<p>I normally don’t, but it is Over $500 million…so what the heck…</p>
<p>I expect to win…so more players…the more I win… ;)</p>
<p>I broke down and bought a ticket and I just might pick up another! I cannot begin to fathom what $540 million would buy. </p>
<p>Would you take the lump sum or the measly $20 mil a year?</p>
<p>I am going to take the lump sum. :)</p>
<p>I barely looked but I think you come out ahead if you take the lump sum.</p>
<p>Even if people take the yearly payout…they still get in trouble because they can borrow against the income stream.</p>
<p>I already have my list on who gets some of the winnings and who doesn’t.</p>
<p>Stuart…nope.</p>
<p>
Because heck, $350M (or $250M or $100M) really isn’t enough to bother with but $500M is!</p>
<p>I don’t get this going wild when it hits these record levels because for the vast majority of players they’d still have a profound impact on their lives even when it’s at much lower levels.</p>
<p>But to answer the question - no, I won’t be buying a ticket so that gives you a bit more of a chance (I think it’s around 1 in 177 million or thereabouts). I’d possibly buy one if it were convenient but I don’t go anywhere where lotto tickets are sold.</p>
<p>Good luck with it.</p>
<p>Thanks…</p>
<p>My S the poker guy explained it now makes statistical sense to buy a ticket–he bought his first ever yesterday. </p>
<p>Don’t ask me to explain it, though.</p>
<p>He’s right…</p>
<p>That is why he can do well… :)</p>
<p>Yeah- I am also going for the lump sum. I was just in Palm Beach for a wedding and there was an amazing boat show in town. I’ll prob pick up a few for my closest friends. Not</p>
<p>Boyfriend and I both bought into the pools at work, and bought a couple extra tickets ourselves, too. What the heck, it’s fun. :)</p>
<p>Kajon… :)</p>
<p>DH and I plan to take the lump sum. We’ve got it all figured out. First, we’ll sit down and talk to our best friend who is a financial guy. My dream has always been to help St Jude Children’s Hospital and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital so we’ll write them a big honkin’ check. Then, we’ll call our parents and siblings together and give them a good chunk. We’ve been wanting to downsize and get a one-level house so we’ll sponsor a contest for someone to win our current house. We’ll pay off all current student loans for nieces and nephews and set up college funds for those who are still very young. We’ll take early retirement and buy three modest places next to one another in St. Croix or St. John so we and our two best friends can realize our dreams of retiring to an island together. We’ll live off the interest and enjoy life by doing whatever we want. </p>
<p>—Running out to pick up lottery tickets! :)</p>
<p>Splashmom…that is very nice…</p>
<p>You deserve to win… :)</p>
<p>dstark,</p>
<p>When you win this lottery try not to bring too much cash with you to the strip club -
</p>
<p>[Lottery's</a> Biggest Losers: Big Wins Don’t Equal Better Lives | Fox News](<a href=“http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/29/lotterys-biggest-losers-big-wins-dont-equal-better-lives/]Lottery’s”>Lottery's biggest losers: Big wins don't equal better lives | Fox News)</p>
<p>Sorry, double post.</p>
<p>
Thank you, dstark, but I have to think most people would do the same, especially with that outrageous amount of money. Good luck to all of us who buy a ticket!</p>
<p>I plunk down $2 whenever the jackpot goes over $50 million or so. I know I’m likely never to see that $2 again (though every now and then I come up with a $3 or $7 winner). But I figure it’s worth it because it gives me a few minutes here and there to fantasize about what I’d do with that money if I actually won. That’s why I buy my tickets early; give me more time to fantasize. And the bigger the jackpot, the more lavish the fantasies.</p>
<p>Way cheaper entertainment than a movie, and given the state of the movie industry these days, a lot more fun.</p>
<p>I actually fantasize a lot about what buildings at which colleges and universities I’d have named after me. Or which scholarships.</p>
<p>That much money would supercomplicate my life. I kinda like how things are right now, you know, working out spreadsheets to decide if I am better off taking my social security at 62, 66, or 70 (the answer is 70)… fun stuff like that. I just couldn’t give all that up.</p>
<p>Yeah!!! I just figured out what I would buy! I recently saw a necklace that looked like an open zipper - only it was totally made of diamonds. I stared at that thing all night, Googled it and now cannot get it out of my mind! I wonder if it comes in a pretty blue box…and I don’t want one of those $10,000 imitations!</p>
<p>I just might stop by the store tomorrow and buy a lottery ticket for each of my kids - with the caveat that they split it with me:p</p>
<p>I got into a discussion with my brother years ago on this topic. I occasionally buy a lottery ticket but I would never buy when the jackpot gets large. Although it would be nice to help my nieces and nephews pay off student loans and there are a lot of worthy causes I would like to contribute to, I think that much money would destroy too many relationships. I would find it too difficult to hand over money with no strings attached. I guess that I am too controlling. It is fun to dream but then those dreams turn into a nightmare when I think about the consequences to personal relationships.</p>
<p>Sure, why not? </p>
<p>As someone who has never had more than a few grand to her name (and who often has had less than $20 in her account), I just can’t wrap my head around that. </p>
<p>I’d probably give a bunch to pit bull rescues, the domestic violence shelter I work for (and I’d quit that job), and a bunch of other charities I’ve worked with. … Actually, I’d probably give most of it to my parents to put in accounts so I couldn’t touch it for a good long time. I’m too much of a giver to ever be trusted with large sums of money.</p>