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.