We might buy 1 line if it reaches 1 Billion Dollars.

should be a most curious Saturday night

ROCK'N ROLL! HERE WE GO!

I hope it's birthday numbers that get drawn and a sizable crowd walks away very happy. On that thought I'll get me another ticket with low numbers

I'm so dizzy- my head is spinning..

I like to point out something this jackpot shows very clearly about the jackpot anniuty option.
#5 $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) -
#6 $256.8 million cash, Feb. 7, 2015 ($380 million annuity)

It's within 2 million dollars of #5 jackpot 258.2 million cash jackpot , Yet the annuity is 380m current vs 448m in 2013, only 2 years ago!

This is power of 30 year interest rates have on all lottery jackpots! 60+ million dollars less today, thanks to interest rates!

The Lottery buys special Treasury securities that are very much linked to 30 year rate for normal t-bills, as 30 year notes go down, so does annuity securities lottery buys on your behalf.

At the moment our 30-Year treasury bond is one of the worst possible investments in the entire world.

Sense your also dealing with the Inflation over decades. It will eat your low 2% yield alive, significant losses of purchasing power over time.

however don't take my word for it, if any of you do win(good luck), go to largest investment firms like:

Goldman Sachs.
Morgan Stanley.
JPMorgan Chase.
Merrill Lynch.
They ALL tell you they can all earn way more then treasury yield , take the cash!

Even with there high management fees ( I would not use them firms my self, but they manage billions and i don't so there there people to ask over some guy on web)

didn't a couple of those investment firms get hacked this year or the previous year ??

Hopefully it rolls a couple more times otherwise let there be one jackpot winner

Well now - it probably was my purchasing a 2nd ticket that pushed the annuity up 20M$.  ...  and you are all welcome!

$380 million sounds good to me 

This could trigger a buying frenzy.  I'll have to watch the news to see if players start standing in lines to buy a few extra tickets.

Keep Rolling $480,000,000.00 sounds really good........

I'm mostly interested in having ten or more people, win the 2nd prize every draw. We have to be getting some of that money back from the lottery, one way or another. The jackpot can roll, ad infinitum for all I care.

someones going to win saturday(:

The annuity value jumped up $20 million yet the cash value only went up $6.3 million. No matter what I'll take it. Now if someone from the forum can be so lucky this Saturday! Sweet dreams everyone and don't forget to buy your ticket....I will be getting mine tomorrow??

I hope so! Good luck to you Hearsetrax!

If you do win this one make sure to take the cash option and don't go handing out the winnings to every person you meet on your street. You can easily beat the annuity rate by investing the money yourself.

I'm in for one row this weekend.

Powerball!

I agree! cash is king.

That just shows you how much is needed to break even when the jackpot resets to $40M, $12.6M cash should cover it.

Oh yes, Jackpot fever has returned!!

I'm getting it!!!!

Why not invest in Lehmann Brothers?

Oh...yeah...

The US Treasury had to bail out Merrill Lynch, among other amazing firms.

$380 million Woo Hoo!!

well...let's seeeeeeee....takin' the cash and running fast.... so that is 256 minus 40% for Uncle Sam...leaves me roughly 153 Million and change(no state income tax here).. Have a new home(s), cars, toys,gifts to various family members, donations to non profits,buy the track(sp?) chairs for as many disabled vets as I could,should leave me with 50-60 Mil. ...spend 500K a year over the remainder of my estimated  existence....should leave the offspring with 30-40 Million ....Wouldn't have to invest a dime !!!....Course, I would always invest...maybe with Edward Jones...They handle a friend's family estate that's worth 50+million and they are very happy with their results.......Just a nice thought for tonight's drawing....

Sure. Why not? You can be part of the too-big-to-fail club. 

Sounds like a plan! I've got one similar. :)

I'm headed out on a country drive to spend the day with parents, and planning on stopping at several small town gas & goes to pick up one ticket each.

Got my ticket for tonight's game. Not hoping for a roll over but for multiple winners.

I hope the winners will be given the right to anonymity. It would be very dangerous for winners of such a large amount to be identified.

just quit playing altogether if your that worried

. We read the same rant and rhetoric every time the jackpot grows this large. Interestingly enough, these are some of the same posters who have so much commentary when the winner is identified. They get all excited about what the winner will or will not do. So, take that away and I suspect LP will birth more home-grown conspiracy theorists. The ones who plan to win and take sensible steps in managing their win-fall rarely end up dead. Focus on winning the darn thing. That's hard enough if not impossible. Whinging about taxes and media frenzy is something out of our control. Again, it is the media that helps these jackpots grow so large. Give them a one word interview in your spider man mask if you ever hit it big.

People say; lottery is a foolish dream, but hey it might happen!

"Whinging about taxes and media frenzy is something out of our control."

How is it out of our control? Other countries allow winners to collect their prize anonymously and other countries don't collect tax on lottery winnings, so why not here in the US? If enough people care about being anonymous and not having to pay tax on the lottery we might be able to change things.

Good luck to all!

IDK  if they take city tax to but never mind that at take home after all taxes take home for me between $139,904,640(39.6+5.92) or $134,126,640(39.6+5.92+2.25).

That is enough for me to buy my 3.5mill ohio home, 2.5mill florida home, 1.8 prevost rv, my 3 lamborghini, my 2 rolls royce, couple of escalades, a few bentley , a maybach 62s , and if i had that much def a bugatti super sport, then of course a home for mom and sis and whatever car they want, a few good hand outs for friends and family( your a fool if u think your money back just give to people and tell them to enjoy and you dont want it back(less headace and pressure)). and that would be 24 mill to myself( extra would be food and travel money) 5-6 mill for family and friends. And a few million in bank for son. so with that i STILL have over 90 million to still play with and i have all my toys cars and homes paid for in cash. 

And anyone on here talking bout they would change or anthing like that ur lying to yourself. dream big and have fun and think they took $116,895,360 to $122,673,360. i say spend what u have fun and take cash option*

one winner one winner one winner (even if its not me)

Let me know how that works out for ya. 

While you recruit posters for the march to Washington, I will be tweaking my system.

Fair enough. Far be it from me to mess with a tweaker. 

And if im not mistaking but 50% of money goes to jackpot and the other 50% goes to education, funding lottery and of course taxes. my question is why they dont just put a sales tax on the ticket when you buy it. so here in ohio. it will be 7% so ticket would be $2.14 to purchase. and when you win any amount you wont have to be taxed because you already paid tax ;) i no wishful thinking hahahahah

I got my tickets if someone over here wins and next year we have the same tax rate the person will take home around 169 millions. You can buy a lot of pina coladas with that.

The ODDS make people say it's foolish, but win the thing?  And, suddenly some 'fool' becomes pretty smart (or lucky in the eyes of those who say it's a dream).  This much money better make you smarter, because everyone will want part of your dream.  One thing is certain - without a ticket?  You have NO chance, and no matter what the odds are, if you have a ticket, you have A chance.  Forget the odds and it comes down to "ticket vs. no ticket".  And, it will happen.

 Good one!

Wow, this is definitely a surprise. I was originally only expecting $425-$450 million (the most) for Valentine's Day but it looks like it will be that much for the pre-Valentine's drawing if no winner tonight. That would be $304.1 million cash to start 

My wife tells me I'm wasting our money on buying lottery ticket, all the time. I say when I win, you be changing that tune!

"One thing is certain - without a ticket?  You have NO chance, and no matter what the odds are"

Not everyone believe that, people loitering at lottery retailer stores telling players to "remember me if you win" and others reminding relatives and co-workers to get a ticket and "remember me if you win", believe if someone they know wins they will too.

When athletes win the championship, the only thing cheerleaders get is ^%T*# 

It will most certainly hit half a billion dollars if there's no winner tonight.

I can't wait for the day to say, "One...BILLION...dollars." 

Well if it was to ever roll to a billion n kept current rate of annuity vs cash  of 67.58% cash value would $675,800,000 me likey a lot

I seriously doubt it'd ever hit the billion dollar mark ...........

but time will spin a most curious thread if it did

Just curious, how many tickets does everybody have?

Normally I just play my usual numbers I have for years but when it gets up there I tend to buy three.    That said I have my normal numbers, another set I have from a fortune cookie I use when the pot gets big and the third a quick pick from the automatic machine at my local grocery store.   

I hope it's my day.

Could you imagine the frenzy with a billion dollar jackpot (annuity)? Lines would be a mile wrapped around every lottery retailer! LP would go into overdrive. We will have to take up a collection to send Todd and his team oxygen and Starbucks gift certificates.

What would it take, about three more rollovers to hit a billion?   I assume it's going to get tonight now that it's a "public" jackpot with people buying tickets because they saw it on the news and whatnot.

I think it's going to roll over but that might be my wishful thinking. Where are the mathematicians? Has anyone done the calculations on the chances of a roll over?

We will have to take up a collection to send Todd and his team oxygen and Starbucks gift certificates.

The latest estimate gives a 72.9% chance of rollover for this specific drawing, whereas we are also entering the 90% cumulative percentile. I'm actually surprised the jackpot got a boost because normally it doesn't jump until it gets in record territory. Guess everyone has been impatient for big jackpots 

I won't be participating tonight, but if it rolls without a winner I may buy a ticket for the next draw.

 Thanks for the stats. Roll baby roll. 

I would choose to "Invest" in, 'Long-Term Capital Management'. Laugh/cry out loud!

There is no such thing as a foolish dream. It is foolish not to have a dream.

Enough Rolling already. Do you realise how disconcerted people become if it rolls into uncharted territory and they are NOT the winner/winners? Who in their right mind needs a billion Dollars to live off? A certain % of those who do win big end up losing a large portion of their jackpot if not all of it.

l would prefer this jackpot to be won by a Few people instead of One..Screw Rolling, why? .. because l am ready, you ought to be as well.

If it does make it to Valentines Day my guess from a couple weeks back of 500ish will be substantially short. Just under 2 years ago it jumped from 350 to 590 for the final roll. Current interest rates would make for a smaller jump with the same sales, and the frenzy may not be as big as it used to be, but I expect that rolling to Valentines Day would almost certainly set new records for both cash and advertised value. That would buy a lot of flowers and chocolate.

"Who in their right mind needs a billion Dollars to live off?"

Nobody needs that much, whether they're in their right mind or not. I promise I could do useful things with it, though. Of course it wouldn't really be a billion dollars. Living in NY, an advertised jackpot of an even billion would only put about $350 million in my pocket if I was an only winner. If it does rolls that high 2 winners may be the most likely result.

Disconcerted? Maybe my English not so good, but I predict the lines will be longer at more places the bigger it grows. I no sure what disconcerted means but if it means same as frenzy and excitement then I agree. Uncharted? Doest that mean no space on billboard to hold all the 0s? That would be, how do you say in English? FRICKIN AWESOME. I be happy when it go over the $500 million markers. I won't win. So at least I can enjoy the entertainment of it all. I would be glad to read about an insanely high jackpot than the Brian Williams lynching.

Disconcerted means: Agitated, Upset.

l am sticking to my guns on the PB tonight. Screw Rolling.

* The entertainment of it all is when- it is won. That is the premise of the jackpot..Winning!!!!

I hope that I have the only winning ticket

I will claim it as soon as possible

I will NOT use a financial manager as they are in it for themselves

I will consult a tax attorney and find a Conservative CPA

I love road trips. It wasn't the last leg of the journey that excited me but the stops along the way and definitely the views. When it's won, LP goes into quiet mode. Very few people log in or post as the hype is over. Reality settles in that this game is insanely hard to win. Right now we don't see the odds. We see the prize. The bigger the prize the bigger our dreams. I guess you like your bad news upfront and early. That's fine. Look at it this way. You will lose tonight. I promise. So don't worry that it rolled over. Just get excited that your numbers didn't come up. It doesn't matter how large or small the Jackpot. So don't let the size of the JP distract or torment you.

"Who in their right mind needs a billion Dollars to live off?"

If I'm hearing you right, what you're saying is no one needs a billion dollars to live off of, there for there should never be a billion dollar jackpot.

If we are going to accept this premise, that what we need to live off should equal the size of the jackpot, then someone could make the argument the jackpot should never be any bigger than 20 million. After all, who needs anything over 20 million to live off? And yet, here we are playing for a $380 million jackpot and I don't hear anyone complaining it's too large.

With capitalism, people are free to vote with their wallets and it's obvious more people are willing to fork over their hard earned money for the chance to win huge jackpots.

We had Monopoly Millionaires Club last year offered in numerous states, a game that capped the jackpot at $25 million and promised to share the wealth with sizable secondary prizes and most lottery players crapped all over it and said thanks..... but no thanks!

l love my road trips as well- but there comes a time when you need to arrive at your destination. One can only take in so much scenery of any road trip. l am of the opinion that this jackpot needs to be won, that is my opinion and l am entitled to it. My opinion is also that l would like to see more than One winner of any jackpot that goes over $300 mil. You entitled to disagree with me all you want, after all- this is a discussion Forum.

** BTW- l have said this before and will repeat myself:- l have YET to read of any jackpot winner lamenting having won any jackpot by saying  " l was praying that l would not win tonight's $300 mil jackpot, l was hoping that it would go into the $400 mil range and THEN bag it.... l am very upset!"

Try arguing with that..

I am in  no way attempting to stifle your opinion. I enjoy a healthy dialogue. We are a few hours away from the big drawing. Let's see what happens. If I win tonight, you will hear it for the first time - lol. At least I will be able to buy a lifetime supply of Xanax

Exactly.. so you agree with the method to my madness?

I love single winners. That's just me. But by no means will I show any sign of ungratefulness to Lady Luck if I have to share or win such a small jackpot - lol.

After I collect my $183,868,800 after taxes, I'll be buying one of these.

That's ok- but given the fact that there are people who have been playing for years if not decades without winning the Top prize or even 2nd / 3rd prize for that matter, it would be great to share the wealth. You read of single winners who have made bad decisions with their fortune and almost invariably the response is " had that been me.".. well yeah, had you been part of that winning jackpot things might have been different.

l * think that people who are begging for the jackpot to roll- are not playing as of yet, they want it to get up into a certain range before they start contributing. Us poor suckers are urged to throw in our Dollars and build up the jackpot. l don't know of any player who says " l am betting $20.00 on tonight's jackpot, but l am hoping l do not win".. 

Do you know of anyone?

A New Hyundai...cool. * That's the sign on the Upper Right.

Welp, I just pushed sales a lil bit higher :-) picked a group of #'s 3 even 2 odd... Using my LP skills I learned from you guys, let's do this !!!