$1.7 billion. That’s billion with a “B.”
I don’t even care that my take home winnings will be just $770.3 million after taxes with my one-time payout. If I was younger, I would consider the 30 payments and pocket more money. No I wouldn’t. Who am I kidding?
The truth is someone is going to win — and it will not be me. It’s never been me. Even though I knew I wouldn’t win, I still bought tickets for the Wednesday Powerball drawing for $1.4 billion. I don’t know why but when I buy a ticket, I just let the computer pick my numbers. Seldom does it pick even one of the correct numbers.
The odds of winning the $1.7 billion Powerball jackpot are approximately 1 in 304,721,648. All you have to do is match five of 69 numbers plus one of 26 Powerball numbers. According to USA Mega, the most drawn numbers are 61, 21, 23, 33 and 69. The most drawn Powerball numbers are 2, 5, 9, 20 and 25.
To put it in perspective:
• You’re 250 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to win the jackpot. Yet, people still play because, well, someone eventually wins. And that someone could be you or me.
• Your chances are about the same as flipping a coin and getting heads 30 times in a row.
• The odds of winning any prize: 1 in 24.9
• The odds of matching just the Powerball: 1 in 38.3
Winning the jackpot is an obvious long shot. If you do play, instead of telling yourself you’re throwing your money away, think of it as paying $2 for a dream. But if that dream should come true, make sure you’ve got a lawyer, a financial advisor, and a really good hiding spot. And don’t expect sudden wealth to make all your problems disappear. It seldom does.
Pros of winning
• Pay off all of your debts and those of select family members and select friends.
• Donations to your favorite charities where the money will be put to good use.
• Buy something you always wanted but could never afford.
• Watching the Jones’ try to keep up with you.
Cons of winning
It is hard for me to imagine someone winning this kind of money and being broke, in trouble with the law, or even dead within a few years. But it happens. Here are a few examples I found on the internet:
• In some states, by law, lottery winners must be identified. This can make them targets for criminals and lead to a flood of requests for money from family, friends and even strangers.
•In November 2015, Craigory Burch Jr. won $434,272 in a Georgia lottery. A few months later, the forklift driver was killed at his home after seven people burst through his front door. Relatives suspect he was targeted because of his lottery win.
• A North Carolina man won more than $4 million after taxes in a 2017 lottery scratch-off game. Nearly five years later, the 54-year-old married man was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing his 23-year-old girlfriend.
• A California woman won $1.3 million in a lottery pool with her co-workers. A month later, she filed for divorce from her husband of 25 years but did not disclose her winnings during divorce proceedings. Her ex discovered the payout and sued, and the court ordered her to turn over her share to him for intentionally hiding it.
• Wealth without good money management skills can leave you broke. It happens to movie stars, athletes, music icons and everyday people. They receive big paychecks, and the shopping sprees result in bankruptcy.
These stories show that sudden wealth doesn’t come with a manual and without guidance and common sense, it can magnify existing problems.
If I win, I want to win the big one. My biggest fear of winning the lottery is I will only win $20 million instead of $770 million. I have too many things I want to do with it:
• Of course, the first thing would be to pay off the homes and bills of my family.
• Wichita State will have football again, plus be a major NIL player in basketball and baseball if I win the big prize.
• The Humane Societies around the area will be bigger and better with all the tools needed to keep the animals happy and healthy as they await their forever homes.
• I would purchase all the school meals for the students in my home town.
• Now that I’m reaching retirement age, I want to travel the country and see the places we’ve never seen.
• I know it’s boring but I would also find a trusted financial advisor and watch the money grow instead of dwindle.
Fortunately, winning the Powerball jackpot hasn’t been my sole financial plan. Although it’s fun to dream about instant riches, the odds are not in our favor of claiming the prize. So in the meantime, I’ll spend a few bucks on tickets and fantasize about laying on a beach with an adult beverage in my hand.
— Keith Lippoldt
