Almost playable.

And if it rolls, it goes up to $868 Mil on Friday, tho I expect lotto fever will bump that amount up to $900+ mil or even reach a Billion. 

Indeed! The article also gives you the next cash value if it rolls tonight.

Oh, I love those cash values! 

Take the Annuity and receive $6,324,763.00 after all taxes are paid by April 17, 2019. 

 I could survive on $6.3 million for the first year.

 The total amount after 30 years = $441,000,000.00  That is if taxes remain the same. 

 After I win tonight I will consult with professionals and get their opinions and sage advice.

 It is good seeing new records being made.

Almost? Right, OK, whatever you say JL.

I do enjoy and miss the Texas lottery.

https://www.txlottery.org/export/sites/lottery/Games/Mega_Millions/Estimated_Jackpot.html

noise-gate, Will you invite all of us here on LP to go with you and your lovely wife to Seychelles?

 Those pictures are so tempting. Don't get too sunburnt. Enjoy your vacation! 

Thanks for the update. I am on my way out to buy the winning ticket

This not really the biggest jackpot ever because the annuity jackpots are inflated by interest rates. I go by the present cash amount. $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) is still the highest. In other words "take home" is what matters. 

Absolutely not music, that's like inviting friends out with you on your honeymoon.We all have to find our own thrill, the Seychelles is mine.l have visited several parts of Africa, namely Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, but just missed hopping a plane to the Seychelles, so it it a dream that's been unfulfilled..thus far.

Not noise-gate but I'll see what I can do once I claim it. But in all seriousness even if one of us won and was able to do this think about how fun it would be trying to guess which one of us was the lucky SOB!! 

"Almost?"

It's a big jackpot, but it's still not a good bet for players. Depending on state taxes let's figure the after tax net is an even $240 million. At odds of 1 in 302 million it will cost players $604 million to collect it. That's an average return of just under 40 cents for every dollar you bet, making the risk to reward ratio a loser. And probability says that the states will collect another $180 million and pocket half without paying out the jackpot.

Of course the $2 cost of a ticket is a very low risk, so you can affords to lose.

good luck 2 those playing this evening 

First off: l would tell no one. I would probably throw a subtle hint like " White Shores" if l won, and then l am gone for good. 

noise-gate, If you ask the Lottery Office nicely they may treat you like they did Marvin and Mae Acosta. They lived in Chino Hills, CA and won 1/3 share of the $1.5 billion jackpot. PB.

How you liking the Dragon Lady?

Ole becky ain't my cup of tea. Almost prefer to have lunch with the Florida Hat Lady

Why are you so mean to the Tennessee Lottery CEO Rebecca Hargrove? Tennessee lottery has experienced some major jackpots. Like the Tennessee 20. 

rofl lol that's real funny, yes go buy your "winning ticket!" Good luck to you, ,Ms. Bee."

I am not a supporter of these big games. dad say cassie they rigged or more would win each time real high over 50 to 100 million. i still will buy a "few or a couple or 1 tonight." Good luck all.

I think it is ripe and I plan on plucking it off the lottery tree tonight!

One of the lottery jurisdictions I am playing in says they want

me to call and make an appointment before I come to cash the ticket in.  They must think I am stupid.  I will not be giving them a heads up so they can call the media to greet me! 

Good luck everyone!

Hopefully I can be NC’s most eligible bachelor at about 11:20pmish :-)

This Little Old Curmudgeon might have more than one ticket

It's a secret

Let's go Mega Millions!

Question ..What is the procedure to receive the winning money ?

And how long does it take ?  Thanks !!! 

LLC>Sign>Enjoy...

Awesome Retort!

They were smart people , they had a Solid Plan !!!

They were the ONLY winners , who did the right thing. 

Nothing wrong with an "LLC" .

I'm ready to win the Mega / Power ball Lottery !

Well here comes the unfortunate news: If you live in a state where the whole media press release is required then you have to make an appointment. In fact I would be willing to bet that in most states an appointment will be a requirement just like bring some form of identification is one as well.

• Kinda reminded me of a conversation l overheard once. These folks were invited to a wedding, where free food & booze was available, however it did not take long before some complained of not having more than two drinks, and that the food was not tasty enough for their liking.
• The ticket is Still only $2.00- last time l checked.

It depends on which state you win in.  Generally it takes three weeks after you turn in the winning ticket (whether you do it as yourself or a legal entity) to receive your money.

The first stop for most people should be a competent attorney who handles estate planning and taxes.  They can explain your options and make sure you claim the jackpot in a way that makes sense for you.

California lottery officials say " Be prepared to wait up to 8 weeks" to get your jackpot payout. l Never could understand why.

There isn’t any requirement to participate in a press conference or have my picture taken.  I just can’t do a legal entity or claim anonymously with this particular set of tickets.  There is someone in town with the same name as me so I plan on creating some plausible deniability.   Not having a photo or video of me around the lottery office is a good start.

hmm, oh, that's good...

that's good indeed.

tonight is go or no go.

we'll be back.

Yes, 8 weeks make no sense and was part of the reason I said it depends on the state.  What do they do with your money all that time?  Collect interest?

There are other places that also have longer or shorter times.  It used to be in some states they would give you the money they had the same or next day and then you would get a second payment from the proceeds from other participating states when they remitted it.  I haven’t seen that referenced in a long time, though.

Why do you think the lottery is rigged. I feel it comes down to probability. Each state has a bank with all the possible ticket combinations. Which means in Cali each ticket has a 1 in 302,000,000 chance at hitting the jackpot. Lets follow this link <snip>/mm03sales.htm to look at California sells. As you can see California had just over $18 million in sales (no mega plier offered in CA) which means that 9 million tickets were bought. Each ticket has a 1 in 300,000,000 chance at winning the jackpot or for easier to understand odds that's just a 3% chance in the state that "per sales had the best chance at winning". Besides New York, California had more than double the odds (by ticket sales) at having a jackpot winner and when looking at a state like West Virginia with just over 500k spent California was 36x more likely to have a winner. Like the person who said South Dakota was going to win. Your state sold $154,926 worth of MM tickets (w/o the mega plier) which means the odds are super super super low( CA sold more tickets than you 116 to 1). To me this is why the lottery isn't rigged it comes down to math. Bottom line is that California had a 3% chance as a whole to have a winner so its hard to even hope for multiple winners from states like South Dakota who spent $154,926. Im not bashing anyone states Im just trying to show the math and try to get people away from saying its rigged every time the jackpot gets big. They don't need to rig it the math makes it uber hard enough as it is. At the end of the day you can really only rely on randomness or people like me who pray. In fact I pray everyone here wins least the 3rd tier. I mean who wouldn't  want a cool 10k!!

If you win and you know you're getting the money there's a 100% chance you could get a bridge loan at least for 100k just to I dont know rent a hotel room for a month or two while you bunker down. I highly doubt you're going to be calling the lottery headquarters demanding they hurry the heck up. Nope you'd still be in shock like the rest of us with a note taped to the ceiling saying "It was not a dream Lucy you freaking did it"

 To be honest I would be surprised if the lottery headquarters didnt give you a tiny check or a credit card with some crazy amount to hold you over. Also the reason it takes so long is simply because the funds have to be collected from all the states then taxed before you get them. It could take 8 weeks but it could also take 2. I would suspect that it comes down to how many people won and how big the jackpot is.

OK heres another example. If you head over to Maryland's website and look at all the rules for claiming it will tell you

1.) what to bring

2.) where to go (depending on the amount won)

3.) Times to go

       If you continue reading it will tell you specifically that if you win over <insert amount> not only do you have to go to a special location (say the Baltimore headquarters) but you would also have to call in advance for an appointment. Now remind you Maryland is one of the 8 states where you can claim for total anonymity but you still have to make an appointment. Exactly why? Well I have no idea Im just prepared to follow them rules to get my money. Just move out of state like how the $1.5 billion winners did 29 months ago. They left and no one has heard even a whisper about them since.

When the jackpots are this high , I don't know about any one else. I prefer a            live drawing. I want see it. Good Luck everyone.

Pmt.... Those 3 instructions sound like that personal exam we get when we hit 50+ 

What age is the get off my lawn age.?

I thought they were always live. I usually log onto Valottery.com and watch it in the little window. OK that's a lie......when the jackpots get this big I refuse to log on and look at it until the next day after I've taken a shower and relaxed. I live in a apartment but I legit want to yell Hallelujah when I win so doing it at 9am sounds more reasonable than 11:05 pm!!

I would honestly love to see someone from a small community win it. There are a heap of folks who live in counties with high unemployment. This could help so many folks.

Come on Bethesda, MD 

If I win the whole amount. I will give Todd/Lottery Post 1 MILLION Dollars. And yes I would do a LP interview.

Dang that's disappointing, I was hoping it would hit $750m by tonight.

"I got a family to feed!"

Latrell Sprewell

 Roman noodles cost 25 c. You could buy 2,688,000,000 bags and eat Roman noodles for the rest of your life. If you ate 15 bags per day, that's good eating for 487,306 years my friend or 4,973 people you could feed for 1oo years.  Lucky you!!

You would be dead in a week from all the salt from all those flavor packages. Lol

I am going out on a limb and predicting an Arizona winner.

Repeat the bet on-line; it said $30.  I'm like OK...then I looked at the transaction...it's for tonight and Friday.  So much for paying attention to detail.   Maybe she'll be paying me attention, Ms. Megamillions!

You have a looser definition of "almost" than I do.

This game is not almost playable, and never will be, due to its structure. It's a tremendous amount of money but has a tremendously low chance of winning. By the time the jackpot gets big enough to be playable (the real jackpot, which is a 43% haircut off the fake jackpot), so many people will buy tickets that you will probably have to split it, making it ... once again, a bad bet.

Sure, a ticket is only $2. But how many people buy just one ticket? One ticket is all you need. More than one and you are wasting your money.

I would rather give $2 to a homeless person than give the state $2.

Hmm head over to Lotto reports web page.

Then click mega millions in the middle

The click the link under comprehensive draw details which is says <click here then scroll down to MM>

Then in the blue Mega millions box click the ticket sales by draw <top > part

Then without scrolling down there's a link at the bottom that says <Mega Million - Draw sales by state - click here> 

It shows that for the last draw AZ sold $2.1Million in in total sales or out of the total 302 million combinations they sold a bit over 1 million tickets which is state wide a .3% chance of winning. Not as good as California's 3% chance but much better than the Virgin Islands. Plus its been a wow since Arizona won. 

I find that non of the states I say will win ever do so I think the winner(s) will come from PA, FL, NY, OH, CA, GA, MA, MI, SC, NC, NJ, IL, IN, and TX

 You are 100% correct but at the same time if you just buy one ticket your chance goes from zero % to not zero %. I just want a chance

You'll take these Roman noodles and like it MR.

One of the three major newscasts showed the jackpot of $677 million.

Does anyone care enough to fact check them prior to airing the jackpots (or anything else)?

So gullible me going to various lottery sites to see if they were correct.  Not now anyway.

You picked over 10 states.  Try one. Lol.

Seriously, when I hear the MSM talk about jackpots once they get this high, there are so many mis-statements about much of it.  Totally cringe worthy.  Like the morons buying their first ticket holding up the line. “Uh I only want 1 ticket why is it $2, what’s a mega pliers” 

TN gives you a few million to scrape by until the proceeds come in from other participating states.

Your geographical location is a smidge too far west... I am thinking round 36.19937 N,  -86.519 E  give or take a few 10th's   

Lol...well DC is way overdue but if I am right about AZ, you must address me as Princessa artist of LP. Lol lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7prjQEq_75c

I would be happy with just 5 numbers.  If 5 numbers are hit,, that's a million.  Then it's what 1/3 of taxes.  Play in if you build in interests.   If I were to be a winner of this lottery I would do a major e-commerce business and get more people on my website by Beta testing it and getting it out everywhere

LOL, you just outed yourself.  We will know it is you when the winner comes forward wearing a tiara and opera gloves. 

Has DC ever had a mega millions jackpot winner?  The last Powerball winner I remember was way back in 2009 although I may have missed one.

Lol lol. That winner in 2009 was the last one. What is interesting , is that the winner claimed via a trust but there is a reference in the article to a reporter showing up at the home of the winner, possibly.  But there was no followup. So was the winner tracked down due to the name of the trust...Rockson something as I recall. And/or, does the DC lottery also release a name in the case of a trust, like J. Smith? Their rules are vague and open to interpretation.

If you read through stuff that both the Mega Millions and Power Ball lotteries have published you will find that they both state that the money takes less than three weeks to be collected from all the party lotteries.  If the state of Maryland can get you your check in 15 business days there is no reason the Cali lottery should take 8 weeks.

The only reasonable explanation I have heard for a longer delay is from the PA lottery.  They don’t do checks after a certain date in December for tax reasons.

I remember this case very well because at the time Maryland didn’t sell Powerball tickets so I would go over to Union Station or Friendship Heights to buy tickets and everyone where I bought tickets was so excited someone won.  If I remember correctly the DC lottery said they didn’t know the name of the winner and ended up only releasing the name and picture of the lawyer who represented the LLC.  But the man’s family couldn’t keep their mouth’s shut and it was kind of an open secret in Southeast that the man had won and reporters found him that way.  He had something like 10 kids and 40 grandkids and I’m sure many more long lost relatives afterward. 

I also rememeber that the DC council went bananas someone collected like that and were threatening to tighten up the rules/law but then got sidetracked and never did anything.

"Read through stuff"

 What stuff are we talking about.This is the first thing I found on Google using a search of "how long does it take states to collect jackpot money"

Why the Wait?

There are the simple logistics of collecting the ticket sales cash from those participating stores nationwide. This can take as many as two weeks.

Not all computer systems are created equal. In fact, there isn’t one centralized computer system that controls each of the state’s lotteries. The computer systems that regulate and make the sales vary from state to state.

Different Key Strokes

States choose from different platforms and service providers. So when it comes time to collect the jackpot, especially in instances of national lotteries, it can take a little extra time to get it from one state to another.

Additionally, each state lottery is its own entity. This means that different states are not all on one system. It is helpful for tracking and paying smaller winners but when it comes time to cash out larger, multi-state jackpots it can create a little bit of a delay.

The state lottery will also validate the winner and then perform a background check to determine whether the winner currently owes the state any money (like unpaid property taxes, water bills, speeding tickets, back taxes, etc.). If the winner owes any money, the winnings will be put toward that before the winner receives his/her check.

Plus you have to remember that some states will sell $25,000,000 in tickets sales while some will sell $750,000. We dont know how these state systems work so why not just be patient i mean you already won.

Wow thats some crap family right there. I mean I wouldn't care tbh since I plan to move to a condo anyways. If reporters want to wait outside for me to come out amongst a crowd of 100 or so residents so be it.

Do you believe that the pot will be bumped up just before the drawing? Good luck to everyone tonight!!

Oh, It's Playable alright: Its just not Easy to Win!

Yes, read through stuff.  Like the published rules of the MUSL:

PB RULE 19—FUNDS TRANSFER.
Funds shall be collected from each Party Lottery and Licensee Lottery weekly by wire transfer, electronic funds transfer, or other means acceptable to the Product Group. The amount to be transferred shall be calculated in accordance with game rules. The Product Group shall determine collection days. Amended December 8-9, 2009.
Comment. At its meeting on January 11, 2010, the Group determined that funds shall be collected weekly from Parties Lotteries on the Monday, or the first banking day, which is 12 days from the applicable Wednesday drawing or nine days from the applicable Saturday drawing. By agreement with the Mega Millions Lotteries, MUSL will transfer the funds to the Mega Millions Clearinghouse (Virginia Lottery) within 15 calendar days from the date of the winning draw at a Mega Millions Lottery. The Mega Millions Clearinghouse shall collect the funds from the Mega Millions Lotteries and shall transfer their jackpot prize share to MUSL within 15 calendar days of a winning draw at a MUSL Lottery. If funds are needed to pay a prize when due MUSL may borrow the funds from other accounts, after notice to the Group Officers, the Finance & Audit Committee, and the Executive Committee. The borrowed funds shall be immediately replenished upon collection of prize funds from the Party Lotteries.

I don’t know that there will be any public announcement if that is what you mean.  I do think they might find a few loose millions to give it a tiny bump for the final tally. 

Good Luck!