My odds are considerably better.

1 in 40.

But I'm only hoping to get one number correct. I have big plans for that $4.

Yes, unfortunately it is.. :(

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I would first eat a 3lb bag of sugar free candy
Then I would go to work, sit in my daily morning meeting and when the boss does his typical tantrum, I would stand up on the conference room table, pull my pants down to my ankles, and cut the biggest, loudest, messiest fart I could produce.

Then quietly say good by buddy!

geeze, I already feel better...

If I won the lottery, I would make it my life's mission to understand women. What they really mean when they say things like, "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." "Just go out with your friends. Have fun." And other things...

If there is money left over, I'd flare my 930 to look like a 934, with a Bisimoto motor.

There is a book out to help with that WPOZZZ.

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I would go out and buy an old D9, and promptly push my building over . I would then build my dream shop/warehouse . Then I would set about building all my dream cars one after one.
I would donate large sums to help families dealing with childhood cancer
I would of course spend much more time with my family

You'd have no money left. ;)

Just accept that they mean the opposite of what they say but only sometimes and you'll always be wrong no matter what.

I would amp up what I'm already doing to become one of the top 911 restoration shops in the country.

I would travel motion-style.

I would create an Education and Poverty lobby on Washington.

Well, the top prize is now $675,000,000. Lump sum of $412 million before taxes. After taxes, this would be somewhere near $245,000,000. I guess I could afford a Singer on that kind of money. :)

You would be better off creating an apprenticeship program & teach a restoration trade with the restoration shop, not all kids want to or are cut out for college.

I want to break the cycle of poverty and make sure all kids have the same opportunity in education from preschool through elementary school. The two are linked.

Or as I like to say to the guys and gals at work who collect money every week to buy 'group' lotto tickets (I always decline).

"You have better odds of being hit by lighting while being eaten by a shark."

Now back to dreaming...
So far on my list I have two nice DD cars, lifts, tools, and a couple old project cars.
A recording studio.
A HIFI listening room.
Add...
A wood working shop and a simple metal shop.

Oh and a 944 Chevy V8 conversion... already done... just because I always wanted one.

OK, with a cash payout of $245,000,000, what would you do other $240,000,000 after buying anything you ever wanted or needed ?

I think the obvious answer would be to help as many people as possible.....not the ones with thier hands out, the ones who are unsung heroes in everyday life (that would be cool to see how much of a difference you could make).

Hire a couple guys to take the old Motormeister jerk to task.

I would restore a privat rail car and travel behind Amtrak all around the country.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1452208948.jpg

Don't wanna be a buzzkill, but I have a bit of insight over human behavior and sudden windfalls from my plaintiff attorney days. I certainly have not been privy to seeing anyone get a quarter billion dollars, but I've seen amunts ranging from $100,000.00 to $16,000,000.00 and I can tell you without exception money only exacerbated/exaggerated a person's underlying character, good or bad. If they were eff-ups before they had the windfall they became even bigger eff-ups. Similarly if they had positive traits, they became even better people. And when I fantasize about hitti g the big lotto lick, I ponder what would be the traits that become even more apparent in me...good and bad.

I think it would take me a while to start buying expensive things.

Spending $5000 for a first class flight to Hawaii is a lot of money in my mind and that wouldn't change instantly over night, just because my bank account might.

I'm sure I'd get used to the idea a couple weeks/months down the line. Cars would be my downfall. I'll be the guy on those "Lottery Ruined My Life" shows with 300 cars behind me wondering why I'm broke. :)

Money doesn't build character; it reveals it.

IF I gave away a dime, it would only be anonymously, delivered through a third party and with an NDA attached, probably with a schedule too, so I could monitor whether they were keeping their mouth shut before the next gift installment.

Shhhh, don't tell my wife! ;)

$800,000,000 is the current top prize. I am wondering if the last-minute buying will push it over $900 million. Folks, now we're getting into "how much more do you need" kind of money.

what lottery is it?

So... would you share the 40 oncer?

Too late!

Calypso set to sail again! Cousteau Society

Sorry to inform you guys, but I won the $4 last week.
True story: I really did.
Never having won $4 before, I went into my local 7-11 and asked them if they had the money on hand to pay me up.
They said they did, so I will walk in at an undisclosed time and pick it up.
Already called the lawyer.

BTW? Do you need to report $4 for tax purposes? That could ruin my chance of buying a 7-11 hot dog and big gulp if taxes are involved.

well I spent $20 on 10 random selected numbers - Could win more money than I know what to do with or I most likely wasted $20 but hey - what the hell

That's my theory, can't win if you don't play. $20 to day dram about what if for a few days. And who knows? Even a few hundred k would be life changing!

I have a close personal friend who won $1m about 15 years ago. It helped him but he's by no means "rich". He got through college with no more loans / debt and bought a house cash (no mortgage / debt). That's a nice start in life. He did throw a helluva party too but still lives a pretty normal life, has to work (although it's more on his terms doing stuff he likes than out if necessity to pay off debt, BIG difference), etc. So yes even a "small" sum like $1m can be "life changing" but only if applied in reasonable ways (i.e. no idiotic binge spending sprees on stupid material crap - use it to eliminate debt entirely and change your attitude / way of living).

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Hookers and blow, the rest I would just waste.....

A friend I've known since college (30 years) was married young and had kids young. About 1989 his wife has rung up a bunch of credit card debt he didn't know about ($40k or so) that she signed his name on and was having an affair. They had 2 fairly young kids at the time. They get a legal separation. She wins a $5 million lotto and claims the boyfriend bought the ticket. He does get child support reduced and her to pay off the debts that were in his name, they divorce. Fast forward 25 or so years. He's a successful CEO of a large non profit, has had a good life, good relationship with his daughters and now grandkids. He hears the ex is calling relatives including his daughters trying to borrow money. You sure can't buy brains or character.

No winner, next prize is expected to be $1.3B. Maybe I should buy a ticket?

Millions of people are dreaming of having so much money that not only does it become life changing, it becomes character changing. Having that much loot that quick with zero effort has failure written all over it. While I do not know that stats, I would well imagine that the winners of these huge stake Powerball lots get into a world of hurt pretty fast.

It was once postulated that if you took all the money in the world and redistributed it that it would not be long before the money found its way back to the original owners. The once poor would be poor again and the once rich would be rich again. By and large I see how that would happen.

I guess the big questions is why would anyone want that kind of money? Stupid question maybe but upon examination it comes back to the same general premise that we all want to increase our level comfort, control and convenience. It really is relative. Many many years ago the richest in the world didn't have enough wealth to buy what we all commonly enjoy today.

Maybe so many folks want that sort of wealth is really about increased freedom against the backdrop of our personal social position? Having more of the material items that provide joy by way of value, performance and beauty? That kind of money would spoil many. Yet I'm sure many of us would not be spoiled by it...

One of the first things I would do after a big lottery win would be to spring for a convention for PPOT members in a warm location such as LA. Drinks would be on me!

My philosophy is if I buy a ticket I probably won't win but if I don't buy a ticket I definitely won't win.

I buy one ticket because you don't increase your odds by buying more and you can only win on one ticket anyway.

It's cheap entertainment and hey, you never know.

Winning 1.3 Billion overnight is mind boggling. I know that everyone said get financial and legal advice, but how do you find the right help with this staggering amount of money?

Lottery winners and professional athletes have a significantly higher bankruptcy rate than the average citizen, so what Mike said is certainly true.

Definitely would want to get the majority of the money tied up in investments to where it couldn't be pissed off. One benefit to taking the annuity is you only get a chunk every year.