And the Frenzy Ends

I awoke this morning as I fell asleep last night, a working class woman dependent on the paycheck I get on Friday.  I suspected this was going to be the case, so I wasn't disappointed, just $2 poorer.

The $1.6 billion dollar Powerball jackpot numbers were matched by three tickets sold in three states – California, Florida and Tennessee.  Hard to say whether the people who won are aware of their changed life status or not, as no one has come forward yet.  Shock, joy, sharing of joy, and maybe a little bit of planning and preparation for what's ahead before we learn who they are, perhaps.

I genuinely wish whoever they are continued happiness and hope they do wonderful things with the money for the people and world around them.

We now return to normalcy and life at the grindstone.

Let the Frenzy Re-Commence

Yes, I bought a ticket for that silly fantasy-indulging game for January 9.  One ticket.  I rarely buy lottery tickets in the first place and I don't normally play Powerball because it galls me to put out $2 to be disappointed yet again.  But, I did – and I was.  Disappointed, that is.

But then, so was everyone else who expected to win over $900 million.

When I looked this morning at the gaming site's main page, I saw 1.3.  Despite what I knew to be the case, it seemed so paltry.  Then, my coffee-deprived brain took in the word 'billion' and put the 8 zeroes after the 3 and it became

$1,300,000,000.  

Yeah, that was better.

Now, try and keep in mind that's the total amount to be received if you take it as a 30-year annuity payout.  That's $43.3 million a year, before taxes, over the next 30 years.  If you're thinking you won't last that long and you don't want your estate to have to deal with it, or think the financial entity that makes those payments won't last that long, or you're just impatient and want it all NOW, the lump sum payout, again before taxes, is $806 million.  Regardless of which option is taken, it's more than most make and live on in a lifetime.

I keep bringing up taxes.  The IRS and the state where you live will come for their piece of your lottery pie first and you have no choice but to allow them to cut and serve themselves a slice. Between them, they're going to take about a third of the pie, give or take a piece of crust or dollop of filling.  That means you would net and have to survive on approximately $530 million as a lump sum or $28.5 million a year as a 30-year annuity payment.  You might be able to whittle the tax numbers a little with some savvy financial maneuvering, but the reality is that you don't get to play with the whole amount regardless of what you do.

I haven't even discussed the odds of winning because that's not what fuels any lottery game.  What fuels it is the dream of a better life beyond expectation and no one wants to hear that their chances of winning are closer to none than slim.

So, let the Powerball ticket buying insanity begin again.  By Wednesday, the amount to win will be higher than today's $1.3 billion.  Will someone win it?  Who knows?  I was sure that with the amount of people playing and the amount of tickets they were buying, every combination of numbers would have been played by Saturday's drawing.  I was wrong, so apparently not all the combinations of numbers and red ball numbers were played.  Who would have thought.

I was also sure that I wouldn't win and I was right.  Will I buy a ticket for Wednesday's drawing?  Yes.  Just one because it still galls me to pay $2 to be disappointed.  But despite the 17 billion to 1 odds, for $2 even I still can dream big.

Good luck to all.

And the Winner Isn't ...

No, it wasn't me.  I don't live in Florida and have never been there.  I'd like to take a wander through it and every other state in the U. S. A. before I die, but it won't be on last night's Powerball winnings. 

I live in upstate New York, where big lottery winners rarely dwell.  Statistically, more lottery sales and wins in the Empire State occur below the Dutchess and Orange County lines -- you know, Westchester and Putnam counties, New York City and its boroughs, Long Island, etc.  Places where this country mouse hasn't been in more than half a lifetime.  But hey, those southern New Yorkers didn't win it, either.

So, as per usual, my lowly single ticket didn't win.  Yes, I only bought one.  Only one set of numbers wins and if I can't pick it or be at the machine in that cosmic moment when it spits out the winning combination as a Quick Pick, then I shall remain markedly less than rich.  Touching on the odds of the matter, to improve my chances, another $2 for a another six numbers isn't even a drop in the improvement bucket.  I'm not even sure it's a mist that hovers over said bucket and then evaporates.  If I can't spend hundreds or, even better, thousands of dollars to actually slightly increase my chances of winning in one game, then screw it.  I've got bills to pay and groceries to buy.

I sincerely wish the person(s) with the winning ticket in Florida all the best. I don't know if they'll take it as a lump sum or as payments.  I did the math, and had the fantasies, for the latter.  After taxes ('cause you know they're gonna be first in your line to be paid), there would still be a guaranteed income of at least $12 million a year.  I'm sure whoever won can and will live well on whichever option they take.  All I ask is that they keep these paraphrased words from "Hello Dolly" in mind:  Money is like manure.  It can't do a thing unless it's spread around, encouraging young things to grow.

Ah, well -- back to the work grindstone.