MegaMillions Jackpot is now at 375 Million Dollars which is roughly 150 million after taxes

Anthony Mooch · Jul 14, 2018

https://www.usamega.com/mega-millions-jackpot.asp

How do I play?
Go to a 711 say I want 1 megamillion quickpick its 2 dollars thats it

Whens the drawing?
tuesday 11pm eastern time?

Will I win?
Well I will win I don't know about you.

If I win how do I make it so random people dont send letters begging for my money they feel entitled to?

Have a trust claim the ticket

Redhead On Moped · Jul 14, 2018

That much in taxes, IMO, is criminal. Jeez... like why is there such a stupidly high penalty for success.

Might look into it though. Haven't played lotto in years. What the hell, worth a try right?

Endaeias · Jul 14, 2018

Redhead On Moped said:
That much in taxes, IMO, is criminal. Jeez... like why is there such a stupidly high penalty for success.

Simply stated - the more you earn, the more you pay. Lottery winnings are considered the same as the income you get from working, so you're taxed to the bracket that you've earned for that year.

The reality is that - no matter if you get a trust to claim it or otherwise, there's always going to be family members or others asking for money when you have a fair amount (let alone the hundreds of millions you'd have if you won this jackpot). Always make sure that you don't have it all sitting in one account, that you don't let it sit away in a few bank accounts without investing some, and find a trustworthy accountant to manage at least 30% of it so you're not stuck figuring it all out on your own.

Awesome Kev · Jul 14, 2018

That's not that much

lol jk

Seriously though, hasn't it got up to almost a billion not too long ago?

hordak · Jul 14, 2018

i would buy a fancy art loft in downtown LA, a used 2015 BMW 330i, and a 100" short throw laser projetor. but i wouldn't go all super rich and buy super expensive stuff.. i don't want people to know how much money i have. duh

then just travel, eat alot of food and shoot hot models all day long (i'm a photographer)

TheSkullPrince · Jul 14, 2018

Damn, if only I had that kind of scratch, that amount of skrill, all that legal tender.

Aussiebattler · Jul 14, 2018

Just buy the ticket online

Man I could do some stupid shit with that kind of money, build the simpsons house, buy a batmobile, buy like 100 guitars that I would hardly play

Deleted member 6056 · Jul 14, 2018

Pay off the bills, stop working, trust fund away the lives of folks I've met who deserved better than life handed them so they could have a second chance without potentially setting them up to make any mistakes too big to walk away from (mo money mo problems scenario proofing), spend my days at the gym, maybe RV city to city and explore what the best places are to live before settling on one, travel the world, angel fund a few projects, and finish a few projects of my own by hiring the staff needed.

Oh and probably a nice Electric motorcycle or scooter. I like some silent riding.

ThLunarian · Jul 14, 2018

It's not taxes. Lottery winnings are taxed just like any other income. When you win the lottery, you're actually winning an annuity with cumulative value equal to the jackpot value.

Since a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow (a key concept in finance), the further into the future you go, a dollar becomes worth less and less. The lump sum option adds up all of the values of the future dollars, discounted to their current value.

Deleted member 2809 · Jul 14, 2018

Better spend all your savings for tickets

Dreams-Visions · Jul 14, 2018

hordak said:
i would buy a fancy art loft in downtown LA, a used 2015 BMW 330i, and a 100" short throw laser projetor. but i wouldn't go all super rich and buy super expensive stuff.. i don't want people to know how much money i have. duh

Yea, that's what they all say until they have money to spend. Then all of a sudden, that i8 looks much cooler than that 330.

The simple short-throw projector looks cool...but that $25,000 4K JVC projector + silver Stewart Filmscreen 140" screen looks better. Then why skimp on speakers, amps and receiver? Proper seating for all your friends? Oh shit...this little ass apartment isn't big enough. Looks like we're going to need a nice house with a dedicated home theater near downtown LA instead...

That's how it happens.

ThLunarian said:
It's not taxes. Lottery winnings are taxed just like any other income. When you win the lottery, you're actually winning an annuity with cumulative value equal to the jackpot value.

Since a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow (a key concept in finance), the further into the future you go, a dollar becomes worth less and less. The lump sum option adds up all of the values of the future dollars, discounted to their current value.

the more you know.

winjet81 · Jul 14, 2018

Why not 100 prizes of 3.75 million?

TigerTigerTiger · Jul 14, 2018

Just invest half into good paying dividend stocks and you will get paid the rest of your life.

John Dunbar · Jul 14, 2018

Dreams-Visions said:
Yea, that's what they all say until they have money to spend. Then all of a sudden, that i8 looks much cooler than that 330.

The simple short-throw projector looks cool...but that $25,000 4K JVC projector + silver Stewart Filmscreen 140" screen looks better. Then why skimp on speakers, amps and receiver? Proper seating for all your friends? Oh shit...this little ass apartment isn't big enough. Looks like we're going to need a nice house with a dedicated home theater near downtown LA instead...

That's how it happens.

there's plenty of people who won't have any problem taking it easy with that kind of money. it's just that people who regularly buy lottery tickets don't tend to be the most fiscally responsible.

and i bet the number of people who go from being lottery millionaires to broke is overstated anyway. you only hear about the ones who implode.

itwasTuesday · Jul 14, 2018

I could handle winning.

Endaeias · Jul 14, 2018

Even if I were to win the jackpot, alone, I wouldn't stop working. I think too many people become complacent when they win the lottery and lose the foresight of being financially responsible. I wouldn't buy a new vehicle for another 5-6 years, nor would I worry about a new house for another 2-3 years (both of these things are new for me in the last year or two). I would probably take a week off of work and go overseas to a nicer hotel than last time.

It isn't uncommon to see someone who's won $70-80 million and they're found nearly homeless a decade later. There's a difference between "taking it easy" and "doing nothing at all". If I had that much money invested and in the banks, I wouldn't be too concerned about the "little things" (e.g., getting into fights with the CEO [where he threatens to fire me once or twice a week]).

Biske · Jul 14, 2018

Its interesting to see what happens to people who win money.

Specially if you consider that most of us, more than likely wont make more than say like 5 Million dollars in the rest of our working life. If that, probably much less. So when you win this kind of money you could fantastically blow most of it and still hold onto 5-10 million and be fucking set for life. Let alone if you wisely like like 30% of it down and invest it smartly.

Edit: Sure as fuck would stop working though, at least in my dumb bullshit job. No way I could tolerate that shit. And if I did still come in to work, I'd be such a devil may care asshole, they'd be insane not to fire me

Have always talked how it would be fun to like work a fuckin mcdonalds and not give a shit lol.

Deleted member 14900 · Jul 14, 2018

I'd invest and make sure it's put to good use. 3 months out of the year I'd do volunteering and travel. Then I'd buy all of the things I wanted to do my art. An awesome studio with areas for digital art, and an included naturally lit area for sewing. I'd let my cosplay friends come and go whenever they wanted as long as they respect everything. I'd hire an amazing assistant and probably make sure they are well fed and taken care of. I'd buy whatever my dogs wanted lol.

A few elite large format printers, the best single head embroidery machine (at the max 3) and hand materials with expensive threads and gems. Tons of luxury fabric. Just a massive craft house with a massive library. I'd keep my car and basically everything else.

The Albatross · Jul 14, 2018

I might buy one or two lotto tickets a year. My wife is a teacher and most lottos end up filtering back into local funds for either roads or schools, so I consider it a paultry donation to my wife's school, with the added benefit of giving me something to rip up on tuesday night.

Redhead On Moped said:
That much in taxes, IMO, is criminal. Jeez... like why is there such a stupidly high penalty for success.

Might look into it though. Haven't played lotto in years. What the hell, worth a try right?

It's... a lottery. Not really "success."

The whole point of the lottery is to generate revenue for states/cities/towns. It's basically the only revenue generator that rural conservatives don't have a problem with.

sersteven · Jul 14, 2018

I have a weird superstition of never wanting to check my own tickets because it breaks the illusion. So I only ever find out I lost when I see it still went up or I hear about another winner on the news (or in a post like this lol)

Good luck to everyone again, will buy everyone in this thread a drink if I win.

Biske · Jul 14, 2018

The Albatross said:
It's... a lottery. Not really "success."

The whole point of the lottery is to generate revenue for states. It's basically the only revenue generator that rural conservatives don't have a problem with.

It's a fantastic poor tax, and a great way to pitch to people "hey we will have so much money for education etc" and then once its set up just cut the education budget you have, never expand it, etc. Lotteries are fairly fucking disgusting in actual practice.

The Albatross · Jul 14, 2018

Biske said:
It's a fantastic poor tax, and a great way to pitch to people "hey we will have so much money for education etc" and then once its set up just cut the education budget you have, never expand it, etc. Lotteries are fairly fucking disgusting in actual practice.

Yeah, sorry, didn't want my reply to look like an endorsement of lottos, but just saying that it makes total sense for 50% of the lotto "winnings" to be taxed, given that the whole point of the lotto is a poor tax.

While I'm generally against poor taxes from an ethical/idealized point of view, from a practical perspective given the sorry state of civic engagement, poor taxes like soda tax, alcohol tax, marijuana tax, gas tax, cigarette taxes, lottos, legalized gambling, and any other 'vice taxes' are some of the only revenue generators that majorities of liberals and conservatives both support.

_id · Jul 14, 2018

I played 3 games worth (6 bucks) Managed to get one number out of the six needed. I'll definitely play again if I win I'm buying a bigger truck and some better luck.

y2dvd · Jul 14, 2018

I grew up in a poor community and we spent so much money on the lottery hoping to hit it. I think it's a scam now that preys especially on the poor looking for any means to get rich quick.

less · Jul 14, 2018

y2dvd said:
I grew up in a poor community and we spent so much money on the lottery hoping to hit it. I think it's a scam now that preys especially on the poor looking for any means to get rich quick.

My uncle owns a convenience store in a fairly poor area and I used to help out there often. The amount of regular customers that would play over $50 each day was nuts. They would come multiple times throughout the day to purchase tickets so yeah, I do agree with the idea that the lottery preys on the poor.

Okii · Jul 14, 2018

y2dvd said:
I grew up in a poor community and we spent so much money on the lottery hoping to hit it. I think it's a scam now that preys especially on the poor looking for any means to get rich quick.

That little bit of hope is worth $2 to some.

Dreams-Visions · Jul 14, 2018

John Dunbar said:
there's plenty of people who won't have any problem taking it easy with that kind of money. .

certainly. but most will treat themselves, whether they expected to initially or not.

which was my point.

Dream said:
My uncle owns a convenience store in a fairly poor area and I used to help out there often. The amount of regular customers that would play over $50 each day was nuts. They would come multiple times throughout the day to purchase tickets so yeah, I do agree with the idea that the lottery preys on the poor.

I mean, the wealthy aren't relying on hope to get access to a comfortable amount of money, so yes it is accurate to call it a poor tax.

Biske · Jul 14, 2018

The Albatross said:
Yeah, sorry, didn't want my reply to look like an endorsement of lottos, but just saying that it makes total sense for 50% of the lotto "winnings" to be taxed, given that the whole point of the lotto is a poor tax.

While I'm generally against poor taxes from an ethical/idealized point of view, from a practical perspective given the sorry state of civic engagement, poor taxes like soda tax, alcohol tax, marijuana tax, gas tax, cigarette taxes, lottos, legalized gambling, and any other 'vice taxes' are some of the only revenue generators that majorities of liberals and conservatives both support.

Yeah thats a good point. Its also fucked up how we so clearly see that taxing a lottery winning makes sense, but taking other rich people, who really did just a little to earn it its out of the question.

But I guess thats the point, taxing poor people is easy cause there is nobody to defend them but wealthy interests have the support to throw their weight around.

Whats real sobering is playing a lottery sim

http://adamlamers.com/lottery_simulator

And getting results like:

Total Drawings: 54,300
Total Spent: $162,899
Total Winnings: $25,169
Time spent playing: 522 years
Actual win odds: 1:25.26

y2dvd · Jul 14, 2018

[redacted] said:
That little bit of hope is worth $2 to some.

See the comment above yours. It was often way more than $2 and even then, $2 was a lot to me.

less · Jul 14, 2018

[redacted] said:
That little bit of hope is worth $2 to some.

y2dvd said:
See the comment above yours. It was often way more than $2 and even then, $2 was a lot to me.

What y2dvd said. $2 is fine I suppose if you want take a chance to win the big prize. Even I do that when the Megamillions or Powerball gets this high. But for many poor people and even people with a more comfortable lifestyle, the lottery is addictive and can easily drag them into playing more and more. "Winning" is a poisoned reward more often than not. Usually the amount that people win is a small figure that is essentially the cost of the ticket/instant scratch-off card or sometimes $20/$50/$100/etc. This "win" makes people believe that they get lucky again and obtain a bigger prize and thus they continue to play with possibly greater and greater amounts of money being spent. The scratch-off games? They are probably the worst at this due to the instant results. People will can easily play $60 to $100 a day on them and only recoup a small amount.

And someone winning a big prize isn't exactly good as it gives people in the community the hope that they too can win if they play/spend more. It's a vicious cycle.

Doctoglethorpe · Jul 14, 2018

Every time it gets really big like this my no gambling ideal kinda falters and I think "couldn't hurt to just buy one." But then I remember I have to go to a liquor store to actually buy the stupid things instead of being able to do it online and I just don't bother cause that's too much effort

CreepingFear · Jul 14, 2018

I only play when it gets high like this and I only put in $2 quick pick. I'm saving for my 401k, Roth Ira, mortgage, etc. I'm still fairly responsible.

SlickShoesRUCRazy · Jul 14, 2018

I would be happy with 1 mill. I just want to be debt free lol and have a permanent home.

darkside · Jul 14, 2018

CreepingFear said:
I only play when it gets high like this and I only put in $2 quick pick. I'm saving for my 401k, Roth Ira, mortgage, etc. I'm still fairly responsible.

Same. I only spend $2 when its over 300 million. Gonna win enough to buy become a minority owner of the Mets, I'll be the one to turn them around

MrLuchador · Jul 14, 2018

Even living off the interest and investment dividends alone would be more than comfortable. That's insane.

LhommeCornichon · Jul 14, 2018

Do people really win this things?

FernandoRocker · Jul 14, 2018

Why do you guys want all that much money and pretend you don't have too much money? Why do you guys keep insisting in buying a small house and a used car and stuff like that? Why do you want to win that much money then?

What's wrong with having money? Legitimate money. It's not like you stole it.

If you win, live the good life and enjoy your money.

Musubi · Jul 14, 2018

Question for the fairly uninformed. If you win a large sum of money like this even after taxes do you still have to pay anything further when income tax season comes around or is the taxes taken out up front cover that?

Ryan. · Jul 14, 2018

This might be the first time I get into the lottery. Why not, you know?

Anthony Mooch · Jul 14, 2018

Musubi said:
Question for the fairly uninformed. If you win a large sum of money like this even after taxes do you still have to pay anything further when income tax season comes around or is the taxes taken out up front cover that?

Yes only 25% is taken out you'd still owe 12%

Anthony Mooch · Jul 14, 2018

LhommeCornichon said:
Do people really win this things?

Mostly old white people in all honesty it's never a young person

One Eyed Willy · Jul 14, 2018

Anthony Mooch said:
Mostly old white people in all honesty it's never a young person

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a15155346/shane-missler-lotto-winner-florida/

moneywoes · Jul 14, 2018

ThLunarian said:
It's not taxes. Lottery winnings are taxed just like any other income. When you win the lottery, you're actually winning an annuity with cumulative value equal to the jackpot value.

Since a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow (a key concept in finance), the further into the future you go, a dollar becomes worth less and less. The lump sum option adds up all of the values of the future dollars, discounted to their current value.

Pardon the fact that I don't know much about finance or economics but what if deflation occurs in the future? Doesn't that mean that the lump sum option is a scam?

Nemesis121 · Jul 14, 2018

$150m after taxes, shit i can't even fund Avengers 5...

perfectchaos007 · Jul 14, 2018

I was hoping Mega Millions would stay pure as a $1 ticket but they followed suit with powerball and its now $2. shame

Shogmaster · Jul 14, 2018

Redhead On Moped said:
That much in taxes, IMO, is criminal. Jeez... like why is there such a stupidly high penalty for success.

Might look into it though. Haven't played lotto in years. What the hell, worth a try right?

It's not all taxes. OP didn't mention that the figure means the winner took the cash payment option, which means you get half the amount in one time payment. If you want the entire sum, you will get it in annual payments 26 times.

So it's half of 375 = 187.5 and top tax rate off of that which becomes about 150 (before various local and state level taxes).

Vivian-Pogo · Jul 14, 2018

They made the odds worse somewhat recently so that the jackpots could climb to higher numbers for free headlines/advertising to sell more of their tickets.

Only the statistically illiterate buy lotto tickets! Sometimes it's good to be pessimistic and without blind hope.

turbobrick · Jul 14, 2018

Well, I guess I'll buy a ticket.

sfedai0 · Jul 14, 2018

I bought 2 yesterday and not one number matched, I feel good going in to this yes I do.

y2dvd · Jul 14, 2018

FernandoRocker said:
Why do you guys want all that much money and pretend you don't have too much money? Why do you guys keep insisting in buying a small house and a used car and stuff like that? Why do you want to win that much money then?

What's wrong with having money? Legitimate money. It's not like you stole it.

If you win, live the good life and enjoy your money.

Who is saying this? Some of us however brought up how it is essentially a tax on the poor, exploiting such desires to get rich quick

MegaMillions Jackpot is now at 375 Million Dollars which is roughly 150 million after taxes

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