$654 MILLION: Mega Millions lottery jackpot skyrockets

Comment #125

hearsetrax — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 16:21:43 GMT

getting into spooky territory now jejejeje

Comment #124

VIP3772 — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 16:15:28 GMT

The estimated jackpot for tonight's drawing is $667M now and if there's no winner tonight the estimated jackpot for Friday will be $868.

Good luck to every one

Comment #123

CDanaT — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 13:00:46 GMT

That makes 2 of us..better share that cake, it ain't a buffet

Comment #122

maximumfun — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 06:53:56 GMT

YAY! I WIN! (no not the lottery) I'm one of the 15%-ers!!! whoo-hoo! time for some cake

Comment #121

paymentplan-man — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 04:39:53 GMT

MAYBE 15% of the world's population today was old enough to play the lottery back then

Im 100% confused on if you are agreeing with me or not. We both said that most of the world's population was not old enough to have played the lottery so.......................

Comment #120

Kingofearth — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 01:22:20 GMT

Curtis Sharp won in 1982 which was 36 years ago. The world's median age is 29. The majority of earth's population was not even alive back in the prehistoric paleolithic time of his win. MAYBE 15% of the world's population today was old enough to play the lottery back then (Born 1964 or earlier).

Comment #119

paymentplan-man — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 00:04:36 GMT

Yes lawd please. I don't know why people want to see super huge jackpots. Theres a certain point where you reach the I have more money than I would ever need category. We have certainly reached that point. Now every draw sets me back 2-10 more bucks. For clarification I only play when the pot gets really big. $450 M

Comment #118

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 23:33:10 GMT

Haha, sorry about that. I never meant to imply that you were for or against it. I was just commenting on bonds. But, since I copied your comment I can see why you'd think I was scolding you, lol.

Comment #117

Coin Toss — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 23:30:01 GMT

I hope they both get hit tonight and tomorrow night before the insanity increases.

Comment #116

paymentplan-man — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 22:41:55 GMT

Uh ......................I never said to invest in bonds. In fact I'm against it. Sooooooooooooooooo not sure if you're replying to me or just making a general comment

Comment #115

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 22:18:32 GMT

I don't care for bonds of any kind, personally. They are safe, sure, but let's say you invest $50M in bonds @6%, $3M/year minus taxes for the term of the bond. At the end of the term you get your $50M back, only by now $50M isn't worth the same as it was when you invested it due to inflation. Therefore, you weren't really earning $3M/year minus taxes, you were actually spending some of your principal every year as it deflates. I'd rather buy solid dividend paying stocks (General Mills, Procter G... [ More ]

Comment #114

paymentplan-man — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 21:44:48 GMT

What's the equivalent ...less than 20Million. Sports players, entertainment icons, and trust fund babies have blown through more. Im just saying that compared to people who lost more that title doesn't really fit. Especially since its from a time when a majority of the worlds population was to young to even play the lottery. You can't be the most famous of something when someone has surpassed you by such a large margin. Even back then when the article was made there were lotto winners with 9 fig... [ More ]

Comment #113

paymentplan-man — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 21:40:45 GMT

The only thing about this is that the amount you get with municipal bonds can easily be beaten. The interest rates are usually the smallest in terms of investing which makes sense, they are after all typically safe and come interest free (as long as they are within your state) For a real time representaion lets say you invest 50million through municipal bonds (10 years) at a interest rate of 3%. That means you make 1.5 million. Then next year you invest 50 million using insert investment with a

Comment #112

Original Bey — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 21:31:32 GMT

Close to 4 decades ago. 5 million in the 80s is nothing to sneeze at by any means,

Comment #111

paymentplan-man — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 21:28:50 GMT

Oh wow county's most famous . That headline seems a bit over the top. Especially since its a name I've never heard of before nor can I recognize it. When I hear about famous lottery winners it has to be someone who won a lot or did something super crazy. Blowing 5 million (less after taxes) doesn't seem like something that's hard to accomplish. Stupid yes but quite easy.

Comment #110

MsBee18 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 21:21:13 GMT

Mega Millions are aggressive with their rollovers as of recent. People are buying tickets. I plan to purchase five or 10 lines with Megaplier tomorrow. Mega Million sales typically lag behind PB 2:1 in typical draws. I'm sure PB is stealing a considerable amount from MM considering how high PB is. But an increase of $106 Million from the last MM draw is not too shabby.

Comment #109

hearsetrax — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 20:27:51 GMT

Comment #108

Original Bey — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 20:01:42 GMT

A lot of players might be plunking down their coins across both games - Powerball and Mega Millions. If MM rolls over and PB is won Wednesday, it will be a wild ride to Friday

Comment #107

Coin Toss — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 19:44:15 GMT

I think jj is actually the guy that was known as Baghdad Bob.

Comment #106

Bleudog101 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 19:24:41 GMT

Are you sure? I think MUSL would dispute your claim. The media will no doubt report on one state or another that X number of tickets were sold/minute.

I think that if Powerball wasn't way up there I'd agree with you on slower Megamillions ticket sales.

Seriously doubt they'll up the jackpot. Why would/should they

Comment #105

Kingofearth — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 19:19:41 GMT

Comment #104

jjtheprince14 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 19:17:36 GMT

No increase yet...no one is buying tickets.

Comment #103

MsBee18 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 18:53:12 GMT

Back in 2007, LP reported that her salary salary is just over $64,000 a year. She's probably in close to six figures now. https://www.lotterypost.com/news/150025

Comment #102

music* — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 17:40:16 GMT

Thank You TheMeatman2005. We should look ahead and think about what our lives will be like thirty years in the future. Especially after winning.

Lou Eisenberg and Curtis Sharp have taught me many lessons.

Comment #101

Bleudog101 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 15:42:05 GMT

She's a hoot for sure and a huge asset to the New York lottery. Wonder what her salary is and I'm sure Miguel has long since retired as a police officer.

Comment #100

Bleudog101 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 15:38:59 GMT

Thanks TheMeatman2005; I knew somebody changed light bulbs and he checked his ticket @ the WTC. Sometimes my brain cells kick in.

Comment #99

TheMeatman2005 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 15:11:01 GMT

http://www.wicz.com/story/38218089/im-yolanda-vega-lottery-queen-does-more-than-announce-the-numbers

Story on Yolanda Vega

Comment #98

TheMeatman2005 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 15:07:48 GMT

Country's most famous lottery winner is now living off his pension, Social Security checks

A story about Curtis Sharp

Comment #97

TheMeatman2005 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 14:46:11 GMT

Bleudog101 et al these are are links and videos of the NYS Lottery first $5 mil winners.

Lou Eisenberg and Curtis Sharp.

Both of them went broke. Let's not make the same mistakes they made if/when we win!

CLICK TO READ Once famous lottery winner now broke

Comment #96

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 14:35:14 GMT

Yep, that's another strategy... If a fella didn't mind the work involved, he could invest in multi-family apartment buildings. The income is mostly depreciated, and when he sells one of the buildings he can roll the profit into a 1039 exchange and defer the tax bill indefinitely, as long as he invests it into another apartment deal of greater value.

Comment #95

TheMeatman2005 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 14:28:20 GMT

Or you can invest it in triple tax free municipal bonds. Then there is no tax on any of the interest at all.

Comment #94

Original Bey — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 13:11:58 GMT

Que rico!

December 3rd here!

#SagLife

Comment #93

Bleudog101 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 13:10:21 GMT

Looked her up, forgot she's a double nickel baby like me and birthday five days before mine. WTG Sagittarians

Comment #92

Original Bey — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:57:52 GMT

Yes. Amidst all the hype this is a much needed sobering perspective. Some people have played for decades. To win and screw it up would be heartbreaking. I expect that from an occasional player though not an LP member. #FingersCrossed

Comment #91

Original Bey — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:51:41 GMT

She has a wonderful energy as though she herself were the winner. Love that.

Comment #90

Original Bey — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:50:14 GMT

Comment #89

Bleudog101 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:42:15 GMT

Scrolling through FB and there was Gio in a clip on GMA (today?) talking about MM jackpot.

Oh Original Bey...loved that Yolanda Vega was in the first clip. New York really hit the jackpot on choosing her for that fun job.

Comment #88

Bleudog101 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:20:07 GMT

Cool to watch. That guy about 1/3 way through, didn't he say he's a millionaire and didn't have to change light bulbs anymore? I think he was the guy who changed light bulbs in the twin towers in NYC and won I think $5 million. Always wondered what happened to him.

Times certainly have changed. Folks almost seem to yawn @ these sky high jackpots. Not me and love the media coverage pre-drawing.

Thank you Original Bey for posting this youtube clip.

Comment #87

CDanaT — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:18:13 GMT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cRNWf1-AmY

This was a follow up to your video and it sounded logical

There was also another follow up to this video and it mentioned claiming via lottery trust then creating a bridge trust to have access to your funds and protect your identity....Haven't heard of that method/option before...

Choices, choices.... Nice to have options and learn about them

Comment #86

Original Bey — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:04:15 GMT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcsdSx7NecA

Comment #85

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 11:58:54 GMT

If the winner can get their ( his/her is grammatically correct, but I'll use their since it sounds less clunky, lol) ducks in a row in time, they can turn in their ticket a couple of days before the election, that way the announcement would be stifled by all the shouting and politicking

Comment #84

maximumfun — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 11:50:25 GMT

Hopefullly MM will keep rolling to your 700+ beyond, that way I can sneak in there and win PB and no one will notice.

Comment #83

Bleudog101 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 11:44:11 GMT

Groppo, if not won Tuesday then there's a chance that combining the two lotteries it would come to $1.25 billion.

As for Mega Millions alone, there is no way MUSL would increase it to $1.25 billion by Friday. Not going to happen. Now in a month of Fridays--MAYBE.

Comment #82

weshar75 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 04:04:39 GMT

Mega Millions is a slow roller so I think that it will have to not be won to roll past $700 million to Friday night.-weshar75

Comment #81

noise-gate — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 03:54:55 GMT

Your curiosity is well founded RG. Look at it this way, the Federal Govt is going after ANY revenue that is generated. In the case of a jackpot win, they come for their cut, which is inescapable. That total is * 37%

When the money your millions that you have in the bank generates interest, they interested in that interest as well, since it is money earned. Hope that helps.

The Feds

Comment #80

Groppo — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 03:52:44 GMT

.

Wander73, I'm going to guess, if it's not won by Tue., then we could see +1.25 billion, on Fri..

I, for one, tell everyone to play, when it gets this high.

I'd like to know that everyone does the same.

We are all just too greedy.

Mr. Groppo

Comment #79

wander73 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 03:42:45 GMT

It I think will go to $700. The question is this. If no winning ticket will it go to $800.

Comment #78

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 02:12:52 GMT

They used to scrap them. They said they turned them into razor blades. The Forrestal would sure make a lot of razor blades, lol

Comment #77

RGebhard55 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 02:09:01 GMT

I wonder whatever happened to it. What do they do with old ships that get decommissioned

Comment #76

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 02:06:17 GMT

Haha, too funny! Yeah, I went to Hull Maintenance Technician training there to get my Fireman rating. In training we watched videos about the Forrestal, during Viet Nam it took some serious damage and snip near burned to the waterline. They had to push aircraft off the deck into the ocean!

This post has been automatically changed by the Lottery Post computer system to remove inappropriate content and/or spam.

Comment #75

RGebhard55 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 02:02:26 GMT

LOL. Yeah if anything i have a tough choice to make when i am in the mood for a ch steak. There are so many great places to get them. i have 2 within a mile of my house. I used to work at the yard for a few jobs back in the early 80s. I worked on the USS Forrestal, I was surprised when i saw it in the news recently about John McCain. I was like Hey i worked on that !! Small world.

I cleaned up a couple of barges and worked on a destroyer we were giving to Pakistan. We were welding and pulling... [ More ]

Comment #74

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 02:01:01 GMT

Nope, they can only take them out for that one year, after that it's yours to keep. You can invest it, or keep it under your mattress and they cannot touch it. But if you invest it, whatever money you make from those investment is taxable. Invest it in conservative stocks that pay dividends, or in mutual funds, and the money it earns will be taxed at the lowest rates.

Comment #73

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 01:56:56 GMT

Hey, it looks like we used to be neighbors ;) Back in '90 '91 I was stationed at the Navy base in Philly. I miss those cheese steaks

Comment #72

RGebhard55 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 01:55:36 GMT

I am curious about one thing, Once they take out Fed and State taxes the first time, Do they continue to take them out year after year ? Do they go after the interest it generates in the bank

Comment #71

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 01:53:01 GMT

Haha, you might still need to clip coupons to make ends meet... Since the federal tax cut, I just figure the cash option x .58 to allow for both state and federal taxes. In this drawing it would come out to $216,000,000. Remember, the lottery takes out 24% for federal taxes, but you'd still owe 13% more come tax time, plus state taxes. I'd put 10% of that into a charitable foundation, so that would reduce the taxable basis a little bit.

Comment #70

cbr$ — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 01:52:08 GMT

I'm almost ready to take that nice two hour trip to purchase a few of ticket.

For both games. Let it roll.

Comment #69

RGebhard55 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 01:30:12 GMT

I'd love to be below 5%. I live in NJ 8%. So they cut deep in my lotto pie. I think my take home amount is around 253m after both federal and state. I think i might be able to scrape by with that total.

Comment #68

lowellm — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 01:21:14 GMT

At the current bond rates, the jackpot would need to be around $3.1B before I (an Illinois taxpayer, 4.95%) would clear $1B after taxes. I've always said, I'll either win big, or not at all! So far I've kept that promise

Comment #67

noise-gate — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 01:10:09 GMT

I couldn't have said It better myself TMM.

Comment #66

RGebhard55 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 01:03:11 GMT

I'm sure this has been said a lot but if i dont win i want to see it grow. We already have seen a 1.5 billion prize. I want to see 2 billion. And i want to see one person win it. Also, id like to be that person. Just throwing it out there to the Lotto Gods if they are listening.

Comment #65

Artist77 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 01:00:46 GMT

With the megaplier or power play. Lol

Comment #64

music* — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 00:45:49 GMT

Comment #63

TheMeatman2005 — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 00:35:22 GMT

And all we have to do to look for fortunes is to go down to the corner convenience store and say.... One Mega Millions and one Power Ball ticket please

Comment #62

noise-gate — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 23:20:54 GMT

...and l read somewhere that just off the Namibian coast, they are dredging for diamonds LL. In desperate times, one sometimes has to look to far off lands for fortunes.

Comment #61

noise-gate — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 23:10:36 GMT

Yes l am Teddi. The pics above are of the Seychelles. I expect to visit your homeland as well throw a few coins in the local fountain.Btw- where have you been? When l don't see certain posts from members of LP, l sometimes fear the worst. However Look all around, there's nothing but blues skies, Look straight ahead....

Comment #60

LottoLucy — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 21:06:54 GMT

Hmmm, like the first person to win from a country in southern Africa? That kind of history?

It would give an interesting spin to the coastal theory making the rounds.

Comment #59

TheMeatman2005 — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 20:23:04 GMT

Let's just say.... To be determined

Comment #58

paymentplan-man — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 19:46:33 GMT

I really hope not the higher it the greater chance of more than one winner which means one person could have just won it weeks ago so that the rest of us don't go insane with lottery fever

Comment #57

Bilionario — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 19:42:18 GMT

No problem at all mate,I just have a sneaky feeling that this jackpot is going to make history...

Comment #56

Teddi — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 18:38:38 GMT

Now you're talking.

Comment #55

music* — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 18:37:04 GMT

Teddi, You might enjoy the first show listed for 1 pm. PDST. It will feature Rick and Lori Knudsen who won $180 million here in California.

Comment #54

dpoly1 — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 18:33:06 GMT

Awesome

Comment #53

Teddi — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 18:31:41 GMT

The first few episodes in the series were good, after that, everyone they featured were people who only won $1 million or less. After taxes, what is left to buy a house means the houses are no different than what we see on House Hunters. Made me lose interest. Especially considering how the show is billed.

Reminds me of that lottery documentary that was done where all the winners still lived in their old homes, still drove their old cars, still clipped coupons, still bought their belongings

Comment #52

Teddi — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 18:20:21 GMT

And the problem with that would be what exactly

Comment #51

Teddi — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 18:01:16 GMT

Are you still planning on doing the Seychelles and Madagascar

Comment #50

music* — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 17:43:36 GMT

Same here on Pacific Time 1 pm - 3 pm. HGTV Thank You Original Bey

Comment #49

hearsetrax — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 17:17:47 GMT

Comment #48

noise-gate — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 16:46:12 GMT

Kinda reminds me of my experience in a neighboring city, when the jackpot was over a billion. A jackpot counter hogger, oh my..

Comment #47

Original Bey — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 16:38:34 GMT

My Lottery Dream Home airs at 1pm EDT on HGTV today.

Comment #46

dpoly1 — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 16:23:01 GMT

My Curmudgeonmobile

Comment #45

lowellm — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 15:36:40 GMT

You're sure welcome, music*! Down state Illinois is a whole other world compared to Chicago (although Chicago is a surprisingly friendly city to visit, I must say!) Best of Luck to you, as well

Comment #44

music* — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 15:31:24 GMT

lowellm, Thank You for the positive stories. Especially originating from ILLINOIS. I only hear bad news from Chicago. Good Luck

Comment #43

lowellm — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 15:09:16 GMT

In my little town (pop 2500, give or take) there are three men who have won million dollar plus jackpots (actually, one was $1000/week for life, but that was more than 20 years ago, so it's officially a million plus by now) and I see one of these guys in the store where I always get my gas, coffee, and tickets. He's always got a fistful of scratch-offs to turn in for redemption, and he shoots the breeze with the clerk and anyone who stops in. When a customer comes in, he'll step aside and let th... [ More ]

Comment #42

CDanaT — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 14:44:13 GMT

I would have held out for donuts !!! 1 chocolate and 1 plain and none of those fufu ones either

Comment #41

Bleudog101 — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 14:33:45 GMT

You might not have won the lottery, but won the patient person award. My mouth would have said 'Eff this' and left or went to the self service lottery machine if your state/store has them.

Comment #40

maximumfun — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 14:27:12 GMT

I went out to purchase a (1) ticket for Tues and Wednesday and had the fortune to stand behind a woman who was running 20-ish slips through the machine. 1 line per slip and then verified each slip to the ticket and THEN had her grandson verify that her verification was correct. I had plenty of time to drink my coffee, and go back and get a refill (clerk told us all to go ahead and get refills cuz this was a weekly outing for this family. The man behind me was disappointed I only got 1 pick per g... [ More ]

Comment #39

paymentplan-man — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 14:13:09 GMT

Not enough pennies in the us for this though. you figure there's at max 2 trillion pennies although that's being generous. 2Trillion pennies is just 20Million. Sorry I ruined your joke

Comment #38

mauvanilla — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 13:59:09 GMT

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.

Comment #37

lottologix — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 13:38:37 GMT

If I were to win the jackpot I would ask for it all in unwrapped hand counted pennies

Comment #36

Bleudog101 — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 10:56:05 GMT

That's a Teaser there music*...999 million...Notice MM or PB hasn't upped the ante @ all so we may be stuck there.

Second tier prizes won in MI NE for Powerball, so much for the coastal theory though it does seem to apply to the top tier prize.

Comment #35

music* — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 08:45:20 GMT

You are generous and thoughtful. How big of a commission? or tip?

Thank You for the update on the $999,000,000.00 It may reach a billion dollars before the draws.

Comment #34

TheMeatman2005 — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 08:30:41 GMT

I used LP's Quick Picks Generator for 5 sets for each game.

If I win, don't worry Todd, you will get a commission.

Comment #33

TheMeatman2005 — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 08:25:45 GMT

No winner in Power Ball last night so now the total up for grabs is $999 mil

MM $654 PB $345

Comment #32

noise-gate — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 01:26:39 GMT

And here...l couldn't help myself.

Comment #31

noise-gate — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 01:11:42 GMT

This is where l will be, should l bag this baby.

Comment #30

lowellm — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 01:11:30 GMT

I love this quote! Write your goals down each and every day, keep your eyes open for opportunity when it smiles upon you, recognize and act upon it, and surround yourself with advisors to teach and guide you on your way.

Comment #29

noise-gate — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 00:49:32 GMT

Reading your post music had me assuming that you had come into the possession of a palantir gazed into it...

l picked out a bank, may delay my claiming day, get my legal and financial ducks in order, l will need a personal loan to tide me over until l get the check. - Impressive to say the least.

Which reminds me of this quote.

Optimists have a tendency to make lemonade out of lemons, and to then see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. It's an admirable quality, one that ca... [ More ]

Comment #28

Coin Toss — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 00:00:04 GMT

Best Weird Al ever!

One more minute, you've got to love the words........

I burned down the malt shop where we used to go

just because it reminds me of you

too bad it never played on radio;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhpk-8QLFQ

Comment #27

music* — Sat, 13 Oct 2018 23:56:59 GMT

I am ready. I picked out the Hotel, Bank, and Post Office that I will need.

I may delay my claiming day in order to get a Living Revocable Trust and an LLC Limited Liability Company. Plus insurance. Get my Legal and Financial ducks in order.

I will need a personal loan to tide me over until I get the check. Don't worry I will not do what David Lee Edwards did and go to Las Vegas with a $200,000.00 loan.

Comment #26

Bleudog101 — Sat, 13 Oct 2018 23:28:11 GMT

Certainly won't be the first time, though best of my knowledge not for this amount. One in Florida and one in Oregon in recent memory.