Looks like someone in my state won the Powerball last night...

[Truecade]

The jackpot was $92M, or ~$50M after taxes.     As bad as this sounds, I sure hope it isn't anyone I know.... I would be too jealous.  It's kind of funny because we were talking about this at work on Monday and whether people would give their two weeks notice or just split.  Surprisingly, about half of the people I work work with said they'd give 2 weeks notice and still come to work if they won.   

I can't even imagine having 1 million, let alone 50 million in the bank.  I'd start a business I suppose..... something fun that would keep me busy until I retire.  But first I'd do a whole lot of nothing.   

[shmokes]

I'd probably give a month notice.  I like my job and my employers and there would be a lot of training to do.  I've gone this long without living large, I think I could handle another month.

[Truecade]

I'd probably give my two weeks notice..... then take two weeks of vacation. 

[walls83]

I had 5 bucks on that powerball last night and only got 1 number.

damn you powerball

[Thenasty]

don't worry about if you gonna split, give 2 weeks or 1 month or even a 1 year notice, just worry about HITTING THE JACKPOT FIRST then worry about those later (or in my case, not to worry on this cases) 

[Stingray]

If I won $50 million, that would be the last anyone I work with ever heard of me. I don't even think I'd bother to clean out my office.

-S

[AmericanDemon]

If I won $50 million, that would be the last anyone I work with ever heard of me. I don't even think I'd bother to clean out my office.

-S

I agree with you.  I wouldnt even come back.  Just stop going in.  Kind of like Office Space kind of thing. 

[M3talhead]

As a member of the United States' profession of arms, winning the lottery over a certain ammount is an immediate discharge. Uncle Sam's logic behing that is, "If you're rich, you have no desire to fight".

Its crap. I'd still want to serve.

[whammoed]

I wouldn't do this, but wouldn't it be fun to try to get fired?  You could do and say all those rotten things you're normally not allowed to.

[Thenasty]

You could do and say all those rotten things you're normally not allowed to.

I'm not gonna wait to hit the lottery for this. I already do 

[M3talhead]

I wouldn't do this, but wouldn't it be fun to try to get fired?  You could do and say all those rotten things you're normally not allowed to.

Pretty soon, I'm going to be "that boss". 

[DarkKobold]

Remember....

[missioncontrol]

Ha if they thought I was an A-hole before just wait till I win the lotto then I'd really shew them......

 

[DaveMMR]

Surpisingly, a lot of sudden millionaires (i.e. Lottery Winners) find themselves worse off financially soon thereafter.  A lot of rich people are rich because they know how to manage their money.

That wouldn't happen to me though.  After buying a house with enough space in the backyard to construct a ten-story, real-life replica of the Chutes and Ladders playing field (the slides take you down several feet), purchasing a rocket-powered rickshaw, building a maze of mirrors in my basement, and constructing an apartment sized arcade cabinet (coin slot is second door down the hall on your left), I'm totally going to put all that money in the bank.

[missioncontrol]

wow a maze of mirrors in your basement.............

[Tailgunner]

Surpisingly, a lot of sudden millionaires (i.e. Lottery Winners) find themselves worse off financially soon thereafter.  A lot of rich people are rich because they know how to manage their money.

Agree with Dave here. I've personally known two people who won the lottery, and both ended up regretting ever buying that ticket.

[Bones]

If I won that sort of money...WOW.

There is nothing I couldn't do. I could walk down the street and pay old people to hop on one leg. I could pay people to eat bugs and their own snot and stuff. I could pay taxi drivers to bathe.

There are no limits with that sort of cash.

[Tailgunner]

If I won that sort of money...WOW.

There is nothing I couldn't do. I could walk down the street and pay old people to hop on one leg. I could pay people to eat bugs and their own snot and stuff. I could pay taxi drivers to bathe.

There are no limits with that sort of cash.

Actually you'd be surprised what you couldn't do. Simple things you take for granted, like going out to eat in a public restaurant. To quote the title an old Cindi Lauper tune, Money Changes Everything, and usually that's not for the better.

[DaveMMR]

If I won that sort of money...WOW.

There is nothing I couldn't do. I could walk down the street and pay old people to hop on one leg. I could pay people to eat bugs and their own snot and stuff. I could pay taxi drivers to bathe.

There are no limits with that sort of cash.

Actually you'd be surprised what you couldn't do. Simple things you take for granted, like going out to eat in a public restaurant. To quote the title an old Cindi Lauper tune, Money Changes Everything, and usually that's not for the better.

...and heaven forbid you underspend for family and friends at Christmas.  Suddenly everyone is going to expect nothing less than a sports car

[Stingray]

All you guys who are pi**ing & moaning about how terrible it would be to win the lottery are welcome to give your winnings to me in the event that such an unfortunate thing should ever happen to you.

-S

[DarkKobold]

All you guys who are pi**ing & moaning about how terrible it would be to win the lottery are welcome to give your winnings to me in the event that such an unfortunate thing should ever happen to you.

-S

Exactly everyones point. 

[ultramagnus]

All you guys who are pi**ing & moaning about how terrible it would be to win the lottery are welcome to give your winnings to me in the event that such an unfortunate thing should ever happen to you.

-S

or me! lol!

and i wouldnt do either, i would probabally just buy my job, if you get what i mean 

[pointdablame]

If I won that sort of money...WOW.

There is nothing I couldn't do. I could walk down the street and pay old people to hop on one leg. I could pay people to eat bugs and their own snot and stuff. I could pay taxi drivers to bathe.

There are no limits with that sort of cash.

Actually you'd be surprised what you couldn't do. Simple things you take for granted, like going out to eat in a public restaurant. To quote the title an old Cindi Lauper tune, Money Changes Everything, and usually that's not for the better.

But money in that sense comes along with fame.  Even if you win a huge lottery winning, you might get one or two small interviews on TV (which you can turn down).  You wont' even get 15 minutes of fame... you would certainly be able to go out and eat in public.

That's the exact reason that, if I'm ever playing "what if" with someone, I'd rather just be rich than famous.  There are a lot of people who are very rich, and they get to live the good life in relative anonymity.

[ChadTower]

The lottery always makes me wonder... if every state has a lottery, and let's say the average jackpot is $15mil.

[Stingray]

... if every state has a lottery...

I don't know how many do, but Oklahoma does not.

Point taken in any case.

-S

[ChadTower]

Some states have multiple lotteries, though.  MA has two.  There is the usual MegaBucks type, which is like $8mil to $15 mil ever week.  There's also the older State Lottery which has far less numbers, more ways to play, and pays out in the high thousands every week.

It's like the gov't decided to manufacture a giant revenue stream from which very, very few people benefit but that can be heavily taxed at the highest legal rate of taxation:  prize money.

[Stingray]

I've always said that the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

-S

[ChadTower]

It pretty much is... I'm going to bet on being struck by lightning this week.  That has better odds than winning the lottery.  My main question is where that money goes.  I bet if someone in a position of authority really pushed that question that person would end up next to Jimmy Hoffa.

Find that lottery revenue and you can half fund the social health care system people seem to want.

[AceTKK]

Did you guys read the article that was linked a few posts up?

[ChadTower]

Yeah, honestly, if I came into a sudden $20mil like that, I'd do the same.  Take the first mil, buy yourself the house you've always wanted, fill it with the stuff you've always wanted.  Take the second mil, distribute it among the family members and close friends who have always supported you when you really needed it.  Take the remaining $18mil, hire the best money manager you can find and trust, and live off the $500k a year it generates in interest without ever reducing the principal.

[shmokes]

I think most lottery revenue goes straight into public education.

I don't like lotteries because I am such a big fan of wealth redistribution through progressive taxes.  Lotteries go a step beyond even a flat tax and just tax the poor.   

[ChadTower]

Well, taxing the poor in that the payers voluntarily pay it and in fact will line up in long lines to get their payments in. 

I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone in front of me in line buy a $2 coffee and buy $15 in lottery tickets.  What's the allure there?  Gambling is lost on me.  Is it some instant gratification thing?

[Stingray]

Gambling is lost on me. 

Me too. I was tricked into going to the casino with my father-in-law once. (We were supposed to be going fishing). I sat there for a couple hours watching all these poor fools dump all their cash into those stupid machines. When they ran out, they'd go to the ATM and get more. I never spent a dime, though I did down quite a few of the complimentary drinks.

-S

[ChadTower]

Complimentary drinks... here, have a free $5 inhibition lowering drink.  There are 15 ATMs in the lobby, BTW, for when you run out of your spare money and want to dip into your mortgage payment.  For a $5 fee we will provide you access to your own money, and then we will gladly accept it from you via our slot machines.

[Stingray]

Complimentary drinks... here, have a free $5 inhibition lowering drink.  There are 15 ATMs in the lobby, BTW, for when you run out of your spare money and want to dip into your mortgage payment.  For a $5 fee we will provide you access to your own money, and then we will gladly accept it from you via our slot machines.

That pretty much sticks the whole casino experience into a nutshell for me.

Really I didn't get it. Put money in. Wait for the machine to tell you that you lost. repeat.

-S

[ChadTower]

The way you describe it makes it sound like an arcade.

Put quarter in.  Jump some barrels, get the ape, save the chick, repeat.  Wait until the machines tells you you lost.  Repeat.

[Stingray]

The way you describe it makes it sound like an arcade.

Put quarter in.  Jump some barrels, get the ape, save the chick, repeat.  Wait until the machines tells you you lost.  Repeat.

See, now that was the part that really puzzled me. As are pretty much everyone here, I'm a video game junkie, and these things were for all intents & purposes, video games. The thing is, they're astronomicly boring video games. I don't mind pumping in quarters if it's fun, but this is not fun, at least to me. I guess the fun to the people who are into it is the chance of winning money. To someone like me, the fun comes from playing the game. Those games were just no fun to play.

If they would have had a Tempest I would have been feeding it cash just like everyone else there.

-S

[ChadTower]

Well, the other part is, you're not likely to pump $5 at a time into Tempest, nor are you likely to pump $500 into it in a single night.

[Stingray]

Both are very valid points.

The one time I went to the horse races, the guy I went with had all of the tip sheets and he had all of these complex systems worked out. I'd go down before each race & look at the horses, then choose one to place a bet on. I broke even, he lost a lot. Of course I was only making one low dollar bet each race, he made lots & lots of bets per race.

I guess it comes down to are you there for entertainment or are you taking it way too seriously.

-S

[missioncontrol]

well you don't ever have to worry about me winning the lotto.....

NC doesn't have one 

[abrannan]

The lottery always makes me wonder... if every state has a lottery, and let's say the average jackpot is $15mil.  That's the low ones, right?  So, after taxes, that's probably $8mil.  That is $7mil every week in taxes to the state for providing basically a no effort service.  Ticket sellers don't get a cut, they volunteer to sell tickets and get a certain tiny commission on winning tickets.  Do they lease those machines?  They can't be a moneymaker, they're a customer draw at best.

So, that's a hella lot of tax revenue coming in from something that is practically a volunteer service.  Wonder where all those hundreds of millions go.  This doesn't even take into account multistate powerballs that run up into the hundred or more million range on a regular basis.

It's not quite like that.  If you win a $15mil jackpot, that's $15 mil if you take the 26 year annuity payoff.  If you take the "lump sum" amount, you're looking at a reduced $8-9mil, and then *if someone wins, and takes the lump sum* they pay about $3 million in taxes.  And there's not a winner every week.  Even on the multi-state lotteries.  Single state games by and large start at $1 million payoffs, and generally go up a few hundred thousand every non-jackpot drawing.  It would take more than a month of twice weekly drawings before a single state game hit $15mil.  So the state is only looking at that nice $3mil payout maybe once or twice in a year, maybe, but certainly not "every week" as you suggest.  And that $3 mil is the *total* taxes paid, including federal taxes, state taxes, local taxes, etc.  If it's split evenly between the three (and I know it's not) that's only $1 mil to the state, at most 4 times a year.  That's $4mil in taxes, which is a drop in the bucket on most state's tax revenue.  And even that's subject to the lottery winner not consulting a good attorney and accountant and doing everything in their power to prevent paying full tax on the amount. 

The big Multi-state games (Big game and powerball) are worse, because you're "competing" against the other dozen or so states in your area for a winning ticket holder.  And if your state has a winner, the winings are paid by your state only, out of a fund you keep from the earnings you get on ticket sale revenues from your state.  Two big winners in a year can bankrupt your state in payouts, even before you can collect that meager few percent back in taxes.  The only benefit to a multi-state game is that the higher jackpots do a better job of luring people to play, rather than cross state lines to buy tickets from a neighboring state that has a bigger jackpot. 

[ChadTower]

I'm pretty sure the MA MegaBucks gets up into multiple millions on a regular basis, but maybe that just used to be the case because I pay zero attention anymore.  I do concede that the one thing I didn't put into my formula is the division of the taxes between state and federal.  Of course, if the state only gets $1mil of that $7mil, that means the Federal gov't gets $6mil every time... now, multiply that by probably 30 states, and try to figure out where THAT hundred or two hundred million every couple weeks revenue stream goes.