Very, very shocking that nobody won.  I thought for sure it would have been way too easy for someone out there.

Good luck to all players!

Hahahaha Todd fueling excitement among masses haha

I'm going to play pb just like I played mm,  no frenzy, no excitement.  Just play to be in the game.

I quit this game when the upped the matrix last Oct.

 did play 1 line back when it went over 1B

...maybe buy another when that happens again !

I'm ready!

Yeah Todd!

I remember the days when MM was the best game. But now PB is the best. It recovers more quickly and has more participants by state or territory!

As noted in his article, Todd wrote: "Sharp-eyed readers will notice that the Powerball annuity jackpot is suffering from the same difficulties that Mega Millions faced during its epic 35-drawing run that ended Friday. Sagging interest rates due to the poor economy are depressing the rate of return on invested lottery cash, causing the annuity jackpot to be raised much slower than it normally would."

Yes Todd we have noticed that. The ratio of cash to annuity is now up to 71.18971%

I remember when that ratio used to be somewhere around 57%, but because of the interest rates being so low, it is now up over 71%

I bought a ticket for the last draw because the cash value had just topped $200 million. I will continue to purchase one pick until the cash value exceeds $300 million then I'll most likely buy 2 or 3 picks. Odds are simply too insane to waste anything more than that.

 I'm holding off on playing the PB a wee bit ..... for $2 a ticket and even more screwball odds

just not worth it

It's a good thing you're not a used car salesperson. 100% chance????

"Since Mega Millions was just won, there's a 100% chance Powerball will be won tonight."

Nothing in life is 100% except for 3 things.

Being born , paying taxes  and dying .

Here we go!

Come on guys!

The point is to WIN!

I prefer to win something with sagging interest rates than NOTHING with sagging interest rates.

Be IN IT to WIN IT!

 I think that these sagging interest rates may push a young winner into choosing the lump sum instead of the annuity. Most twenty-year-old winners are not ready for the $211 million. I hope they get professionals on their side. The same goes for all the winners.

 I will now share a Dave Ramsey quote,"Some people are lighthouses when they warn of rocks ahead". These past winners who blew through their winnings are warning all of us about the rocks ahead. I hope that any Lottery Post winner will not have a shipwreck.

 May fortune smile upon us all.

As the saying goes....A winner never quits and a quitter never wins!

I buy at least ONE ticket for each drawing.

Since ...

1. you never know when that one ticket might be a winner.
2. how ever low the jackpot (even a the starting amount of $40 mil for PB or $15 mil for mega) might seem to some, it's more than I have now and would gladly accept the check. 
3. it's a cheap price to pay for a big dream of what I would do with the money if I won.
4. most important...can't win it if you're not in it!

Nice... Don't like it when both get hit over the same weekend.

Also PB restarts are easier on the eyes at 40m... Mega's are kinda rough at 15m

Understand that.

But..... second prize is a million bucks. App 1 in 11 million. Is that not worth $2? Or 2 million bucks for $3?

It is to me.

Amen. Either of those is retirement money!

Meatman and RCBuckeye

I should have mentioned that I'm spending the $ on CFL and L4L 

for better odds and don't really want to chase the big games anymore.

The smaller JPs are enough for me.

To each his own and good luck W/ those.

OMG! You are right on!

I always think of Cynthia Stafford. The amount of lessons Cynthia has shared (although she doesn't know it) is astounding.

I'd be content to win KY  Cashball $200K pre-tax; it would take  care of everything I need.  Sure, still playing with the big dogs is never an option not to play.   You can't win if you don't play.

My Sister, who does not buy lottery tickets, emailed me because she saw something that people don't win  the big jackpots.  All Lottery Post members et al know this not the case.  Otherwise the jackpots would be in the billions.

I find it very amusing how we all talk about millions of dollars as if it is just peanuts anymore. Let me put in perspective for everyone. If you have a job that pays you $50,000.00 per annum, you will have to work for 20 years to make a million dollars . Picture yourself working at a job you don't like for 20 years just to make a million. Come to think of it, a good percentage of posters on this site, don't even make close to that amount{$50,000.00} a year and some unfortunate ones, don't even have a job. Ladies and gentlemen, let's show some respect to a million dollars. IT STILL PACKS A PUNCH AND STILL GOES A LONG WAY.

You are absolutely correct.

But looks like most of America wants to "hang out with Oprah and the Queen" as sung by Bruno Mars.

I agree with mypiemaster also, greed is out of control in america.  Most or all of us will never hit the jackpot the way the mm and pb is setup.  I will gladly take a milion dollars and end up putting about $400,000 in the bank.

LMFAO @ emoji illustrations

.

Very kind. Thank you

.

BigBear29,

I believe it (the greed) really, truly is a sign of the times.
Especially so, are the things I see, when watching peoples' personal conflicts, from around the world, on Youtube.

I've seen so many, collected in a video compilation, where I could only shake my head.
Others actually get off on the junk.

PEOPLE, PLEASE, let's all get along.  And, if it's not too much, if we could just do the "right", "decent" thing.
I feel sort of alienated, when I see example after example of people acting worse than animals, to their neighbors.

But, I too will MOST GLADLY settle for one million samolians (that's the mis-spelled slang for dollars).

Mr. Groppo

 Groppo and jacintasc, You both are very welcome. Thanks to you for your dedication to Lottery Post.

 As they say, "You should only have to win the lottery once".

Excellent post. 

I play no matter what the jackpot is. I spend $10/week on the lottery and if I win small amounts, I roll it back in with more tickets. You never know.

I'm with you I spend $20.00 one I pick number and Machine picks, I thinking roll again on Wednesday $550 on Saturday, let's go

550?

$311M for PB? Naw. 

This is the time to hit MM at its $15M start point, hopefully before the $540M Indiana winner cones forward.

I hear ya

The power of positive thinking.

There's no way Powerball is gonna be able to roll to 550 by Saturday in the post Billion dollar jackpot world. If it rolls on Wednesday, it'll increase to maybe 365M at the most for Saturday.

Pay attention to the cash value. People that do not know any better are not going to play cause they don't know it's over 29 years. or whatever it is now...

I always want to take the cash. It's better that way cause you are protected from skyrocketing taxes, either state or federal.

Take the tax punch and run with the cash.

Most take the cash anyways. Honestly I think they should get rid of the annuity... offer it at collection.

Good Luck to All!!!

 What if a young person won? Maybe in her early twenties. She may want to take the 30-year plan.

 We have to wait until the interest rates rise.

  A win by a Californian would net him/her about $133.7 million from a PB win. I could live off a million for the rest of my life. I do have plans for the rest of it.

 See you all in the winner's circle!

Powerball $311 Million

Good Luck everyone

I think that's a great idea.

Actually, cash value is default if you buy a ticket in Texas on the vending machines. If you want the annuity, you have to go to the counter and specifically ask for it, unless you are filling out a slip with numbers. Then you have to mark either cash value or annuity.

I always play cash value. Even when I talk about the amount for the drawing. Powerball is $221.4 million. Mega Million is $10.5 million.

Have not bought tickets yet. $2 and a dream.

Buy. buy buy!

I'm grateful that the NY lottery doesn't require me to choose at time of purchase. I see the advantages and disadvantages of both and I'm gonna need a lot of time to decide.

Mega fewer rollover to powerball fewer. tickets cost twice as much let it soar, let it roar too

.

Mr./Ms. EasyGoing123Go,

Did you mean to say "Mega fever" and "Powerball fever", as opposed to "fewer"?

No biggy.

Thank you,
Mr. Groppo

 Use that time to create a team of professional advisers. Such as a Trust & Estate Attorney, a CFP is a Certified Financial Planner, and an accountant, enrolled agent or CPA a Certified Public Accountant. They should listen to you and help you decide which way to go. 

It's going to be won .. Son.

I still think that taking the cash will yield a better return... Of course with trusted financial planning and tax preparation. You would still be protected from increasing tax rates if invested wisely in the right items, tax free municipal bonds, stocks, insurance... Etc. Etc.

This has nothing to do with Powerball, but I'm dying for a chocolate bar like a Snickers

Actually you could create a bridge between the two jac: You could win this JP & buy into the chocolate company. It's all part of connective issue. 

Sure beats talking about politics. 

jacintasc & noise-gate, There are some winners who worked in the IT department of New York in Albany. Albany is the capital of NY. Anyway, the designated person to buy the tickets was in line and noticed a dark chocolate snickers for sale. So he leaned toward the candy bar and at that split second a man took his place in line. The designated buyer thought to himself, "Now that is rude. Should I say anything?" The buyer purchased his quick picks and left. I am sure you can guess who won! The IT department won and the buyer remembered what had occurred and said, "what if that man had stayed in his place in line would he have won?"

Spooky!

adamc224, What about mutual funds? Do you have an opinion about those?

Like reading about events like that that turn out for the best. Miss Gloria down in Florida did the same thing in reverse and the rest is history. A year or two ago, a woman played the numbers from a fortune cookie and walked away with close to a million- pre tax.You just never know when you going to hit it.

And that, my friends, is why my signature states...

Winning happens in a flash, Like A Bolt Of Lightning!

Last week similar thoughts crossed my mind.

I went to a convenience store after lunch to buy a MM ticket. I was 3rd in line at the checkout; their systems were running slow and they had a new cashier - cumulative effect the line was moving slow.

After the 2nd guy walked up, i walked to another cashier and asked for one MM ticket. The guy in front of me who went to a different cashier wanter more than 5 tix.

It turned out that the other cashier (not mine) was running the lottery machine and cashier i went to was collecting cash.

For whatever reason the lady running the lottery machine called me over and gave me my 1 ticket before she processed the 5+ for the guy in front of me.

I apologised to the guy in front for cutting in front of him without cutting the line. He understood it was not my fault.

On the way back to work, i remembered Gloria's story and made me wonder: Is the turn of events the lucky cue for me??? And made me dream.

But alas, it was not won in my state. :)

Excellent post "mypiemaster".

To exaggerate a little bit along similar lines, if one can live comfortably with 200K per annum post taxes spending money, that is almost equivalent to having a cushy job that pays about 300K salary per annum.

My plans for the current PB jackpot:

Claim cash option - would net about 121mm after all taxes.

Spend 3mm in the first year for some big ticket purchases.

5mm in a savings account. Draw 200K per annum from this account for spending/living expenses. Expect this 5mm to last about 20 years at this rate of draw.

5mm in municipal bonds

40mm in conservative investments

30mm in aggressive investments

20mm to build real estate portfolio - this not only generates some income but also builds wealth

18mm in a rainy day fund

All the charitable works will come from the 200K annual spending money and the incomes from the investments.

Great post and don't forget an LLC!

Cashball needs to be mine tonight.  I could do so much that approximate 

$140K.

I don't get why so many people get fooled because the winner/winners only get a fraction of the lottery.  When my dad was alive and I mentioned to him about a previous winner with annuity he said this.  "How do you know about that person?"   He was right. 

We all know three things the winner needs.  Financial planner, accountant, lawyer.  Then figure out game plan.

I will be watching certain members and numbers.

My mom used a CFP for her life insurance .......... and now she has NO life insurance .......... they are crooks!

 Did your Mom do her homework and check the history of that CFP? Has she reported him/her to the board?

 Good CFP's may help her report the thief. That one bad CFP could lose his/her certification.

 I am sorry that your Mom is going through this.

It is a lot of hype when factoring in taxes, the reduced lump sum, and or graduated annuity but a lot of cash regardless!

Inside information: I will be purchasing 2 lines, that's 2 for the PB jackpot.

For California players, l have now turned my attention to our local game- the ever slow increasing Superlotto Plus, nothing Super about it, but after all the taxes that are taken out including the Feds taking a 2nd bite of the Apple, one is left with just a little over $7.mil. I could live on that.Further calculations show that one could pull down a lil over $200k a year for 30 years. Investing wisely and you have what we call " An Ocean View" to retirement.

Does CA lottery post the cash value of Superlotto prizes?

Yes the do. They post the estimated cash value, it's up to the playing public to factor in the taxes that are forthcoming. Before one goes ahead and starts buying real estate or ancient swords, you better set the taxes aside because Uncle you know who will definitely be looking for his share of YOUR jackpot. 

Show me one person ever made rich by a financial planner.....and I will gladly point out the full length mirror the FP is staring into....

As stated before, you have to be very very careful who you trust when you are CASH rich. Many people see you as easy targets, which you effectively are. The Robinson's  are a very recent example of that.

People need to realize that while you are rich with a big jackpot win- it is a one time thing. You are not going to duplicate that on an annual basis like Bill Gates, Hilary Clinton (wink wink) or the other thieves on wall street. They can afford to spend lavishly on cars, homes, jets and what all that comes with that "steady income"

If you are not planning to set your self up to start earning that money with some sort of enterprise, then don't buy into the lifestyle. 

Sure invest, but don't let it be more than 10% of a jackpot win....the markets are fickle, and we all know who goes home to cry themselves at night when they tank! 10% of a jackpot win is a hell of a lot of money.

Set a sum that you will not touch for a decade....maybe 10 to 15%

A good way to also go is to set another set sum in a trust that is dispersed quite like a salary....lets say $6000- $8000 every 2 weeks or every month, to curtail spending habits and ensure you don't go down the way of all the train-wreck lottery winners.

While giving to charity is "NICE"....please do you research. If you must, donate to an entity that actually gives back in deed...not just word. An entity that not top heavy with high over head costs and wasteful of much needed resources. It also is wise to wait....wait to see how things go with your new found money. Donate once you have a hang of how to be "CASH" rich. You need to learn how to say no, before you can give (just for the sake of giving)....that is how a lot of people go broke. 

If you are going to go for FP, lawyers and the lot, choose large reputable names that actually care about not being dragged through the mud. They have high value clients and experience. They will cost you a penny and then some....but it is also upon you to figure out how YOU are going to handle YOUR money. Go to school, hell you can afford (time and money) now.

You're welcome...

Haven't had one since Halloween.

What's up D?

I've been on the site long enough that I know I need the professional team. It's one of several reasons why I'm getting jackpot fatigue. The cost of all the staff will take a big bite out of whatever I win so I need to win a lot. I'm already regretting my impulse buy of 2 PB tickets for Wednesday's medium sized jackpot. 

No kidding!  Even though I would have TIME if I won I'd still need about 6 employees to help me manage various things.

They're good, the Dr's had a bunch of goodies in the break room...I put one in my lunch box for yesterday.

My little man will will have a playmate in spring, 2017. Still have two months left of summer to enjoy wearing bikinis without offending anyone.

In the meantime prior to your "big win" you can always educate yourself by either reading many financial publications or even taking an estate/trust class as this will at least give you some knowledge on the fundamentals of growing your wealth while also preserving it for the future. The one sole individual who is most concerned about your financial well being isn't an attorney, PFP or CPA...it's you.

jj, you will probably lose all of your money in about 5 years.

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations; time to win the lottery and you all will be 'set for life'.

OTH, NJ what happened??? No million dollar winner on MM last night.  WA state took the cake.

Thank you!

My local news just mentioned the PB jackpot. Buy buy buy!

Great News D!!!! I wish you and your growing family all the best!! Bravo!!!

jjtheprince, listen to Drenick1. She knows her stuff.

Don't look now, but this jackpot is also growing slower than in the past.   We won't be over a billion at 20 draws; not even close.

My suspicion is that people are getting bored by the jackpots and are recognizing the extremely long odds.

The lottery's strategy to address declining sales, I'm guessing, will be the following:   Raise the ticket price to $5; make the odds 1 to the distance to Pluto in kilometers.

I think the lottery officials have been killing the goose that laid the golden egg, and dismembering it piece by piece.

Happy news Drenick1!!!!!

Congrats.

How old is the "little man"?

Distance from earth to Pluto in kilometers: 4.28 billion - 7.5 billion km depending on whether you meant when the two bodies are at their closest distance  or furthest distance. It doesn't sound as absurdly huge when you consider we're up to 1: 292 Million.

$280 is not $288 and $302.5 is not $311 million so they are growing slower.-weshar75

Nothing tonight i will try again for Saturday night Powerball is getting exciting

A few draws ago MM went to 333, now Powerball goes to 333. Are they trying to make us think they rig it? Of all the possible increases both games could have down, they both increase to the same amount mere weeks apart? Welp, time to book a flight and hotel room for my trip to Cambridge City Indiana in about 2 weeks or so. 

MUSL runs the show for both lotteries, right??

Funny I was almost thinking of driving to Cambridge City, IN yesterday. 

Indiana had another million dollar winner last night, WTG!  Will be checking their lottery site later on to see where the ticket was sold.

Good luck Kingofearth.

If you can buy tickets in Indiana, do so!

I would now consider that state's status to now be "impossible to lose" I bet everyone who bought a ticket in that state won at least $4.

My suspicion is that your suspicion is correct.

I quit PB after the last matrix change, except to play when it went over 1B.

Then a strange thing happened...I no longer felt compelled to play MM every draw,

had been playing since the beginning when it was called the Big Game.

So the folks @ MUSL may be killing geese !

Now my main game is CFL

Yes but i read that the two games operate pretty independently of each other. 

Thanks.

Awwwwww Congratulations! !!!

Thank you Bleudog, Golfer, Rcbbuckeye and Artist!! We are feeling very blessed for the opportunity to grow our family.

My little man is four and anxious to have a baby brother (not interested in girls yet).

Congratulations!  I'm sure you won't offend anyone who isn't easily offended to begin with.  Personally, I'd rather see a pregnant woman in a bikini than a fat old man in a Speedo. (or ANY man for that matter)

I don't own a Speedo, but the last time I went to the beach, I came home with a severe sunburn and three harpoon wounds.

Lol lol