Except for the 14 million dollar difference in the cash value, MM and PB are almost equivalent.Prev TopicNext Topic

• Prob988

  

  New Jersey
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  Feb 26, 2010, 4:46 am

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  Annuity PB:  $95M.   Cash:  $46.1M

  Annuity MM:  $99M  Cash $60.6M

  And the odds, of course, for PB, are much, much, much worse.

  The annuity value of either is a case of false advertising but PB is worse than MM.

   

  
• Guru101

  

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  Feb 26, 2010, 5:18 pm

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  In response to Prob988

  Quote: Originally posted by Prob988 on Feb 26, 2010

  Annuity PB:  $95M.   Cash:  $46.1M

  Annuity MM:  $99M  Cash $60.6M

  And the odds, of course, for PB, are much, much, much worse.

  The annuity value of either is a case of false advertising but PB is worse than MM.

   

  

  It's not false advertising. What a lot of people seem to realize is that the jackpot prize itself is an annuity. Meaning the prize itself is payed over some number of payments in some number of years. It's that annuity amount that is advertised.

  Look at the advertised Powerball and Mega Millions amounts - annuities. Look at the advertised state lottos - annuities. Annuities are not something new. They've been around for a long time. So when someone plays a jackpot game, it's their responsibility to research the game and know what the prizes are.

  The cash option is what the lottery has in cash to pay you in full TODAY, which they make available to you. Again, the cash option is exactly that: an option. Not only is it an option, it is a SECONDARY option. How do I know this? Because the DEFAULT is the annuity. The jackpot winner(s) usually have 60 days to decide whether they want the annuity or cash. If they don't make their decision within that time period, the prize is DEFAULTED to the annuity.

  Also, Powerball's cash option isn't "worse" than Mega Millions. It's paid over a longer period of time and the payments gradually increase. In other words Powerball is able to achieve a higher annuity with less cash because of the way it's structured. One must not assume that the cash value will be such and such % of the annuity in every jackpot game. How the game is structured plays a big role with the jackpot amounts available.

  Gonna win.
• ryanm

  

  Morrison, IL
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  Feb 27, 2010, 11:27 am

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  I agree, Powerball's cash option really isn't "worse" than Mega Millions', because they both roll at about the same rate now ever since they began cross-selling.  Before they began cross-selling, Mega Millions' cash jackpot rolls were quite larger than Powerball's, and Mega Millions' annuity jackpot rolls even outpaced Powerball's then.

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• Prob988

  

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  Feb 28, 2010, 4:50 am

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  Well, it seems very obvious to me, even if you buy bonds - which is what the lottery does, and which may prove useless at some point  - that an investment that initially involves less than $50 million is not equivalent to one that is $60 million.
• JWBlue

  

  San Diego, CA
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  Feb 28, 2010, 3:06 pm

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  Why haven't the jackpost been going up more?  It seems the increases are about the same as they were before they both gained states.