<p>I think that $540,000,000 is too much for one person. So, I’ve decided to split it with my husband. </p>
<p>Now, if I end up with the misfortune of getting stuck with the rinky dink Powerball jackpot instead of Megamillions, I’m keeping all of that for myself. </p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>If we (hubby and I) were to win, the first thing I would do is take my dd’s house off the market and give it away so I wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore. And then… actually, I wouldn’t change much in my life. I would probably work less but still work some but I know my husband would retire and do something more fun. I would probably buy some land that I could keep wild and that I could take my dog (and get another dog!) to and let him run and ramble all over with me.</p>
<p>"When you win this lottery try not to bring too much cash with you to the strip club - "</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>D texted me and said I should buy one. So how will I be notified of my winnings? (I mean, how do I find out the winning numbers?)</p>
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<p>For the Mega Millions, this is true as soon as the jackpot crosses about 176 million dollars. But, he is assuming that there is only one winner; the odds of more than one winner could be non-negligible when so many people are playing. It would be really nice to know how many unique numbers are played but I don’t think this information is made public.</p>
<p>Of course, it is way more fun to ignore the math, buy a ticket, and dream on :)</p>
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<p>Your expected winnings is the probability of winning multiplied by the amount you win. If jackpot is $540M and you have a 1 in 175M chance of winning it, your expected return on a $1 ticket is about $3. So in theory, if you played enough times you would come out on top.</p>
<p>In practice though, the odds of actually getting the jackpot are so astronomical that you can basically ignore it when predicting your result. If you do, the expected return on a single ticket goes from 200% to -80%. If you buy a single ticket, you’ll lose money about 97.5% of the time. If you buy more tickets you can give yourself a marginally more realistic shot at the jackpot, but you’ll also lose money a greater share of the time.</p>
<p>I was going to buy a few, but then I remembered I have FAFSA coming up again in a few years. Don’t want to further damage the EFC :)</p>
<p>When is the drawing? I want to be sure I’m watching when they call my numbers.</p>
<p>I bought my tickets. It sure is fun dreaming about what we would do with all that money.</p>
<p>I would definitely take the winnings in one lump sum.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone!</p>
<p>I think it is Friday night. I don’t know exactly when or where, so I will probably Google it late Fri.</p>
<p>My husband spent $10 on tickets tonight. First time I’ve ever known him to buy a lottery ticket.</p>
<p>Well, we had casino night at a dorm tonight. My boyfriend won a $50 Meijer gift card in a raffle. I think our luck is tapped for the next year or so. Darn 
</p>
<p>Will still buy a few! haha</p>
<p>Tossed 5 bucks at it today, long shot by all means, but what does 5 bucks buy you anyway, just about nothing…</p>
<p>We’ve already made the list of donations for the 270,000,000.- takehome sum after taxes: 1M to Princeton, 1M to Harvard, and an aquatic center for the local HS. With a little flattery and attention, those schools could probably get us to times-ten those amounts. Let’s see if Fate wants to feed the ivy.</p>
<p>Yep, bought $10 worth. Combined I’ve never spent that on lottery tickets. Also started making my list of where and how I will share it. I am very generous, and my family & friends will agree! :)</p>
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<p>Not me. These lotteries are a tax on the mathematically-challenged.</p>
<p>I bought one…I think…it’s so complicated. There was this machine in the grocery store, I put in a $5… I punched at some numbers…it wouldn’t let me pick letters, or numbers twice…then something about one of three choices…then it said I needed to put in another dollar!!!..I did it a few more times…I think…anyway, I have a slip of paper with some numbers on it. Now what do I do? Will somebody let me know if I win?</p>
<p>Reading all these posts really hype me up to go out and buy some tickets myself!</p>
<p>I’ll pay off student loans, pay off my parents’ house, maybe buy a house of my own, and buy myself a new car. Establish funds at the local schools for their athletic departments and their science and PE/health departments.</p>
<p>Now I just have to play to make it a reality ;)</p>
<p>I splurged and bought $10 worth of tickets. It’s fun to dream about what you would do with the money.</p>