to fear.

Been there, done that. Knowing that everyone else is in the pool increases the enjoyment from winning (because you can rejoice and commiserate with other people in the same position) and increases the disappointment in not playing (because the winners are right next to you and invited you to join them).

 

[Birchwood]

Let's see, with our office pool, I envisioned each of us with a cool 19M
after taxes. I can handle that.
Things to do:
1. Move to another state, buy a small house and live quietly.
2. Buy a small vacation condo and commute bet. the two.
3. Spend about two hours a day, managing and investing the money.
4. Go to all the cruises I want to.
5. Trade the old pickup and old car.
6. Upgrade my camera system.
7. Not worry about money.

 

[ducky911]

I am not buying a ticket. After thinking about it I am frankly afraid of winning. I am enjoying my er and to win would put me back to work with what to do with the money and do it right...i do not need the worry...good luck to everyone ..or may the odds be ever in your favor.

 

[ziggy29]

That sounds like a nightmare to me. In my opinion all it would do is give me the extra hassles and worry of taking care of two homes instead of one. I could hire someone to see that my house here was rented or taken care of, but then one has to deal with an employee or employees in a distant location reporting all the time.That would interfere iwth my tranquility and would not improve my quality of life.

If I won a half billion dollar jackpot, I'd sooner just give the house away than deal with trying to maintain it, rent it out or sell it.

 

[Mulligan]

If I won a half billion dollar jackpot, I'd sooner just give the house away than deal with trying to maintain it, rent it out or sell it.

I think the first thing you should do is a quick sale on the house for $1 before you collect and get the hell out of town. You will want to be long gone, untraceable and into hiding before you collect. Hiring a fulltime professional body guard might not be the worst investment either. The leachers will come immediately to suck the lottery blood out of your body. I read there are people who literally are professional beggars that track down lotto winners and try to lie, cheat, beg, or steal the money from the winner any way possible. And that is in addition to your " friends" who will crawl out of the woodwork to find you

 

[NW-Bound]

Yep! Any of us now regretting posting too much on the forum here?

I have not bought any ticket, but if I won, I would make a teasing post then disappear. However, I am sure there would be a lot of RV'ers on the look out for an eccentric guy on the Alcan highway. And he might even look like Steve McQueen.

PS. Perhaps Dex was one of the past jackpot winners, and that's how we have not heard from him. Oh, and CuppaJoe too.

 

[EvrClrx311]

I've always been fascinated with the psychology of lottery winners... if you take the time to look up some of the books/articles about what people refer to as the lottery curse there are some very interesting case studies on what huge windfalls do to people. Not just lottery winners but also large unexpected inheritances.

Most who have spent extensive time on the topic come to the same conclusion... winning the lottery actually makes the majority of people more unhappy than happy when they look back 5 years later. There are a variety of reasons for this (here are just a few):

Most people could go through this list and explain how each would not effect them, but the fact is, you don't really know until you experience it. (caveat: the types who FIRE don't usually fall into (m)any of these categories... but then again, we are also not the types to typically win the lottery)

- Loss of Dependence: Sounds like a positive, but for many it is not. We go through life slaves to money (at least almost everyone who plays the lottery is)... it controls our lives, and suddenly when we can buy anything we want that structure is gone. We get confused about where we are going and what plan we have for our future.

-Transparency: Suddenly everyone knows you have money... money that you did not earn and many think you don't deserve. Your relationship with everyone (even immediate family) changes instantly... no matter how you try to avoid it, the fact that you have a lot of money means people view you differently. The closer they are, the more they think they know how to advise you on what to do with it and how much of it you should spent or give to them.

- Guilt and Responsibility: Lotto winners are suddenly tasked with evaluating how and where to distribute the funds. It is like suddenly being thrown into the roll of a CEO... where your decisions directly effect hundreds or even thousands of lives. "If I give some of the money to that animal shelter, then how many homeless kids will go without food?", "This charity is begging harder for money to stay afloat, but this one I believe in more." They will blame you if you don't donate to them... and you'd be surprised at the lack of appreciation you receive from the ones you do donate to (almost like they expect you to since it's not really your money after all)

- Bankruptcy: As many have seen in this thread already... the thought of lotto winnings instantly brings to mind all of the things you want but don't need. You suddenly are vaulted into a world of consumption. Many don't understand how to accumulate wealth or let money work for them. They manage the money the way they always have (what is there... is there to spend). 50% of people living below the poverty line that win the lottery... end up back in poverty within 5 years. Amazing huh?


The success stories after winning the lottery have some common connections:

1) saved the majority of the money they won... investing it or buying/building a company from it.

2) they continued living their lives almost the same as they did prior to the lottery winnings.

3) they didn't go public with it

Best example I could find is a couple from Arizona who won a 5 million dollar lottery and instantly FIRE'd living off of 4% of it a year ($200,000). They didn't splurge on it at all. They travel the world now and are enjoying life. Only negative they indicated is that they don't have many of the friends anymore that they knew before winning the lottery.

 

[mh]

If I won a half billion dollar jackpot, I'd sooner just give the house away than deal with trying to maintain it, rent it out or sell it.

+1 yeah just rent furnished places and ship your personal items wherever your current fancy is.

This thread provides just as much entertainment as buying a ticket does

 

[EvrClrx311]

Probably my favorite quote under the CNN Article:

"With $600 million I can finally buy myself half of a B-2 Stealth Bomber. It would be completely useless, but I can wait to win the next $600 million, to make it complete."

 

[Chuckanut]

State Lottery Headquarters: Home of the Optional Tax

 

[EvrClrx311]

State Lottery Headquarters: Home of the Optional Tax

I'm all for increasing/promoting the lottery... if it means I pay less in taxes.

You know what they say about a fool and his money...

 

[ziggy29]

State Lottery Headquarters: Home of the Optional Tax

I guess my biggest problem with it is that the marketing seems to be aimed at many of the people who can least afford to buy lottery tickets. Sure, they may throw in a quiet "play responsibly" in there, just as alcohol ads do, but they still seem to going after those who can least afford to be buying tens of dollars of tickets a week.

 

[Ronnieboy]

No lottery here in Utah, but I hear on the news that many are heading up North to Idaho or down to AZ to buy some tickets.

Too bad we aren't keeping the dollars in the state. If there was, I would spend a few bucks from the Pepsi stash and get a couple of tickets.
If I came into that cash, I would wait a little while for the hub bub to die down then try to claim it anonymously.

 

[powerplay]

The jackpot has jumped up to $640 million!

I bought some tickets this morning and then noticed long lines forming in another store just before noon. Could be a wait if anyone wants to buy tickets later today.

 

[LauAnn]

No line at the little corner store. Just walked in at 10:30 a.m. and didn't have to wait it line.

 

[MDJO]

DW bought a ticket. It's a fantasy for her, something to dream about. Not worth arguing about.

 

[Khan]

I don't care what you guys say. If someone is staring a lottery pool at work, there is NO WAY I will not join!

If you won mega millions, how would you spend it? Get your car tuned up? Get some nice clothes?? No, seriously, if you were gifted with mega millions, what kind of non-profit organizations do you think you would start? (I am talking a few hundred million dollars here.) It doesn't have to be "wo*k"; you can just get someone to start it for you, but what would you start?

Something similar to MacArthur Fellowships.

 

[BigNick]

Last week the Danish lotto told 300 people they had each won $3.8B. That is serious money and they are lucky no one died from surprise.

That's a pretty funny story. I get e-mails claiming to be from the head of a dozen different national lotteries every week, saying that I've won. A case of life imitating spam (or scam).

 

[harley]

Just got back from the 7-11 with my ticket. At $1 it's worth the 175M->1 odds. It's an experiment for me. I want to see how I handle the pressure of winning all that money. I think I'll be OK. I've spent a large part of my life alienating friends and family, so I've got experience.

I did like the article I read this morning that said I am 33 times more likely to be killed by bees than winning.