(Powerball) Big-ticket dreams spurred by $1B Powerball jackpot. OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Millions of people throughout the nation will be queuing up at convenience store, grocery, and gas station counters in the hopes of winning the $1 billion Powerball jackpot for this week’s drawing.
Big-ticket dreams spurred by $1B Powerball jackpot
HOW DOES THIS LATEST POWERBALL JACKPOT STACK UP?
The new prize for Wednesday’s drawing would be the third-largest for Powerball and the seventh-highest in American history. A single player who matches all five numbers plus the Powerball number chosen can choose to accept either the $1 billion prize, which will be paid out over 29 years in annual installments, or a $516.8 million lump amount before taxes. The most recent Powerball jackpot winner received a top prize of roughly $253 million on April 19. Since then, 38 lotteries have taken place without a top prize winner. Until someone wins, the jackpot will keep increasing. Big-ticket dreams spurred by $1B Powerball jackpot
WHAT CAN YOU BUY WITH $1 BILLION?
Almost whatever you desire. Around 200 Bugatti Mistral Roadsters, dozens of eight-seater private planes, or multiple private Caribbean islands may all be purchased with a billion dollars. But Shean Fletcher, a money advisor in Kansas City, Missouri, advised against thinking you could never spend it all.
Among things to keep in mind are that huge jackpots also bring huge tax bills, he said. Not just on the money itself, but high-dollar houses, cars, planes and other property also usually come with big recurring tax and upkeep bills. The idea that lottery winners can just spend lots of money daily forever is a fallacy that has seen more than one lottery winner blow through their winnings, he noted. Big-ticket dreams spurred by $1B Powerball jackpot
“So by far, the biggest misconception that we hear or read and see is, is that the money seems to be infinite when it certainly is not,” Fletcher said.
SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU WIN?
First and foremost is to secure the winning ticket by putting it in a safe place such as a fireproof safe. Then you should start putting your “team” together, Fletcher advised. That likely includes your closest, most trusted family members, like your spouse, a parent or sibling, as well as a financial adviser, lawyer and certified public accountant. Then you can start making plans on what you want to do with the money. Big-ticket dreams spurred by $1B Powerball jackpot
“After the initial excitement, you know, take a deep breath and take it slow,” Fletcher said.
MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT IS SOARING, TOO
The $1 billion Powerball top prize is drawing the lion’s share of attention, but the competing Mega Millions lottery jackpot is also reaching massive heights. Ahead of a drawing Tuesday night, that jackpot stood at $640 million, the seventh-largest in the game’s history.
WHY ARE LOTTERY JACKPOTS SO LARGE THESE DAYS?
That’s how the games have been designed. The credit for such big jackpots comes down to math — and more difficult odds. In 2015, the Powerball lottery lengthened the odds of winning from 1 in 175.2 million to 1 in 292.2 million. Mega Millions followed two years later, lengthened the odds of winning the top prize from 1 in 258.9 million to 1 in 302.6 million. The largest lottery jackpots in the U.S. have come since those changes were made. Big-ticket dreams spurred by $1B Powerball jackpot
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST JACKPOTS EVER WON IN AMERICA?
The largest — a whopping $2.04 billion — was a Powerball jackpot that hit on Nov. 8, 2022, with the winning ticket sold in California. The next largest jackpot was also a Powerball prize, at $1.586 billion on Jan. 13, 2016. But that prize was split among three winning tickets, sold in California, Florida and Tennessee. The third, fourth and fifth largest were each Mega Millions prizes, at $1.537 billion going to a single winner in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018; $1.35 billion won in Maine earlier this year on Jan. 13; and $1.337 billion won in Illinois on July 29, 2022. Big-ticket dreams spurred by $1B Powerball jackpot
AS THE LOTTERY ADS SAY: PLAY RESPONSIBLY
Purchasing more than one ticket only marginally increases your chances of winning. Experts advise against spending money you’ll miss on additional tickets because the odds are so long. Spending $10 for five number combinations increases your chances of winning the jackpot from 1 in 292.2 million with one ticket to 5 in 292.2 million with one ticket. It still applies if you spend $100. Therefore, even if you spend a lot of money on tickets, it’s highly unlikely that you will win the jackpot. According to lottery authorities, the typical player purchases two or three tickets, which means that there is a very slim possibility that their investment would result in a jackpot win.