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$500 Million in the Mega!


Marc Wielage

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Half of a billion dollars. Half. Of. A. Billion. Dollars. It doesn't even matter if they take half for taxes. You'd walk clean with $250M

Probably closer to only $175 million. The $500 million is what you get if you take the 25 year pay-out. You get the lump sum that they'd pay out for an annuity and then tax is taken out of that so you can figure something like 35% of the big figure is what you'd get in a lump sum.

It's a bummer is that the US is one of the few countries that taxes lottery winnings. If someone wins €185 million on the EuroMillions lottery then that's what they get. No withholding.

Kind of takes the shine off of the rose, doesn't it?

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Probably closer to only $175 million. The $500 million is what you get if you take the 25 year pay-out. You get the lump sum that they'd pay out for an annuity and then tax is taken out of that so you can figure something like 35% of the big figure is what you'd get in a lump sum.

It's a bummer is that the US is one of the few countries that taxes lottery winnings. If someone wins €185 million on the EuroMillions lottery then that's what they get. No withholding.

Kind of takes the shine off of the rose, doesn't it?

Obviously you're from the states, but just to spit it out: In the United states we tax our citizens when they make money, then when they spend it, and if they save it we inadvertently tax them through inflation (which most people don't pay attention to), and in certain cases we're even taxed on things we 'own' outright, like property, for example... forever. Did I mention we're even taxed when we die?

Love it or hate it, the two things you can be certain of in the US are death and taxes. It's no wonder so many businesses here in NYC are cash based...

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Probably closer to only $175 million. The $500 million is what you get if you take the 25 year pay-out. You get the lump sum that they'd pay out for an annuity and then tax is taken out of that so you can figure something like 35% of the big figure is what you'd get in a lump sum.

No, I just did the math: it's up to $540 million (at the moment!), which is $389.8M cash value. After U.S. Fed taxes (assuming about 35%), you wind up with about $253 net cash out the door.

On the other hand, 170 million to 1 odds are not exactly great. You'd have far greater odds getting elected President, or sinking five hole-in-ones in a golf game. I once heard a UCLA Statistics professor talking about the regular California Lotto, and I believe he said the odds were 70 million:1. Those odds, he said, were liked tossing a stack of quarters at the wall, and having them hit the floor in a stack, each coin heads up.

But... it's nice to dream.

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When I was in college and broke as hell, I would spend that $1 to buy a lotto ticket every week. From the moment I bought that ticket to the time the drawing occurred, I got that simple false sense of hope during that brief moment that made me feel great!

This thread will inspire me to once again spend that $1. I want to see if it still give me that great feeling ;)

Hey, if I win... 12-track Nomads for everybody. And a big forum party.

Just quoting to secure myself a Nomad if Marc wins.

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My brother had an economics professor at MIT that used to say "everyone has room in their investment portfolio for a lottery ticket". The risk is minimal when you consider what people spend in a week on coffee, food etc and the potential reward is great. Mind you, not 500 tickets, but one or two.

If Marc wins, Zaxcom will probably have to hire more people, and that's good for the economy.

Just listened on NPR that the chance of your numbers being picked are the same as the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 being picked.

Says the man in Las Vegas..... :)

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On the other hand, 170 million to 1 odds are not exactly great. You'd have far greater odds getting elected President, or sinking five hole-in-ones in a golf game. I once heard a UCLA Statistics professor talking about the regular California Lotto, and I believe he said the odds were 70 million:1. Those odds, he said, were liked tossing a stack of quarters at the wall, and having them hit the floor in a stack, each coin heads up.

But... it's nice to dream.

I can't even win $5 Friday! But I'm still buying a ticket!

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