$425 million Powerball jackpot has many seeing dollar signs

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The Powerball jackpot is estimated to reach $425 million on Wednesday and may even climb to an even higher amount if ticket sales exceed expectations.

The thought of winning one of the biggest multistate pots in U.S. history has may people dreaming including some residents on Long Island, just outside New York City. They were hard hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Retiree Raymond Parker wants to share the joy when the Powerball winning numbers are chosen Wednesday night.

"A lot of people should win, not just one," he said.

Like many Long Beach residents, Parker said his car was destroyed by rising floodwaters during the storm. But he's not contemplating buying a new one if he wins the jackpot.

The 67-year-old joked that he'd probably hire a chauffeur instead.

To date, four jackpot-winning Powerball tickets were sold in New York according to CBS station WCBS in New York. The previous biggest jackpot was $365 million in 2006, which was won by eight employees in a Nebraska meatpacking plant.

Earlier in 2012, a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot drove many people mad. Winning tickets were drawn in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland.

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One group that will definitely be a winner no matter what numbers are drawn are the 42 states that run Powerball, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Los Angeles Times reported. They made a record $60.8 billion in ticket sales during the 2011 to 2012 fiscal year, an 8.7 percent increase from the last year. Even though prices were doubled to $2, there was a 27 percent increase in sales revenue.

Just how lucky do you have to be? According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot is 1 in 175 million. But, if Lady Luck happens to be on your side, the cash value on a single $425 million dollar winner is $278 million after taxes.

[MikeBFS1]

What would you do with $425 million? Buy an island? Travel the world? Donate to charity? Dream big,but live modestly? Tell us?
www.FinancialProfitude.blogspot.com

[julesarcher1]

You say: You can't win if you don't play.

I say: You can't lose if you don't play.

[bobnjersey]

[the cash value on a single $425 million dollar winner is $278 million after taxes]
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this is not correct. i think they meant 'before taxes'.

[AOCGUY]

yeah, and after the fed gets it's piece it's really only worth $180 million. Hardly seems worth it.

[eroteme2]

How intelligent we are! When the lottery offers a prize of $50 million or so not so many tickets are sold. Who needs it! But when the lottery offers $400 million or so lottery ticket sales soar, seems that most everybody wants a ticket then. No, I should say tickets.

[lucifersshadow]

If they created prizes of 1 million from this, instead of creating one huge jackpot, they could make a lot of people rich, and, increase the chances of someone winning . . . however, the larger the jackpot, and the less divided the winnings, the less likely it is that you will win anything . . . but people ignorant of the chances involved still buy these tickets . . . you'd have better luck putting it into the stock market.

[1notrub11]

You make good points. Almost 500 people's lives could conceivably be made better, instead of one (or a very small number, if more than one wins) life miserable.

[bobnjersey]

[but people ignorant of the chances involved still buy these tickets . . . you'd have better luck putting it into the stock market.]
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the lottery ... as in the stock market ... has a 'risk vs. return' dynamic.

the lottery is very high risk (you're likely to lose your bet) ... but a very high return if you win.

the stock market actually works the same way ... except it offers ranges of risk vs. return ... where the lower the risk ... the lower the return.

you'd likely have better luck in the stock market ... but very little chance of seeing the kinds of returns a lottery can provide.

[Resin-Smoker]

First !