Nobody needs it, but it's a question of what you could do with it. That $105 million they advertise is about (for me) $38 million after taxes. Right now, putting that in a safe investment might result in an annual after tax income of "only" $660,000. I've got no use for extravagance, and even indulging in a goodly amount of travel I can't imagine actually spending more than 250 to 300k, but there are plenty of other things I'd like to be able to do.
It wouldn't take an hour to think of charitable uses for the remaining 350 to 400k, but I'd also like to be able to share with friends and family. A lot of the travel, and most of the local activities I'd be interested in, are more fun with a few friends along. Given enough, I'd make sure that a few family members and at least 2 friends were also set for life, and I'd make sure that a few other friends could afford any of the trips I'd want them to join me on.
That said, I'd be extremely unlikely to buy a ticket for a game with odds so high that prizes of a billion were anything other than a once in a lifetime fluke. As is, if MM is in the 20 to 30 range and lotto is 10 to 20 I'll concentrate on that. An enormous prize would be nice, but even though all of the odds are unrealistic, I'd rather take my chances on lower odds for enough to be very comfortably retired.
FWIW, I'd guess that a jackpot with odds in the 1 in a billion range would mosty appeal to people with serious ego or self esteem issues, ala David Edwards. The only good thing I could say about that type of game, is that even some of the more infamous winners losers might not have had a hard time squandering a net of $250 million.
