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$450 MILLION: Powerball lottery jackpot nears recordReply
Not for one this huge. I am more likely to consider the annuity option on a smaller jackpot when the graduated payments would be more than taking out 4% a year from a lump sum. I base the 4% figure on advice that some experts give to only take 4% a year so you never run out of money. I would never fault anyone for taking the annuity. Some people just know themselves well and realize that they are not good with money or lack the will power not to spend it all in the first couple of years. Othe
Feb 10, 2015, 12:33 pm - LottoLucy - Lottery News

Multi-state lottery jackpots are growing at a smaller paceReply
It does seem jackpots are growing slower. If so, it's because fewer are playing. Adding more states, such as California, and allowing cross-selling of Powerball and Mega Millions have helped keep the jackpot games going, but it's getting ever more challenging to keep sales up... Many players, me included, aren't overly excited playing jackpot games with even worse, astronomical odds that cost more to play than in the past. The thrill and excitement have long worn off for most who play. There
Jan 14, 2015, 8:47 am - Ron5995 - Lottery Discussion Forum

$195 MILLION: Mega Millions keeps the good times rollingReply
Back in 2011, before the onset of the $2 Powerball ticket, MM was producing on a 15th draw a jackpot greater than $300M annuity, this with a much higher cash to annuity ratio. If you look, between the competition with the $2 Powerball ticket, and the far worse odds associated with the new matrix, the much lower expectation value, the reduced lower prize levels, sales for this game are way off, as, I think, they should be. I know I'm saving money on lottery tickets since the changeovers in
Feb 23, 2014, 7:28 pm - Prob988 - Lottery News

Why is the new cash option so low for MM?Reply
Sorry, I mean the after tax amount. Before, their advertised cash option for a $15,000,000 annuity was $11,000,000 but the take home (at least in my state, without state tax) was $8,250,000. Thanks to the others for clearing it up, didn't realize they changed the annuity payout schedule/rules. I knew the payout schedule on USA Mega for the MM annuity seemed strange. I just recall them changing around the actual payout (advertised cash versus take home) well before the matrix change and f
Dec 18, 2013, 7:28 pm - ttech10 - Lottery Discussion Forum

$344 MILLION: Mega Millions lottery jackpot skyrocketsReply
If an annuity was going to pay out $30 million to $40 million a year, then I think I'd actually consider taking the annuity. I may not do it but I would definitely stop and think about it. Because even though I expect taxes on that kind of income to increase and I usually hate the idea of payments spread out over so many years, with the cash value is so low and the annuity payments so large, you could end up equalling the cash value in less than 15 years. Plus 30 million a year is enough to l
Dec 7, 2013, 2:54 pm - Teddi - Lottery News

How much would you wager on A 1 Billion dollar Jackpot at one Time ?Reply
$5 is $5 regardless of the price of a ticket. The odds are so ridiculously high that the only numbers that really matter are how much you risk and how much the potential reward is. A jackpot of $1 billion is a certainty. The only question is how soon it will happen. Just as a really simple figure, the chances of a winner are now approximately 1.5 times as unlikely as they were for the record jackpot. That means the same probabilities that resulted in an annuity jackpot of $656 billion woul
Dec 4, 2013, 2:21 am - KY Floyd - Lottery Discussion Forum

MM going to 30 year annuityReply
I'm with JonD on this one, these days it really doesn't make sense to take the annuity. I am fairly young but 30 years is a long time. I'm not married and my family is small so it would just be wasting time/money. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It's only a matter of time before the country will default, honestly, it's simple math. It might be a long time from now but I'm not taking any chances. I've seen other places where they say annuity is better because of the huge discount tak
Oct 12, 2013, 2:10 pm - LottoMetro - Lottery Discussion Forum

Can MM & PB Start Being Honest? Must this farce continue?Reply
Teddi, the cash value amount is the amount the lottery has collected to invest to fund the annuity. Annuities all either guarantee or offer some level of interest which results in a higher total amount over a period of time. So it is not feasible for the lottery to pay out to those chosing present value cash value in a lump sum the annuity value (which is the projected amount over a period of years according to the particulars of the annuity). When I win, I will insist on only taking a pictur
Jun 29, 2013, 10:57 am - OldSchoolPa - Lottery Discussion Forum

So how come MM cash values are always considerably closer to their annunity than PBReply
The PB annuity has 30 payments and the MM annuity has 26. The four extra years of interest is why PB can purchase the same size annuity for less. MM is estimating a cash value of $36.9 million for their next drawing and currently $36.9 million can purchase $50 million in government securities that will pay 26 annual payments of $1,923,077. PB is estimating $25.1 million cash value and can purchase a $40 millon paying 30 average annual payments of $1,333,333. http://www.usamega.com/mega-millio
Apr 3, 2013, 9:11 am - Stack47 - Lottery Discussion Forum

If you really were brave/crazy enough to choose the annunity...Reply
I seem recall that your estate doesn't get squat if you die before the annuity payment is complete??? PB annuity is set on a sliding scale vs. MM, so it appears to be growing. Just remember, 9million 30yrs from now... year 2043 is the same as (in theory) 3 million today in terms of purchasing power- not that I'd be complaining. There are tons of things to consider... the best bet ... build a team of advisors that you can hopefully trust (very hard) and let them worry about it while you sip bo
Mar 17, 2013, 12:41 pm - Romancandle - Lottery Discussion Forum