Who here has bought MegaMillion tickets for tonight's record breaking jackpot?

I confess. I bought a couple of tickets. But, I would have bought them even if it was only worth 639 million.

I'm in for $5.

Mr. B's office has a pool where I think everyone put in $20. A lot of their customers are in the pool too. I'm not even guessing how many tickets that equals.

I haven't bought any lottery tickets in quite a while, but the excitement around this jackpot was too strong to resist.

I spent $5 on tickets. And, so far, I've gotten my money's worth just imagining the things I could do with the winnings.

After listening to all the things one has to do if one holds the winning ticket (first, sign it on the back in very small letters--to leave room for the name of the foundation you'll set up), including the problems protecting your anonymity (from all the people, long lost relatives, and charities that will come after you), and deciding where you can safely park that amount of money and who you can trust to manage it, and how to go about setting up a foundation, etc., I've realized that winning may be very stressful. Not that I'll turn the top prize down if my numbers come up--$640 million can buy a lot of Valium to help with the stress.

At the same time I bought my Mega Millions tickets I bought a daily numbers game ticket and I won $20 on that one. So I already consider myself a winner.

They have to have a Mega Millions winner tonight--I heard they have sold every possible combination of numbers because of the number of tickets sold.

The lump sum payout is 346 million after federal taxes, and state and city tax rates could make a $20 million difference in how much the winner takes home, depending on where they live.

I love to play Fantasy Five. I buy a ticket everyday. If you get two numbers you get a free replay for the next day. I’ve gotten 4 out of 5 four times now and twice were on free replays.

I DID!!

I DID!!




I needed some scrap paper tomorrow.

I spent $5 on my 1st ever lottery tickets.
I would start by giving $1M to every A2Ker who gave one of my posts a "thumbs-up."

Sal Khan (of Khanacademy fame) explains the odds of winning this lottery:

$5

As to what I'd do if I won...

faint, probably.

I spent at least an extra 30 minutes in lines today while folks threw their money away on tickets. $20 and $50 at a time...

I'll be really glad when somebody wins it.

Yep. I was thinking the same thing.

There was a big prize drawing a few years back, ~250million. I spent $2 on a ticket. The guy behind me bought $5. Then he looked in his wallet, looked at me, then the clerk, and asked again how much the prize was worth. I started talking about the odds of winning and not betting more than one could afford to lose. He said, "Yeah, but that's a lot of money." I turned to leave but suggested he think about eating and feeding his family for the next few weeks if he did what he was contemplating doing. I think the kids probably went hungry.

I bought 1 ticket. WHen you coinsider the vast odds, one ticket is the right number(Wither that our 176 million ticekts. IF SOMEONE DID BUY 176 million tickets the chances are that that person would have the winning combinations (They woud have to run a huge numbers spread to cover em)of course theres the secondary prizes for three or more numbers .
I guess if I was some realy rich person Id have my staff run out the entire number sequences of the tickets and then pay em all (Id still be ahead by 400 million. Would that be a siure thing? Coud I deoreciate or expense my ticket as an "investment" AND coud I, if I choose to hold the winnings for a period of 6 nmonths, be taxed not as ordinary income but as cap gains?

These are questions I need answering before I spend the remaining 176 830 0004.
wHERES MY LOGIC OFF HERE?

I'll go stand outside tonight with a copper pole.

If I get struck by lightening twice, you are still facing longer odds...

Sure you can expense it







but only to offset your winnings.

ETA: No capital gains for farmerman. It is constructively received when you win.

My wife was told by somebody that all the combinations are covered, so there will be a winner this evening. I am just the messenger -

you want a copper pole, ed?

Of course. Copper is very lucrative these days.

I've got a 3 pile savings account.

copper, brass, and aluminium...

I collect old air conditioners and split them up into parts.

I rob the old air conditioners before getting rid of them.