Group of 20 Costco workers will share massive prize
By Todd Northrop
A group of Costco employees were very happy Thursday morning — and very rich.
After 10 consecutive drawings passed with no top-prize winner, the multi-state Powerball jackpot stood at $200 million Wednesday evening. The winning numbers drawn were 8, 18, 38, 46 and 56, with Powerball number 31 and Power Play number 4.
One ticket sold at Maulik & Chandni stationery store at 496 W. Montauk Hwy. in Lindenhurst, Long Island, matched all five numbers plus the Powerball to win the entire pot.
After all the proceeds were counted, the final jackpot number stood at $201.9 million. The cash value of that prize was not immediately available Thursday.
According to local newspaper Newsday, the winners of the jackpot are a group of 20 employees, all of whom work at the Costco store on Route 110 in Melville, Long Island. The winning ticket is said to be a Quick Pick.
A news conference was originally planned for Thursday morning at the Costco store, but was later cancelled because all of the winning employees would not be able to attend.
One employee who was not in the winning pool, Marisol Taveras of Copiague, said she had spoken to one of the winners. "She said she is going to keep working," Taveras said. "Everything is still the same."
A Costco shopper at the store Thursday morning commented, "It's good for them. I wish I was in it myself." The shopper, identified as Mario Aves of Bay Shore, said he doubts if he'd work if he'd won. "I think if it was me, I'd just pack it in."
In addition to the jackpot winners from New York, 11 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $200,000 prize: 2 from Connecticut, 1 from Delaware, 2 from New Jersey, 2 from New York, 1 from North Carolina, 1 from Ohio, 1 from Tennessee, and 1 from Washington.
The North Carolina ticket, as well as one of the tickets sold in Connecticut, were purchased with the Power Play option, upgrading their prizes to $1 million each. Power Play costs an extra $1 per ticket.
The new jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing is $20 million.
For people playing online, the Power Play option is available for the first time Saturday.
The winning numbers for Powerball are published minutes after each drawing at USA Mega. Drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
Congrats to all the winners, Enjoy.
Congratulations winners! WTG all!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
E-N-J-O-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish them great success in their winnings. However, Im always saddened by people wether a group or individual, who jump out there within hours or days after a life changing event. It only brings added stress and tensions not only to their lives and their loved ones. This is the time to gather in private with family, advisors and devise a new life.
You know del, I agree with you without discord, however, 2 things you have to understand:
1. Human excitement (trust me, the brain and senses take a french leave in some cases)
2. The urge to shout to the world "I'm rich, I'm free and my boss can stuff his job where the sun does not shine!"
Either of those sound familiar to you?
I run a pool at my work, and one of the guys there always tells me if we win he is out of there in a second.
I would wait til we got all our ducks in a row before I left.
The only time I think its smart to come forward is when its a big pool. Get the facts out as quick as possible before other so called "co workers" decide to lawyer up and say they were part of it.
Very smart planning on your part rcbbuckeye however, NEVER understimate the power of human emotions. Say for example, you had a terrible day at work say on a Wednesday Afternoon, you went home, checked your ticket that night and found out you won, let's say.....$319,000,000.
I can tell you with full conviction that you would love to deliver the good/bad news (depends on who the recipient of the said news is), in person, via a loudspeaker, in a ferrari (make sure you have your lawyer present).
But that is just my view of the human psyche, nothing bad really, just human nature.
GYM, you are the second coming of Darwin, smart response!
Congratulations, this $201.9 Million advertised annuity amount is a tidy prize for each of the 20 lottery pool players! Sure is a very large lottery pool! After the 49% annuity to lump sum value, AND another 44% fed and state tax deductions, should leave each of the 20 lottery pool members with approximately $2.9 Million each!!!
This $2.9 Million amount is probably enough for the solo, and married without children members to not have to remain at Costco if desired. Could switch to the business of instead living off the interest received if each can put 15% of money into at least 4% earning checking or savings account and 80% of the money into self-directed financial account that's investments consistently earns them 36%+/interest within every three years (tax lien certificates, tax deed sales, options w/insurance trades).
Fascinating choices and lifestyle modifications ahead for all 20 winners!
"money into at least 4% earning checking or savings account"
you know a bank that's offering 4% interest on a checking or savings account? Please let me know the name of the bank. I'm barely making 0.9% APY on my savings account.
NY again? Not NY and then CA....Not CA and then NY. I'm quit !
Awww, Tony, don't throw in the towel so quickly. Every dog has his day in the sun. Who knows, maybe YOU might be the lucky winner.
30 year governmesnt bonds will give 4%.
No thanks. 4% interest to have my money locked in for 30 years doesn't seem worth it to me. I'd use my savings to buy Powerball tickets before I'd put it in a 30 year government bond.
I thought HaveABall might have a secret FDIC insured bank that magically offered 4% APY on a savings account when it seems like every bank under the sun only offers about 1%.
I always wonder...if you win the lottery in a pool, how do you sign the back of the winning ticket?
Hmmm, good question, have the lawyer sign it or appoint a representative from the pool who will sign the ticket on behalf of the group?
everyone signs their name extra teeny-tiny, so everyone's signiture fits on the back of the winning ticket.
They probably collect it in a trust or LLC. Even if one dishonest person from the group tries to sign the ticket himself and then try to collect the prize on his own, the verification process takes at least 6 weeks if not more. That would be plenty of time to hire a lawyer and tell the lotto commission that ticket was purchased for the group.
the lump sum cash for each one is $3,473,178 if i was holding that ticket i will run away with lum sum of $70,000,000
new york is a big city and these guys are outta control i'm sure they will be back working at costco
It has been a while since someone from New York won .........................
I'm sure anyone who tried to pull something like that would get caught. The verification process takes at least 6 weeks. Even if someone did manage to collect the money with no one noticing, they would basically have to flee the country because if they didn't, they will get caught eventually.
There is an old article on LP about a Canadian store clerk who claimed a winning ticket for himself and was caught two years later.
Further evidence that group play is the best way to win. Congratulations to the group.
Here in Tx, the Lottery Commission will issue only one check...there is only one winner. So, it would be necessary for the group to hire an attorney and form a legal partnership. From there, I imagine the group has a bank account in which the money is deposited and then each member can withdraw his or her share.
I haven't researched it completely, but I do know that I would not claim the ticket myself because the tax liability would be on me.
Further evidence that just because you say something on the interwebs doesn't mean its true.
I once was in Brooklyn NY and saw a guy fork over $250 to buy megamillions tickets for one drawing! My Jaw dropped to the floor. Here I was thinking I was going overboard by spending $10 and this guy buys tickets the size of a sandwich so nonchalantly like as if he just bought gum! I asked the store guy whether that was common and he told me it gets even crazier when the JP rises above $250M.
After that day I am never surprised when I see winner after winner coming from over there.
NY again.
So much for spreading the wealth.
confirmation bias is true much?
If you are offering to put big money into the Millions into a credited bank you can negotiate interest rates much much higher then
the bank advertises. I'd ounce witness a wealth man negotiating fix interest up to 7 to 8 percent because he had millions to put in a CD Fix investment.
The banks are willing to do this easily when its large money coming in.
how recently was this? you know the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to almost nothing, right? Gone are the days you can put cash in a CD and earn 4% interest.
ING bank is offering 0.75% for a one year CD and 1.25% on a 5 year CD. (http://www.ingdirect.com/ocd/)
Tony I feel your pain and share part of your sentiment....New York AGAIN!!! I am glad it was a large pool that won it though because instead of it being some huge amount of money for one person, it is a fairly pedestrian $2.5million after taxes...heck I would be richer than several of them combined if I just won my little state lottery right about now come this Saturday. But I am not hatin' on the winners...just a bit vexed that it seems Cali, Indie, and NY have been hogging Mega and Powerball jackpots lately....how about some northern Illinois love for a change of pace? And I agree...I don't care how excited I would be if (when) I win the big jackpot, I would still do my due diligence in setting up my affairs first before venturing into the lottery office to claim the prize.
Funny, I never hear of anyone from California ever winning Powerball. I guess Powerball just doesn't like California
It never ceases to amaze me that peole dont understand why a PB or MM Jackpot winning ticket is frequently sold in either New York or California.
Maybe this will help; 38 million people live in California, it's the most populated state in the union. The third most populated state is New York with 19 million residents. The NY Lottery is North America’s largest and most profitable Lottery.
NY and California sell more lottery tickets than any other state with the possible exception of Texas, which is the second most populated state in the union. 25 million people live in Texas.
Better get use to it folks. JP winners will probably be sold in those two states for a many more years.
I am basically new to this blog, I live in NYC and l've been following this blog for a while now, but I never registered. Now for those that say that NY get the Jackpot all the time, you might be right, but usually the people that win it are in in Long island or Upstate NY. We in the city have won it maybe a couple of times in the last 3 years nothing more. Now I used to play 20 bucks when the price hit over 150 millions, but not anymore. To me if you are gonna win it all you need is luck and one dollar. Another reason why folks here might win it frequently is because they spend over 100 dollars all the time. California get the Mega millions all the time which to me is the better game.
The folks that won it was via Quick Pick.
um... California does not sell powerball
Actually, the amount of lottery jackpots won by single players completely eclipses thoses won by pools. If one were to apply your simplistic logic, one would conclude that it would be foolish to play in a pool. More foolish still would be to play in a pool arranged over the Internet.
Todd, I assume you meant to write "one would conclude that it would be foolish to not play in a pool".
My logic may be simplistic but I guess that is the beauty of the logic, the simplicity. One ticket gives one chance to win. One ticket in a group gives as many as 50 chances to win. No system ever devised improves one's odds 50 fold. One major qualification is to apply the logic only when the jackpot is very large like the recent $200 million Powerball jackpot. Different strokes for different folks.
Congrats to the winners.....
Welcome to the LP Carl8080.................
I used to think that the 1st of the month was a lucky day for Mega Millions (I know this was a Powerball jackpot). In 2006 and 2007, I noticed that there were a lot of jackpot winners on the 1st - or maybe I just paid more attention to the 1st than other days.
California law requires lottery prizes to be pari-mutuel. I think this might be why California hasn't adopted Powerball and why California was one of the last states to adopt Mega Millions when the two big games could not be sold in the same state.
Hey! That means it's Indiana's turn! Yay!
Clarification....I lumped CA in with my discussion of Indie and NY winning the Mega and Powerball jackpots...of course, CA only offers Mega but it seems as though if it isn't CA, NY, or Indie winning Mega Millions, then it is NY and Indie winning Powerball. Sure, Washington, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Jersey, and Idaho get in the mix to break the streak. And I noticed that when a certain NBA player took his talents to South Beach, that cold state stopped winning the Mega Millions! South Beach can have that NBA championship...I just need some "Rosey" luck with any of the jackpot games (hey real people can't be choosy when it comes to winning a few million they didn't have to begin with!).
And no...it is Indie's year off!
I missed winning the PB see my tickets, i insert them, i play not with luck but with brains, take it or leave it consider these boys lucky for their lucky dip win, which i surely missed to win, i hope i win, as i know once i win i will win for ever any lottery or keno on this earth.. or if i got a group of boys in a synidicate i will thrash all lotto for ever. see my entore games and also see how i won the austria lotto and pb the earlier draw.. its just that i limit my play as i am aware i can do it, but need money too for the risk but with money i am home for sure as can be seen here, i know the froups of 6 numbers i need to make then i have to roll the gorup of 6 to 5 number each and move each no. to the PB, hence playing pb is a fortune and with a agent its costs me finally 100 dollars for a 5 block ticket... i have missed one ticket to load.. i ignore it, this shoud be enough... i cant undertand how to use this site and how i contact members is it forbidden to contact or how to share with each other any way i use the site mainly for reducing my games and appreciate todd to call me and explain how to communicate and i cant understand what is a blog and never made a web page and so on, but i am too good with the numbers
It's nice some good old blue collar workers won, but I am sick of NY winning.
Tony, part me wants to quit too, but Can't because believe my family will win this year.
I think your not getting what I've witnessed. Yes you can negotiate even now a better rate if you have large sums of cash and
over step the advertised amount that banks have shown to the public. Also, this was 6 years ago and the person put this money away for 8 years.
But you can do close to the same thing now. You see the Banks wants the cash, remember the Bail Out.
I get what you're saying about negotiation and having cash but 6 years ago was a much different time. 2005 was long before Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve's "quantitative easing" part 1 and "quantitative easing" part 2. These days the system punishes savers more than ever and 4% on a bank CD is only a dream.
My problem is being in New York and not winning! As a previous post said how the winners in New York is either
from Upstate New York or Long Island its so so true. There are more people who live in the city of NY and plays far more
than the other New Yorks and we get left out especially the scratch offs. The million dollars scrach offs usualy goes to
people from Upstate and long Island. What up?
Dammmm - We didn't win it!!
We joked about maybe packin it in & headin to New York
LOL - try again on Saturday.........and Wednesday......and Saturday....and...and......
Congrats to the Winners!!
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Looks like these are 20 people who won't need to buy Kirkland Signature products in the near future.
Seems very odd that with how high the odds are to win the powerball that New York would win it, Three times in a row, with the Powerball being over $100 Million cash. Really doesn't make sense with as many states playing the Powerball. Could be just me but it is something I have noticed.
several jackpots have been won by pools...Proves that pools do work...
several more jackpots have been won by individuals...Proves that buying as an individual does work more...
Verification of the ticket only takes a few days max, if not hours, that number on the back of the ticket means a lot. I know of one jackpot winner who had their ticket verified within 3 days of informing their states lottery commission of their jackpot win. That was with one person, but ticket verification goes through the same thing whether it's one winner or fifty. After it's verified it takes around 2 weeks for the money to be collected from all the other states and then at that point they wire you the money.
All smart pool players will have photocopies of the tickets their group plays so they can all check to see if their tickets won and they can make a case against a person if they try to steal the ticket. Not to mention a pool contract and the person who presented the winning ticket would have their name signed on their as the groups ticket holder (again, if the pool members are smart and have adopted such a thing).
Congrats to the winners though. I'll be hoping for a MM win tonight, will definitely help out with some things and also the news will be focused on this PB win since not only was it a large jackpot but a group won so it's a good story all around.
I was going with page 3 of the California Lotto winner's handbook that says the check will be available for pick-up at your nearest district office six weeks after your claim date (http://www.calottery.com/WinnersGallery/WinnerHandbook/)
The process must be different in other states.
Ummm... I think NC has won only 2 times in the years we've had Powerball. We are probably on the bottom of list of winning states.
You know... that would be interesting... listing the states in order of how often someone wins at PB or MM.
Congrats to the winners on long island. I am not a fan of group pools , call me greedy. The way this ecomony is and way its going , its best to play solo. People say sharing is caring , i disagree when it comes down to money. I can't remember when my state NC has won the powerball . It seems like there's a dark negative enegry cloud hanging over NC. Now its been NY and CA now winners are starting to pop up like weeds on a lawn. Hopefully NC can end its drought by someone winning the next big jackpot of the PB or MM sometime soon. I feel that the lottery gods doesn't like the South. So i still have faith and i will keep the faith , and hopefully i can break this winless drought for NC.
Well I really can't afford to play solo at the moment. I'm currently playing with a friend. The plan is he gives me a dollar for every other draw I buy a ticket for and I pay my own dollar for the rest. But I do see your point. Group pools don't always get enough out of it. I saw an episode of "The Lottery Changed My Life" where a group of 7 restaraunt workers won a $12 million jackpot. They only get about $300,000 each and the owner/manager who was part of the winning pool decided to close the restaraunt after some of the winners quit. I was like "...eh...I don't think that's a good idea for those winners to quit their jobs and close down one of the few operating businesses in the economic rundown town they were in with only a $300,000 a person win" ...not in this economy anyway.
If you're gonna do a pool, do the math w/ each jackpot. When to play a jackpot depends on if you're really gonna get a good payday out of it. That should be decided by the people in the pool.
Well this makes me glad that I have no job and only one friend to take part in playing the lotto with.
If u like playing lottery pools which is cool. If people are going to do that there should no more than 4 in a group , because the odds in groups favor if there's a huge jackpot. People ask me at work to play in a pool , but i was declined their offer. I don't like sharing money , because not everybody has it and everybody wants it. So the lottery gods need to get in gear and spread the wealth to the south. lol!!
It is best to stay away from lottery pools if you want better odds of winning and winning more money.
The number of winning lottery pools is miniscule compared to individual wins.
And never, never, never send money to a lottery pool outside the country or anyone you don't know on a personal level.
Once they get your money it's theirs and there's nothing you can do about it.
There are some very unscrupulous people out there.
Acutally it is alot more complicated.....
Apparently, the main reason was because of how the voters opt to have a lottery in the first place.
Back in the day when CA first opt for the lottery, the state gave us Super Lotto...which eventually became Super Lotto Plus.
When the state decided it wanted to join a multi-state game it selected Mega Millions over PB...... The state was met with at least one group threatening legal action because they insisted that joining MM violated the original law that was passed to have lotteries in our state.
I hope that the next big winner is an individual ............ we need more than our fair share !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I swear I am living in the wrong state when it comes to winning the jackpots! The jackpot winners seem to always come from New York. Guess its time to pack up and move there.
With the "Island Dreamers" the owner was already wanting to shut it down because the business wasn't working out that great but was fighting it out so that she wouldn't put the workers out on the street, so the win gave the workers the freedom of not having to rely on a job for a few years and got rid of the owners headache and stress they had of keeping the place open.
But yea, I think pools should do the math with drawings. I'm sure even when they win something like $300,000 they're still really grateful but. Though we had a case here where a group of 17 hit the second place prize of $250,000 without the Megaplier, so that's only $14,700 before any taxes. They played during the big $380 million run on Mega Millions to start the new year so they would have had a good $15 million each and been fine.
I've read of another group that hit the $10,000 prize without the Megaplier/Power Play and ended up only getting $300 each.
Those are the wins that would annoy me, getting so close to a huge payout but being 1-2 numbers off and instead of getting millions only getting a few thousand or a few hundred. It'd still be nice to have the extra cash, ya, but it just seems like it'd be discouraging.
Hello OwlCreekBridge, I earn this 4.09% APY (interest earned daily, posted into account monthly) in my free "Rewards Checking Account," w/debit card, at Consumers Credit Union in Far Northern Illinois. Four years ago I believe the account started at 6.25% APY, when I joined later it was already down to 5.09% APY or so. I completed application on-line, then only had to pay postage to mail in my remainder identity info, thereafter. Minimum balance is $5 I believe (though account must be opened with a $10 minimum I believe). Oddly, you must use your "debit" card to make minimum of 15 "credit" card purchases in order to receive their "Rewards" of 4.09% interest posted at monthly date they set up the account # for you. I buy groceries at grocery store or pay for food at a drive-thru restaurant and say "charge" it in order for it to count (pressing "debit" doesn't count to receive the "rewards" credit). By the way, perhaps you could get similar APY at smaller banks or credit unions in your own state ... it's a pitty most don't advertise in those high-cost "compare-rates" on-line websites. You will have to do it the old-fashioned way, by calling each for 2 minutes to ask their rates -- ask both savings and checking, you never know which they need more accounts in.
Perhaps Consumers Credit Union will allow you to join though living outside Illinois.
For 25 years I AM WORKING with various groups of persons, the highest were 2000, all of them were happy for a win of around 10 million dollars. I dont win lotto or keno with luck but with brains. i have also pinned my ticket on this lead, you can see i have all the 6 wiining numbers of pb of usa exactly with one number difference. i was certain to win the pb. i am now in new zealand and that is why i am not with syndicate members in denmark. so its worth it if one knows to pick the winnng numbers its important to work with syndicates, as there will be multiple winnings and constant shares
Well, it probably depends on how much a person has decided to NET within X amount of time.
For example, a person's goal is to personally net $4M+ cash value, lump-sum payment pre-taxed, within 4 years. If the analysis shows that the already established group's individual players have NEVER received that amount, or that the size of the group is too large to allow receival of that amount from the lottery games that they weekly participate in, then the potential new syndicate/pool's invited member would have to pass on participation; since it couldn't meet their goal/criteria.
I was just curious as to how many lines that pool played? With twenty people they must have had a lot of quick picks!
One of the important rules with group play is to limit the size of the group. This way, each player knows what their target win is. The other important rule is to pick the minimum size of the jackpot to play for. Rather than play every draw, a better strategy is to save up the weekly or monthly dues until the jackpot reaches the minimum amount. When it comes to lottery group play, "patience is a virtue".
I can't wait for them to announce the names of the employees as a friend of mine her husband is a manager at that store -while he has denied winning... he has not been to work and they have not been home... If they are part of the group that won --- It couldn't have happened to nicer people...
Thanks for the reply HaveABall. I decided to do a quick google search of "Consumers Credit Union." What you wrote seems to be accurate.
So as long as you make a minimum of 15 "credit" card purchases every month and you pay your credit card bill in full, you will get the 4.09% interest and no finance charge for using the credit card?
The reason I ask is my mom is retired and she gets almost next to nothing in interest with her bank's savings account and CD and she's too old to risk her savings in the stock market. If I can find something like this in my area it would be very helpful.
So the ticket was sold at Maulik & Chandri stationary store, Is this a different name for a convience store or do they just sell stationary?(ie writing supplies). I don't remember if it was mega or powerball but someone purchased the winning ticket at a laundromat awhile back. I have never been to New York but it seems like they put lotto in any type of business.
And who saves up the dues from the members, little guy?
I wonder who it is that you have in mind to hold the money?
I'm sure the sleazy way you try to get free advertising here makes you seem very trustworthy to everyone.
You are welcome OwlCreekBridge. Please note that at C.C.U. it is not a credit card, but rather a debit card. This means that I instruct the store/restraurant's clerk to "charge" it (or push the "charge" button at a machine hooked into their register) that amount billed is withdrawn from my checking account (marked "pending") almost immediately, subtracted from my C.C.U. account within a few hours. Unfortunately, earlier this year, they lowered the max of the C.C.U.Rewards Checking Account from $25K down to $10K so that they could continuing offering this APY amount.
However, if your mother has HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS up to $1.5M of money funds that she needs to move into liquid accounts (i.e., CDs, Money Market, Savings, Checking accounts), then she should be doing something like what I recommended that you responded to, AND what a prior member revealed to you ... set a 1/2 hour appointment (during weekdays, being SURE that they have the correct spelling of mother's full name AND phone #) with the president or top executive at several small to large sized banks and credit unions in order to "negotiate" a rate that is HIGHER THAN THEIR ADVERTISED APY for an FDIC insured account. [I recommend her amiably beginning by asking for 8% and being willing to "negotiate," SLOWLY, down to 7%.] You or an intelligent friend could go with her, take notes of the institution's offer, and mother could amiably conclude a meeting, if goal not met, by informing that the financial institution that meets her APY needs will be rewarded with a notification soon and arrangements made to meet again so account/s will be opened with a check.
Your mother will win [remember, her full name and phone # were given to the executive in order for them to return her call to arrange an appointment, originally], what a wonderful and pleasurable project/opportunity for your mother!
Woo LEELEESMOMMY!
Hi Lucky from Ohio,
I remember Ohio hogging up a lot of the large $200 million+ jackpot wins in 2007, 2008, and 2009, so Ohio has won its fair share. Illinois...not so much. And for the relatively short time Oklahoma and North Carolina have joined the lottery, they have won on a more frequent basis than Illinois. So I hope this is Illinois' year to dominate in lottery winnings.
As for this idea of lottery pools (which are a bad idea IMHO) waiting until a certain jackpot amount is reached and not playing for every drawing, I think that is an equally bad idea as playing in a lottery pool. At least by playing every drawing, the individual or pool may have a chance of winning a sizeable lower tier prize to help finance continued play or something special. But to just play when it hits, say $200 million, well you won't be playing that often and chances are you may not win anything. The same may hold true for those playing every drawing, but as you do know, one cannot win if that person does not play to begin with (unless you are a sleazy clerk who steals a winning ticket). So I think a better motto for group play is "Just don't do it!" But if you do insist on playing in a lottery pool, then playing every drawing is the way to go.
Now the only lottery pool I will play in is one consisting of me, myself, and I. So if each of the 3 me's put in $2 dollars per drawing day, that will enable me to buy 3 tickets for Mega Millions and Powerball each drawing. So my group contributes $12 per week for multi-state lottery games. The beauty of this is that if "our" ticket hits the jackpot, I can cut out the other two losers, I and me, and keep that entire jackpot for myself!!!
So a word to those who do insist on playing in an actual lottery pool....get the participation and participants in writing or you might find yourself out of luck like I and me!!!
I couldn't agree more!
Groups should get an EIN in the group's name, which should be signed on back of the ticket. Taxes would also then be charged equitably.
i enjoy when groups win. I wouldn't come forward myself, i'd just let those in the group who want the limelight to do press conferences. Too many nightmarish stories about people trying to get your money.
OldSchoolPa,
The main reason for playing the lottery is to win enough money to make a life style change. And for that reason, I play when the jackpot is large. Winning a couple of grand is not life changing. Winning a couple of millions is. So when it comes to group play, a good strategy is to play when the jackpot is large enough so each member of the group wins enough to make it life changing. Which leads to the most important strategy and that is match the number of the members in the group to the size of the jackpot.
For the group I am currently in, that means playing Mega Millions and Powerball when the jackpot is $200 million or higher. The jackpots get that large often enough for me.
Mario38
For the group I am currently in, that means playing Mega Millions and Powerball when the jackpot is $200 million or higher. The jackpots get that large often enough for me.
Let's just say that one or more other people hit the same night your group does. Then waht?
You can never assune a solo win. Most wins go to one ticket, sure, but you can't assume that if you or your group hit that would be the case.
Coin Toss,
The vast majority of Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots are won with a single ticket. But you are correct, there is the possibility of having to share the jackpot with another winning ticket. I take care of that possibility by buying two shares in the group. That way, even if there are two winning tickets, my share of the split jackpot is still life changing.
So for your lottery pool, you get two tickets and Bullwinkle gets one?
No wonder your last pool went under with all the money missing.
Maybe Bullwinkle ate it!
so are you saying that if you, as an individual, won Mega Millions at it's lowest point of $12 million, you wouldn't consider that life changing? Even after taxes, you would still net well over $3 million.
Absolutely, yes, it would be life changing if I won Mega Millions with my own individual ticket.
But the problem is, it is extremely difficult to win Mega Millions or Powerball. Playing in a group though makes it easier to win. NOT easy, just easier.
I paid $20 to join a group to play Mega Millions and Powerball. The group will end up buying at least 680 tickets. Plus we spend the money we win on the small prizes on more tickets. We will end up with around 750 tickets. It is easier to win Mega Millions or Powerball with 750 tickets than it is with only 20 tickets. Still not easy though.
"There's a sucker born every minute." ~ P.T. Barnum ~
OwlCreekBridge,
I was replying to Mario38 replying to OldSchoolPa here:
OldSchoolPa,
The main reason for playing the lottery is to win enough money to make a life style change. And for that reason, I play when the jackpot is large. Winning a couple of grand is not life changing. Winning a couple of millions is. So when it comes to group play, a good strategy is to play when the jackpot is large enough so each member of the group wins enough to make it life changing. Which leads to the most important strategy and that is match the number of the members in the group to the size of the jackpot.
For the group I am currently in, that means playing Mega Millions and Powerball when the jackpot is $200 million or higher. The jackpots get that large often enough for me.
My point was if the goal was for the group to win $200 million what if they happened to win it the night there was another winning ticket or two out there. Personally I would consider any amount that let's you do what you want to do when you want top do it, buy what you wanyt to buy, live "heat, eat, and taxes" (no debts other than utilities, food and taxes) life changing.
That and never spend another day working for someone else, and perhaps looking up everyone you ever did work for.
what the <snip> man i wudve won $10,000 last night if i played the same numbers i played for the $200M drawing for christ sake
Look on the bright side, at least it wouldn't have been a million dollar ticket. Now that would have really sucked. This is the reason why I don't look at old tickets after I checked they were losing numbers.
i dont usually play when the jack pots are small but i will give it a shot this wednesday, i will look on the bright side i will
personally i wouldnt get a lawyer sign the back of the ticket. i can think of other entities to sign it before a lawyer.
like SATAN himself.
He's most likely a lawyer too.
lucky people, but the the one that is going to continue working at that cement floor costco warehouse is a fool...must have a terrible home life and wants to work to escape that...what possible reason would someone continue to work after winning that much...life is too short to waste at a cruddy job like that...just the risk of driving to work or having the costco warehouse hit by a tornado or plane doesn't seem worth it...what an idiot...why did they join the pool for? so that if they hit it they could continue working at that oversized and overpriced big box store... please help me i don't get it....
I can help you. While he is at work at the Costco warehouse, a tornado or plane could hit his house. Working could save his life.
Tornadoes and planes are nothing!
What if there was a cataclysmic paradox and the Costco was sucked up into a fiery vortex and dropped on Jupiter?
Their stock options would be null and void! Think about it!
I wasn't born yesterday ya know.
get real... don't you think for a minute that all the lottery winner returning to his job co-workers are not going to resent this slob for returning to work acting high and mighty and waving his good fortune in their faces? there will be some who want to poison his lunch and the rest who suck up to him just want a handout...he doesn't belong there anymore with the hourly wage earners. will he have to buy lunch everyday for everyone or be called a cheap you know what? why did he get into the pool in the first place? it makes no sense.
I think little mario likes you.
The problem with mario's plan is that he has somehow "lost" the pool members' money he was saving up on two occasions. He never bought the tickets. Now he pretends that he isn't running it. But he is.
I'm sure he just misplaced the money and will return it all someday. Yeah, right.
Stop spreading lies and follow the Lottery Post rules.
mario, what an ugly thing to say. I abhor ugliness, does this mean we're not friends anymore? You know, little guy, if I thought you weren't my friend, I just don't think I could bear it.
There. Now we can be friends again.
Oh ok. I don't know if the multi-states are the same, don't know anything about the Mega Millions date but with the Powerball site they have this:
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET MY MONEY?
It takes two weeks to collect the cash from the stores around the nation. If you go to the lottery to claim your prize after that two weeks, then you can generally have the jackpot money (all cash or the first of the annual payments) hit your bank account the next day - maybe the following day if you come to the lottery office very late in the day.
Also, it may be worth noting that Jack Whitaker got $10 million upon having his check validated.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/30/national/main534634.shtml
If I were to win I'd have the lawyer call up headquarters to validate the ticket and also ask them if there's money available immediately if we claim the next day and if not, how long there was between right then (when we valided) to the time the money is available to be wired into my account. Based on that is when I'd go collect, if no money was ready for 2+ weeks then I would simply wait it out as there'd be no reason for claiming then and by taking my time it wouldn't be in as many people's minds a few weeks down the road after the winning date.
I agree, people are very in the moment with Powerball but they forget about the last winner by the time the next drawing rolls around! I would wait about a week and a half, get all my ducks in a row then claim. That way I could enjoy my last few days of being a common folk, then after the claim i could hit the road traveling so no one be banging at my door constantly.
Now a state lottery win, i would be up there the next day