$334 MILLION: Powerball jackpot rolls into the new year

Comment #79

Teddi — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 19:05:51 GMT

Hmm, now that's just weird. Could one price the cost for the land and the other the cost with it developed by a builder? Still don't know what they'd be building on a small island for $57 million but at least that would make more sense. To simultaneously have two different prices for the same property with no variation of what's being offered on the property would be insane. Well whatever, let's stick with a Bahamian cay or if you don't mind the cold, Canada always has a lot of islands for sale... [ More ]

Comment #78

Teddi — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 18:54:46 GMT

Well that's definitely true. When I see ridiculous mark ups on properties for no apparent reason than the seller's greed, I know I'd personally shy away from doing any business with that person. I wouldn't be inclined to negotiate the price down, I'd simply look for something else. Making a great profit is good business. But when a mark up is to the point where it borders on insanity? I see that as so far north of greed that I question how ethical the seller is and what other unethical things mi... [ More ]

Comment #77

MaximumMillions — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 18:31:55 GMT

I looked it up again and it is now up for 3M$ at one broker and the broker who had it as 60M$ now has it as price upon request . so I'm guessing they tried to flush a whale or wanted to disparage development as luxury condos or whatever.

Comment #76

Teddi — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 18:19:37 GMT

Okay, you've got to give me the links to these properties, because I have GOT to see this. Did you check? Maybe there is a diamond mine on the property.

Something's got to be going on...I hope. Because there are just too many private islands out there for sale to warrant this price jump for no apparent reason...again, I hope.

Comment #75

hearsetrax — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 13:45:14 GMT

so long as I don't have to share it

Comment #74

dr65 — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 13:19:24 GMT

No winner. Time to buy a ticket with powerplay. What do you think it will roll to now

Comment #73

MaximumMillions — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 13:09:16 GMT

I didn't make it clear, the only development was the price as far as I can tell. There was a small house on it but I think it was there before.

Bahamas has the added benefit of tax savings. Good thinking there!

Nice to see it rolling again.

Comment #72

hearsetrax — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 11:33:08 GMT

let it roll till it hits $600 million then let ME win it all

Comment #71

GGStarlings — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 05:54:27 GMT

Heeeeerrre we go....! Ha

I didn't play it but I will watch the rollovers with some amusement.

Interesting, the 5-15-29 also came up in our Wild Card game (Idaho).

Comment #70

Coin Toss — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 05:49:07 GMT

And now the insanity shall really start.

Comment #69

mikeintexas — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 05:43:09 GMT

Rawhide

Comment #68

Teddi — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 05:19:49 GMT

Whoa...$400 million.

Rolling rolling rolling

Comment #67

LottoMetro — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 04:35:47 GMT

You may be onto something....looks like actual annuity @ $359,300,000 and cash @ $219,900,000.....so with sales higher than expected and birthday numbers....

We'll see

Edit:

Rolling

Comment #66

whiteballz — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 04:24:35 GMT

Yep, my birthday is on the 42nd of the month

Comment #65

Todd — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 04:18:40 GMT

Uh oh, looks like birthday numbers were drawn tonight... I don't know anything at this point, but my guess is a winner. Winning numbers are 5-6-15-29-42, and the Powerball is 10.

Comment #64

BBLL — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 04:16:23 GMT

I want it to roll to a billion dollars

Comment #63

LottoMetro — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 02:42:21 GMT

lol....the advantage of owning real estate is that you can list it for whatever you want....doesn't mean someone will pay it.

I have been looking at rentals in my area and I inquired about a house that is over 30 years old and property value assessed at only a couple hundred Ks. I couldn't believe the realtor is asking $3K a month to rent this place. It doesn't even have a garage. She claimed it has a market value of half a million. Would you believe people are actually stupid enough to pay t... [ More ]

Comment #62

rcbbuckeye — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 01:13:00 GMT

Holy crap. What the f are you talking about. You just wrote the biggest pile of tripe in all of LP. 50 call in the back of a Toyota truck here?

YOU ARE AN IDIOT.

Since you are still in your parent'so basement why don't you go tell your mama she's calling you for dinner.

Comment #61

Stratogee — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 00:32:34 GMT

The Powerball win is already mine so you all can stop playing or continue playing adding to the jackpot. I'll invite all LP players to a big party to celebrate. Todd can be the master of ceremonies.

Comment #60

hearsetrax — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 00:28:13 GMT

for those interested in living like castaways

Comment #59

Teddi — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 00:21:37 GMT

A $57 million mark up just for their development? What exactly was the development? Hotels? A mini-theme park? Diamond mining?

http://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/sales/int/private-island-type#eng/sales/int/private-island-type

These are much more reasonable. Buy a Cay from the Bahamas and save yourself tens of millions by building exactly what you want.

Comment #58

hearsetrax — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 00:14:39 GMT

if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand

Comment #57

Deo-nonfortuna — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 23:54:47 GMT

Rent? Why rent when u can buy your own island with that kind of money.

Comment #56

KY Floyd — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 22:46:24 GMT

did you come up with $160 million

Easy. I said an income of $300 million. I didn't say anything about a fictitious prize of $300 million.

Fewer people in a frenzy

Even the people who post here haven't managed to get past page 4 yet.

Comment #55

mikeintexas — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 22:39:45 GMT

You don't know jack squat about me and you've just written the most ignorant piece of crap I've read this week.

Give it time, though, there's still the rest of the day.

Comment #54

Prob988 — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 22:24:35 GMT

Well, Mike, you say you love your country but wished it evolved like the Founding Fathers intended. Personally, I wouldn't want to live in the world they envisioned, where lots of human beings were treated like farm animals, for one thing among many others. The people who founded the country had huge disagreements among themselves, and I'm sure they didn't regard themselves as infallible and thus were careful to include provisions in their constitution that would correct their self acknowledged... [ More ]

Comment #53

HoLeeKau — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 21:49:31 GMT

I don't have a problem paying federal taxes, but it chaps my rear that the state takes more.

They're already making millions per year on a voluntary tax that we lottery players pay. I don't even have kids, and I'm giving major funding to the schools. I think that's enough and they should not double tax me if I should ever win.

Comment #52

savagegoose — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 20:07:46 GMT

im already planning what income i will have based on the investment of the cash payment. all i can say is WOOOOT oh wait still the small detail of winning

Comment #51

mikeintexas — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 19:53:52 GMT

I'm one of those who have griped about taxes, but it's not about PAYING them, it's paying SO MUCH, esp. on a JP win where it's classified as ordinary income and taxed at the highest rate. As has been brought up in here at least a hundred times before, other countries have lotteries that are tax-free. If you opt for the C/V of tonight's PB JP, the federal taxes you pay wouldn't run the U.S. govt. for ten minutes. Be that as it may, the worst thing is that out of that huge sum, only a tiny amount... [ More ]

Comment #50

ressuccess — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 18:32:34 GMT

I hope it continues to roll and set a new Power ball record jackpot.

Comment #49

Teddi — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 17:52:46 GMT

I too am really surprised I haven't seen a bump. But then, I have yet to see this make our local news and I haven't seen any lines anywhere for tickets.

Not that I'm complaining. Fewer people in a frenzy, the better my chances I won't have to share with anyone.

Comment #48

music* — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 16:23:18 GMT

KY, How did you come up with $160 million and you live in NY? I live in California and my State does not tax lottery winnings but I only get $131,000,000.00 after all, deductions and taxes are paid. I can go into detail if you would like me too.

I am hoping that our fearless leader Todd Northrop updates this Power Ball jackpot from $334,000,000.00 to a higher number.

Good Luck everyone

Comment #47

KY Floyd — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 02:50:37 GMT

I'd really, really like to pay taxes on an income of 300 million dollars, because it would mean I had $160ish million to keep for myself.

The way I view expectation value is that ignoring the smaller prizes, everybody but the winner(s) will have risked and lost the full $2 price of the ticket, and the winner(s) will lose 40 to 50% of the prize to taxes. Over the long term players should to spend $584 million (292 million tickets @ $2 each) to win one jackpot, and that jackpot will return abou... [ More ]

Comment #46

rcbbuckeye — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 02:14:44 GMT

All of that is ok for those that wish to decide whether PB, or MM, or ANY lottery jackpot game is a good bet. Frankly, none of them are a good bet. But it really doesn't matter. Because none of us, (well, me anyway), don't plunk down our money based on a good bet or a bad bet. We place our bets because we hope to win a jackpot.

I would quite happy to win second prize. It would set up my retirement nicely. Yeah I would still have to work a few more years, but, the future would look a lot brigh... [ More ]

Comment #45

Bilionario — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 01:58:34 GMT

Watch this space...

Comment #44

Prob988 — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 01:34:05 GMT

To be clear, my calculations of expectation values are pre-tax.

I'm not an anarchist; I therefore believe in paying taxes.

It's amazing how many people despise paying taxes when mentioning their lottery fantasies here. When I hear this stuff, I kind of wonder how secure their new wealth would be if they lived in a place like, say, Somalia or Syria or Iraq, where tax collections, such as they are, are more easy to avoid assuming you can hire your own militia. Personally, I'd rather just pa... [ More ]

Comment #43

MaximumMillions — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 21:13:47 GMT

I end up on Vladi Private Islands quite often, can spend hours scoping ut the most attractive islands I can't buy. Though I have found some crazy price developments, like one island sold in 2008 for 3M$ now going for 60M

Comment #42

MaximumMillions — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 21:05:16 GMT

Thanks for the calculations, at 10% probability of being hit I can see the jackpot roll a long time.

Somebody referenced some calculations on how many winners to expect at a given time, but couldn't remember the link.

I think this might be it, though it's based on the old PB structure:

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-when-math-says-you-should-start-to-care-about-powerball-2013-9?IR=T

Comment #41

KY Floyd — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 20:45:55 GMT

I'd rather have the money for myself, but if you want to buy a ticket with the winning numbers I won't hold a grudge. Well, maybe if they're the same numbers I played.

Comment #40

KY Floyd — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 20:45:02 GMT

Advertised annuity would be roughly $1.5 billion before the after-tax cash could be considered fair bet

With odds of about 290 million to 1 against, and a $2 ticket price you'd need to net $580 million for an expectation value of 1.0. Figuring federal taxes and a mid-range state tax of 5% the advertised jackpot would have to be about $1.715 billion. I believe that's entirely possible under the current matrix, but there's a major catch.

The increases are significantly smaller than they use... [ More ]

Comment #39

Teddi — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 19:18:37 GMT

I don't see why not. Islands are cheap, especially if there's nothing on it. Countries who own the islands are eager to sell because you have to pay them property taxes for land that would otherwise just be sitting idle.

There are a lot of islands out there that already have resort-type accommodations and villas on them, so you can rent out the villas when you're not using the island and generate income. And no, you don't have to share the island with anyone. It's your private property just... [ More ]

Comment #38

dpoly1 — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 18:46:11 GMT

Comment #37

LottoMetro — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 17:11:21 GMT

lol.....I think the days of fair bet jackpots are over.....

Advertised annuity would be roughly $1.5 billion before the after-tax cash could be considered fair bet

There was a paper written several years ago, forget the author, but he derived a constant for rollover jackpot games that determines the optimal prize/sales which maximizes the expectation for all players. For the new PB it is roughly when 1.1 billion tickets have been sold, or a cash jackpot around $745 million far beneath the... [ More ]

Comment #36

travelintrucker — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 15:54:44 GMT

That would suck

Comment #35

Prob988 — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 15:26:56 GMT

In spite of all the enthusiasm for it, the real record set by this lottery sequence is the lowest ever observed expectation values for jackpots exceeding 300 million annuity. For this drawing it is a very, very, very, very modest 0.51, meaning it's not even close to a good bet.

Before the massive worsening of odds in both MM and Powerball, expectation values were often in the range of 0.9 (close to Casino odds) and even from time to time exceeded 1.00.

Calculating sales expectations from... [ More ]

Comment #34

Saylorgirl — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 13:52:06 GMT

I think Maryland has had a good piece of that pie. If you look back at Todd's original story you will see in the top 25 jackpots Maryland took spots #1, #8 and #21.

Happy New Year

Comment #33

erdie — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 12:47:16 GMT

It would be great to see the funds split up more often and Maryland and Washington DC included, hey lottery post Maryland wants a slice of the pie too

Comment #32

BBLL — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 04:18:50 GMT

I want to go to key west

Comment #31

LottoMetro — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 03:56:58 GMT

$400+ million if no winner Saturday.......

Not sure if they are projecting high on purpose (self-fulfilling prophecy) or if these are legitimate expectations. Given that, I would now estimate 3-4 weeks to reach the big B.

Comment #30

Coin Toss — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 23:53:10 GMT

Just for fun- PB alternate ending-

The jp keeps rolling over until it gets to with a couple of thousand dollars of the much anticipated $1B mark and then because 'an official' is about to sing like a canary the MUSL pulls the plug on PB.

Comment #29

hearsetrax — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 22:59:28 GMT

same to you too,Dpoly1

lets hope 2016 will be a lucky year 4 all of us

'cept for the whiners and trolls

Comment #28

dpoly1 — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 22:44:43 GMT

Happy New Year to all

Comment #27

jjtheprince — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 21:40:16 GMT

It won't be won until EVERY possible number combination is sold, bank on it.

Comment #26

GGStarlings — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 20:40:30 GMT

Oh, at least a month. In the endlessly sunny season, preferred.

But would there be wifi for electronically reporting such states of bliss to the Lottery Post forum

Comment #25

GGStarlings — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 20:36:07 GMT

OH YES. Get a duplicate while you're at it.

Comment #24

Bleudog101 — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 20:23:14 GMT

Yes, saw it on the local and national news today. I think my favorites are from Manhattan showing hordes of people buying tickets, though hadn't seen that yet. Good Luck and Happy New Year

Comment #23

Bleudog101 — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 20:21:56 GMT

Yes, saw it on the local and national news today. Good luck and Happy New Year

Comment #22

Redd55 — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 19:29:44 GMT

That's the difference between you and me -- I dont want to unnecessarily give money to the gov so they can waste it. I could find much better uses for it charity wise. I love how some people always have a bug up their butts about how others spend their imaginary winnings. smh

Comment #21

Erzulieredeyes — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 19:11:49 GMT

Who cares about property taxes when you've won Powerball/Mega Millions at the estimated prize amount they are advertised at right now.

You must already live in a mansion if you're worried about property taxes after winning millions.

Ohio has very high property taxes. If I won I would buy a nice luxury home and could pay the property taxes off in advance for the next 30 years and still go on vacation, set up a charity, buy brand new cars and still have the majority of my millions left.... [ More ]

Comment #20

BBLL — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 18:55:02 GMT

taxes are high

Comment #19

Redd55 — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 18:48:16 GMT

My desires are modest. Someone won the CA SuperLotto Sat so it dropped down to the starting amount of 7 mil. I went ahead and bought one ticket and what do you know someone won again last night. 7 mil translate into about 2.2 mil take home. Nothing to sniff at. I wd be more than happy with a modest home and a new car. If I won PB or Mega, I would buy a nicer house (but not too much nicer - property taxes are horrible), a truck and a car, take a vacation, and then set up charities.

Comment #18

KY Floyd — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 18:43:17 GMT

On the one hand I really appreciate the appeal of that idea, but I'm not sure I'd want to deal with the inconveniences. Unless you're planning on a short camping trip you'll need an adequate power supply, a suitable source/supply of water, and you'll need to replenish food on a regular basis. They certainly aren't insurmountable problems, and the idea is obviously predicated on having plenty of money to pay the bills, but they're hassles you need to deal with.

Perhaps the real kicker is that... [ More ]

Comment #17

travelintrucker — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 18:41:39 GMT

Is Powerball starting to get air time on tv? Has everyone started jumping in the game

Comment #16

lejardin — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 18:29:10 GMT

Some place warm for several months, just disappear, maybe Tahiti.

Happy New Year LP members. And of course, Good Luck for the next two major games

Comment #15

rcbbuckeye — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 18:08:18 GMT

I tell my wife that we would be buying a private island in the Caribbean.

Comment #14

hearsetrax — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 18:02:41 GMT

I think I'd rent a private island for a month once a year

Comment #13

music* — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 17:50:26 GMT

Somewhere in California. Along the Coast or into the Sierra Mountain range.

Comment #12

BBLL — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 17:39:11 GMT

Where would you guys go on vacation at

Comment #11

Saylorgirl — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 17:16:55 GMT

I never have and never will give lottery tickets as a gift. I also do not want to receive them as a gift

Comment #10

maximumfun — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 16:12:06 GMT

Excellent idea. I'm not sure I would remember to do it though.

Happy New Years

Comment #9

music* — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 16:05:21 GMT

If that Christmas gift was a winner then you would have a friend for life.

How nice and quiet the previous winners have been. Very little news about them in the media. They have learned from the past. One exception is Eddie Tipton.

Enjoy the New Year everybody

Comment #8

HoLeeKau — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 15:41:02 GMT

EEks! If I ever bought tickets for someone else, I'd make sure to play the same numbers for myself.

Comment #7

ThatScaryChick — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 15:39:04 GMT

Can you imagine buying a Powerball/Mega Millions ticket for someone for Christmas and it winning

Comment #6

Todd — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 15:34:14 GMT

Probably a lot of Christmas gift tickets in the previous drawing.

Comment #5

Teddi — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 15:13:48 GMT

hmmm. Ordinarily I would be ecstatic about a jackpot (CV) this high. However, can someone please post the ticket sales for the last 7 days to get the figures for the last two drawings?

I'm trying to figure out how the JP can have a $45 million jump from 255 to 300, but then fall back to a $34 million jump when the JP is higher.

At this point in the game, each increase is always bigger than the previous jump. $9 million less equates to a big drop in sales from the week before.

Comment #4

hearsetrax — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 14:32:01 GMT

should be most curious to see whar both pots are headed

Comment #3

Bleudog101 — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 14:02:36 GMT

Same to you!

Am thinking if Mega Millions is won tomorrow night, the Powerball will jump up even faster.

Comment #2

gocart1 — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 13:51:00 GMT

Opps. Sorry. Happy New Year

Comment #1

gocart1 — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 13:49:37 GMT

Wow. What a great way to start the new year off. So will it roll over again ? And how many times will it roll over.

$334 MILLION: Powerball jackpot rolls into the new year

Lottery Post — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 13:24:54 GMT

By Todd Northrop

This Saturday, lottery players will have the chance to buy tickets for the largest Powerball jackpot of the year.

Of course, it's also the first Powerball jackpot of the year.

Kidding aside, when nobody won last night's $301.8 million jackpot, the new Powerball jackpot estimate for Sat., Jan. 2, grew to $334 million, which is the largest jackpot for the popular multi-state game since Feb. 2015.

The lump-sum cash payout value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is $205 mi... [ More ]