Powerball at $1.3 Billion...dreaming gets bigger

[tinlizzy]

I think that it allowed the group to actually collect the money with their privacy in tact. I'm not sure how much a person would be able to accomplish by delaying their claim other than disconnecting the phone.

The lawsuit was just a threat btw - no lawsuit was ever filed.


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[Sunset]

If you live in Kansas, the State allows you to remain private.

I'd take a around the world trip, since they are about $150K ea, it's the type of thing I don't think I can afford until I win

 

[splitwdw]

Isn't the ticket like a bearer bond somewhat? How well would you sleep with $1.3B under your mattress?

It's advised that you sign the ticket and keep it in your safety deposit box or safe until you claim it. If I won on my personal ticket I'd wait until I had my "team" lined up. If the plans took a month to set up then I'd wait. If it was the work group, then all bets are off cause I know they can't keep a secret.

I think that it allowed the group to actually collect the money with their privacy in tact. I'm not sure how much a person would be able to accomplish by delaying their claim other than disconnecting the phone.

The lawsuit was just a threat btw - no lawsuit was ever filed.

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Yeah but wonder if the lawyer was charging for this delay. If you delay your claim you can get a lawyer, cpa/fa and any other help you'll need. Then do whatever is advised, rent an apartment or house if you can't go home, get a new cell phone BEFORE you claim your winnings.

Double check your state's lottery website. I read somewhere that for some, it was 90-180 days.

From the Pennsylvania Lottery
"Winners have up to one year from the date of a drawing to claim a prize from one of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s terminal-based games: PICK 2, PICK 3, PICK 4, PICK 5, Cash4Life, Cash 5, Match 6 Lotto, Mega Millions, Powerball, Treasure Hunt, and Millionaire Raffle."

 

[rodi]

As I was doing yard work today I decided that if I win I'm hiring a gardener to come 2x a month and weed/tidy the yard. I hate weeding but it has to be done.

I will buy a ticket in the next day or two... just so I can dream of giving up weeding permanently.

 

[RunningBum]

As I was doing yard work today I decided that if I win I'm hiring a gardener to come 2x a month and weed/tidy the yard. I hate weeding but it has to be done.

I will buy a ticket in the next day or two... just so I can dream of giving up weeding permanently.

You shouldn't have done the yard work today. If you win the next lottery, you're going to feel stupid for having done that work yourself.

 

[W2R]

Snipped from some of your posts:

Dash man: [...]a boat [...]
Throwdownmyaceinthehole: A boat and a pony...
rodi: So 2 boats for us.
Fermion: $1.3B is getting into space ship money.
GrayHare: I'll stop reusing dryer sheets.
AllDone: a dog door.
cyber888: live in a big mega-yacht
rayinpenn: - Help someone, travel, rent and live when and where you want.
splitwdw: [...]a new truck and [...] a pony too!
Helios: A new mattress
Persn: a condo in San Francisco
Elbata: fresh dental floss.
Sunset: around the world trip, since they are about $150K ea

This is 1.3 BILLION. It seems to me that all of the things you are mentioning (other than Fermion's space ship) could be bought with 100 million or less.

I can't think of anything that expensive for myself either, because the buying power of that much money is beyond my wildest imagination.

Besides, I don't really want a spaceship. The only solution is to give it all away. Then people would tell you how great you are for doing that, when really you aren't a saint but just don't have any other choice, due to lack of ideas. That would be so unsettling. I'd feel like a complete phony or fraud.

It would probably be better for me to just leave well enough alone, and maybe just throw away that winning ticket and call it a night.

 

[Ronstar]

DW wants to hire a chef. But no chef would want to go where I would want to hide.


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[NW-Bound]

On the other thread, many posters reported getting none or just one number on 3 or more tickets. So, I ask myself what the odds of getting no number are.

There are 69 numbers for the white balls, and 26 for the red ball. The odds of "evading" all of the 5 white numbers plus the red number work out to be 65%, for a single ticket. For 2 tickets it's 42%, for 3 tickets it's 28%, and for 4 tickets it's 18%.

So, even with up to 4 tickets, you have a much greater chance of getting no numbers than getting a $7 prize (a chance of about 1.2% with 4 tickets).

PS. The above odds are for "quickpick". If you choose by hand, you can make sure that no number is repeated among the 4 tickets, and your chance of getting at least one of the numbers will be a bit higher (but a single number still gives you no win, unless it's the Powerball).

 

[Fedup]

I'm back to California now, may the power all is waiting for me. I might buy an island. Oops it might be surrounded by sharks.


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[EastWest Gal]

Remaining anonymous is an important thing, and only 6 states allow it. Two of them border my state, PA. If I win, I'd likely move to one of those states, turn in the ticket, then move back to my house. It would cost a few million paying state income tax in the winnings, but at that level, I wouldn't care. If I were to go public, I would feel like I had a target on my back. As a pediatrician, I can be sued up to 21 years after an adverse event. I've seen doctors successfully sued for things that were clearly not their fault.


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[NW-Bound]

Sorry, but I believe that you have to claim in the state where you bought the ticket.

 

[RunningBum]

It would probably be better for me to just leave well enough alone, and maybe just throw away that winning ticket and call it a night.

Wouldn't that be a hoot! They'd know a winning number was drawn, and no one steps forward to claim it. Everyone would be talking about that. Meanwhile, you sit back and smile to yourself, happy your life was not ruined.

 

[FI by 2024]

Remaining anonymous is an important thing, and only 6 states allow it. Two of them border my state, PA. If I win, I'd likely move to one of those states, turn in the ticket, then move back to my house.

Unfortunately you have to turn in the ticket in the state it was purchased, so unless you plan to travel to the bordering states for purchase too this won't work. I looked into this because I currently live in a non-lottery state, so I'd have to travel buy the ticket anyway. Sadly, the closest anonymous claim state is still several states away.


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[Ronnieboy]

Remaining anonymous is an important thing, and only 6 states allow it. Two of them border my state, PA. If I win, I'd likely move to one of those states, turn in the ticket, then move back to my house. It would cost a few million paying state income tax in the winnings, but at that level, I wouldn't care. If I were to go public, I would feel like I had a target on my back. As a pediatrician, I can be sued up to 21 years after an adverse event. I've seen doctors successfully sued for things that were clearly not their fault.


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I did see on the entertainment/news that PA has had the most winners!

As I stood in a 5 minute line to buy my ticket I thought a few things, first, why am I standing and waiting in a line to throw my money away
Second, all of the people in front of me are thinking the same thing I am, no matter how slight the chance there's always a chance and it just might be me
Third, it seems that a lot of the people coming in and buying lottery tickets sure drive nice expensive cars I saw multiples of Lexus, Infinity, BMW, and Mercedes.
Fourth, I bet the clerk selling tickets all day has some sort of 'real' perspective on how hard it is to win, if I were working S/M/Tu/Wed 8 hour shifts selling PB rickets all shift and then no one wins it or at least no one in my state wins it I would think, damn I sold a sh!tton of tickets and no winner. Just think across this country how many clerks are doing the same....


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[lampshade]

My list of charities is all ready!!

Also, doing something here in my home state. Repair roads, replace street light with the lights that don't add to light pollution (so you can have a better view of the stars). Put fountains in lakes so the water doesn't just be still and have that ugly greenish foam on top.

Everyone gets a free pass onto the Jersey Shore!! I'll be at DJ's if you want to stop by and thank me.

 

[MJ]

As I believe most of us a normal people, no one has mentioned personal security. If you are now worth $500 mil and the whole world knows it, that's a lot of potential ransom money, no matter where you go. First thing, on the to do list, hire a team of trustworthy and expensive bodyguards.

 

[hnzw_rui]

This is 1.3 BILLION. It seems to me that all of the things you are mentioning (other than Fermion's space ship) could be bought with 100 million or less.

Only if taken as annuity. It's around $800M lump sum. After tax, probably more like $400-550M.

 

[Fermion]

If you buy 26 tickets for $52 and make sure to pick a different powerball on each ticket, then you actually only have $48 at risk since you are guaranteed a win of $4 for one of the powerball numbers.

The game is 7.6% cheaper than it seems to be

 

[NW-Bound]

... It would probably be better for me to just leave well enough alone, and maybe just throw away that winning ticket and call it a night.

Wouldn't that be a hoot! They'd know a winning number was drawn, and no one steps forward to claim it. Everyone would be talking about that. Meanwhile, you sit back and smile to yourself, happy your life was not ruined.

No, W2R should not throw the ticket away!

She should hang on to it, then when the claim period expires, goes on TV and while waving the ticket as proof, describes how she refused to let her life be ruined for $1.3B. That of course will bring her fame, but no danger will come with it because she does not have the prize money.

 

[W2R]

No, W2R should not throw the ticket away!

She should hang on to it, then when the claim period expires, goes on TV and while waving the ticket as proof, describes how she refused to let her life be ruined for $1.3B. That of course will bring her fame, but no danger will come with it because she does not have the prize money.

I'm not sure the fame would be of the type anyone might want, though.

I could buy a mansion, give the rest to a charity, and then get an advertising firm to help me loudly trumpet the purchase of the mansion and soft-pedal that the other 99% had gone to charity. Once people were satisfied that I was spending enough, I'd quietly sell the house and move back into my dream house.

Nah, too much trouble. Maybe I'd just drop the ticket on the street and see if anybody finds it.

 

[Backdraft57]

I'm buying five tickets NW-B ;0)


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[NW-Bound]

Good luck to you!

If you win the big one, may I trouble you for a favor?

No, nothing for me, but it's for the forum. You are new here, but it only takes a while to see that when people send you PM (private messages), the forum will only keep at most 200 messages. When the limit is reached, it forces you to select and delete some messages to free up some room. Every so often, I am forced to delete some messages, else my mail box is full and renders me incommunicado.

So, if you would make a modest donation to er.org, say $100K or so, that would allow the purchase of more disk space to keep more of members' PM. Then, every time someone looks at his mail box, he will remember your generosity. Thank you.

 

[Major Tom]

I'd be over the moon if I won anything up to about $1 - $1.5 million net. More than that, and I'd feel obliged to give some to friends and relatives. The main problem wouldn't be deciding how much to give, and to who - I could figure that one out. My main challenge would be what to do about those who are not good at handling money. There are one or two in particular who, if I gave them a lump sum, on top of not knowing what to do with it, I think there's a good chance they'd get themselves into trouble with tax liabilities. It's easy to say that it's their problem and not mine, but these are people I care about. I'd feel awful if I were instrumental in handing them a whole of financial trouble and stress. Frankly, I'd rather not give anything to anyone, but have extra money in my budget to be able to give gifts and treat people when I feel like it.

Charities are a different kettle of fish though. I'd love to be able to support my favorite animal rescue organizations with generous donations.

 

[Chuckanut]

As Everett Dirkson supposedly said "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you're talking real money."

 

[Walt34]

Like W2R, I'd probably end up giving most of it away to relatives, to charities, and maybe taking a luxury round-the-world cruise. That last one might be hard to talk DW into because she hates the idea of being on a cruise ship but perhaps if she's pampered enough.

Get my truck detailed for sure. Everything works on it so can't see buying a new one just for the sake of spending.

It's kind of hard to get my head wrapped around spending that much so I'm not sure what I'd do.

Oh, and new socks and underwear.