Get your tickets. Mega Millions is tonight. 1 Billion+

[Shuffler]

Lottery’s are for peasants in Mexico

That’s how bad it has got in the US

Much of mexico is over here. They don't even have an Olympic team as all of them that can run, jump, or swim.... are over here.

[zack1234]

Because you Yanks are lazy

[Eagler]

Just think if more ppl won much less but still a game changer..11,000 ppl each winning 100k...more possible good could come of it

Eagler

[Dichotomy]

All I know is that you people hold up the line to the register while the rest of us wait to purchase more worthwhile items, like beer and tobacco.  Give me a number 5 ... no wait ... make that a number 12 ... and a number 7 ... oh heck, give me a quick pick too.   

I call them 'lotto loons' and I feel your pain.  Probably a good thing I don't open carry even though it's legal here.  The desire to air out what passes for someones brain sometimes is almost overwhelming. 

[-gg-]

Fiction being stranger than truth, one of my novels involved a guy who won $100 million+ in a lottery and I had to do a lot of research about how to handle that money.  And you're right, you can't just deposit it into a passbook savings account unless you want the vast majority to be at risk.

What you can do is let the lottery corporation hold the money until you can set up an account with a wealth management specialist, at some financial house. In my book, the guy used Merrill Lynch because a) that's where my retirement is, b) I have a close relationship with my advisor, and c) he did take the time to outline the process step by step.

The lottery does a wire transfer to Merrill Lynch and then the wealth management specialist begins investing the money.  Merrill Lynch will issue either a credit card or bank checks (Merrill is owned by BOA, so the cash management account would actually be a checking account with a local branch of BOA) and you can start spending money as soon as you like.

Your money will be safe from everything but market volatility and inflation, and that is the rub.  Single person purchases of even $100 million dollars would create a noticeable amount of market instability, so it all has to be done slowly.

That's interesting.

So basically you would be putting most of the money into investments?

I don't know anything about finances on that scale but in my simple mind, I'd not want my money all over the place and in some investment account. I'd want it in one place and just live off of it. I know that's not practical though - just my instinct.

I guess someone would have to keep track of it all. That would be a major job.

[decoy]

That's interesting.

So basically you would be putting most of the money into investments?

I don't know anything about finances on that scale but in my simple mind, I'd not want my money all over the place and in some investment account. I'd want it in one place and just live off of it. I know that's not practical though - just my instinct.

I guess someone would have to keep track of it all. That would be a major job.

Well, what this character did was buy huge blocks of various stocks.  Coca-Cola, for instance, selling at 64.17, 100K shares would be 6.41 mil and generate $176K per year in dividend income.  But, as I said, that was a novel.  My broker and I keep 22% percent of my holdings in cash, just for times like now, when AT&T has gone from $26/share to about $18/share.   I think his magic number on that is $14, at which point he'll buy and then tell me what I spent.

But the winner on this jackpot got something like $676 mil, and 22% of that is $148 mil.  WAY too much to keep that liquid.

[-gg-]

I had  friend of mine once whose mother died and left an estate building life insurance policy behind.  Yvonne took the money and bought three dress shops and invested quite a bit in the market, but she took about $150K and bought a very large diamond ring.  The center stone was seven carats and there were four 1.5 carats diamonds, two on each side.  The first time I saw Yvonne after she bought the ring, I said, "Yvonne that ring is really just vulgar."  So she said, "Hold out your hand."  I held out my hand and she slid the ring on my pinkie.  Then she said, "Not so vulgar now, is it?"

As a matter of fact, it wasn't.

What do you mean? That after it was on your pinky it looked pretty small?

[-gg-]

I call them 'lotto loons' and I feel your pain.  Probably a good thing I don't open carry even though it's legal here.  The desire to air out what passes for someones brain sometimes is almost overwhelming.

lol. Yeah. They drive me crazy too. They stand in front and pencil in numbers too. Checking a stack of tickets and buying new ones.

You know what else I've noticed about a lot of these people? They seem kind of empty. Maybe it's just me - but I have a lot of empathy for people and I look at these people and wonder. It's sad for me. I feel the same thing when I see people with a big bucket of coins sitting for hours at slot machines. Sometimes they even play two or three machines at the same time - and they don't look like they are having any fun. I  mean, it's not like blindly hitting the button over and over again is entertainment.

It might just be me - but I feel like a lot of people are lost souls. And it's sad.

[decoy]

What do you mean? That after it was on your pinky it looked pretty small?

No, it didn't look small, but it looked a lot more tasteful.  It's all perspective.

[Dichotomy]

After 148 I think I'd be pretty set with houses, land, cars, and toys.  Just let the rest sit and draw interest for my yearly allowance thanks

[Dichotomy]

lol. Yeah. They drive me crazy too. They stand in front and pencil in numbers too. Checking a stack of tickets and buying new ones.

You know what else I've noticed about a lot of these people? They seem kind of empty. Maybe it's just me - but I have a lot of empathy for people and I look at these people and wonder. It's sad for me. I feel the same thing when I see people with a big bucket of coins sitting for hours at slot machines. Sometimes they even play two or three machines at the same time - and they don't look like they are having any fun. I  mean, it's not like blindly hitting the button over and over again is entertainment.

It might just be me - but I feel like a lot of people are lost souls. And it's sad.

Fair points.  I never looked at it with that perspective.  I was always looking at the back of their heads thinking 'good GOD just make your purchase and get the !#$!% out of my way'.    I have a lot of patience actually but people being so willfully ignorant of the world around them that they're actually rude really aggrivate me. 

[guncrasher]

well, I didn't win because I was cheated and demand a recount.

semp

[decoy]

well, I didn't win because I was cheated and demand a recount.

semp

Not cheating. Internet lag.