Monday, November 26, 2012
Retailers are expecting long lines of lottery ticket buyers in the run up to Wednesday's drawing.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- James Myers
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Monday, November 26, 2012
Media outlets are buzzing over the news that the Powerball jackpot has gone unclaimed and the total potential winnings have reached $425 million – a new record. Retailers across the country (the game is played in 42 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands) are expecting throngs to turn out and buy the $2 tickets in record numbers in time for this Wednesday's drawing. Given the likelihood of that happening, the jackpot could get even bigger. According to The Huffington Post, the last record Powerball jackpot was in 2006. The $365 million prize was won by a group of workers at ConAgra Foods in Nebraska. If you want to get in on the most recent mad dash for the cash, there are plenty of local retailers at which to buy …
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Do you know all the ways you could still win in Mega Millions?
If you didn't win the $640 million pot Friday night in the Mega Millions drawing, then be sure to check your tickets carefully. You could still have won something. It may not be millions and millions and it may be as little as $2, but it's still a win. The Mega Millions website lists the prizes along with nine ways to win. Here's the breakdown and what you could win: If you win the jackpot, you can choose 26 annual payments. For every $1 million in the jackpot, you get about $38,500 per year before taxes. So, the winner of $640 million can get about $24.6 million a year before taxes. A second option is to take a one-time, lump-sum payment equal to the cash in the jackpot pool. Chances of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175,711,536. Overall …
Friday, March 30, 2012
With Mega Millions at $540 million, it doesn't mean you'll get rich.
With tonight's Mega Millions jackpot now at a record $540 million, Pennsylvania Lottery desks and kiosks across the region are doing brisk business. Office lottery pools are swelling with member contributions. Did you buy a ticket? Are you excited? Hopeful? Well, good for you. Rich Smith of The Motley Fool thinks you're a sucker. "The truth is that getting rich from winning the lottery isn't just unlikely. It's (statistically) impossible," Smith writes. And he's not the only one. In fact, according to the folks at Bloomberg, our entire state ranks ninth in the U.S. on the lottery "sucker index," which measures how much each state's residents spend on lottery tickets and compares that amount to how much they win. You'll be pleased to learn …
Mike Shortall
4:23 pm on Friday, March 30, 2012
Geez ... Way to rain on the parade! BTW ... You're about $100 million off from what I hear is the new pot total is! Yes, your odds of hitting are astronomical. (Put the names of EVERY Russian citizen on individual pieces of paper; stick them in a very, very, very large hat; and try to pick out the slip with Vladimir Putin's name!) And it shouldn't be "Plan A" of your retirement fund. But it is … more ›