I would never play the lottery…when the gods wish to punish you, they answer your prayers…besides, like the Swedes, I have “lagom.”
1
I was in my early 20's when the first big Lotto jackpot hit Chicago, where I lived. If I remember correctly, it was ~ $30 million.
I was working at the CBOE at the time and so was used to seeing people gambling huge amounts of money. I was living at home, had no bills and decided to put two weeks of pay down. Soon, I had a stack of 1200 tickets.
I hit on 4 numbers which netted me $84, however, the bank had messed up and deposited my two weeks of pay - and given me the cash as well. Somehow, the bank never found out.
I figure the odds of that happening must be similar to the odds of winning the Lotto itself. I determined that this was my one shot in life at winning the Lotto and never played again.
Money can't make you smarter and you will still enjoy the things that you've always enjoyed only now on a much bigger scale. So if you have a alcohol, drug or gambling problem that problem will get much larger after you win. If you are a camper, fisher or hunter, you will continue to enjoy those activities but in more exotic locations and more frequently. If you are an a-hole you will only become a much bigger one. I think the biggest difference is that you have the resources to hire people to give you legal and financial advice but you still have to decide what to do with the advice you receive and if you haven't made good decisions with your life so far more money isn't going to change that. My opinion is to hire a therapist/psychologist to help you to improve your mental health so you can make better use of the legal and financial advise that you paid people to give you.
4
If I'd won I’d finally get those things forever out of my reach…an upgrade to an iPhone Pro, a subscription to YouTube Premium to get rid of the ads, and one of those new Blue Checks from that company Elon Musk bought…
2
Make the winnings 3M tax free resulting is far more winners. Forget the 2B insanity.
4
I’ve bought many a lottery ticket over the past twenty years. Never expecting to win, and I only play the games which yield $1M-~$5M. One million would put me in a financial position satisfactory to allow me to live the moderate life I’ve been living the past forty or so years since moving into a small town which regularly gives us sunny days and sufficient snow a few times every winter. When the lottery prize is in the hundreds of millions, I’m just not tempted to buy a huge lottery ticket.. what would happen to me if people knew I was really, really rich? I guess if I were to accidentally buy a big winning ticket, the wisest thing to do would be to find a good charity, like a children’s’ hospital, a charity providing legal services to low income people who deserve Justice but can’t afford the Law to get it, or a charity generously supporting gifted students professional education. I would just find a way to anonymously get that golden winning ticket to them, and keep buying the $1Million tickets in hopes of a my-sized jackpot.
4
To buy a lottery ticket is to pay the voluntary state tax on people with poor math skills.
2
You’re buying a dream, and it’s cheap two bucks.
6
@John Keno Makes you wonder what the sanctimonious people in this comment section criticizing buying lottery tickets spend THEIR money on for entertainment, doesn't it?
2
27 Jul 2022: New York lawyer Jason Kurland, who describes himself as “the lottery lawyer,” was found guilty of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions and a related conspiracy charge, Law360 reports.
https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-rivkin-radler-partner-is-found-guilty-in-scheme-to-defraud-his-lottery-winner-clients
4
I love buying lottery tickets. I buy a few per year. I know that the odds are almost zero, but the money spent allows me to think about what I would do IF I were that rich and did not have to worry about money. It is a very good mental exercise and often you might find that many things that you do would remain the same.
The Maine winner has motivated me to buy a lottery ticket today!
6
My daughter tortured me in to buying two ticket,or two lines of numbers for $4.
Didn't even get one lousy number.Not one.None.
Than she tells me that the odds are 290 MILLION TO ONE.
M.G.Don't bug me anymore.I am done with that nonsense
Than you
6
I have invested many millions for people that found this sudden payday from one source or another.
Lesson 1- Take the lump sum. No need for a lawyer for this option. Have Federal and State Taxes automatically deducted.
Lesson 2- Keep a portion for spending now and for the next few years.
Lesson 3 - Buy some 2-5 year Treasury Bonds and let it all sink in about the outcome before making any risk investments.
Lesson 4 - After a couple of years of thinking and researching your options you will find plenty of tax deferred guaranteed fixed rate annuities and variable annuities with guaranteed (income) living benefits, retirement benefits and free estate planning options all without the need for attorneys and bank trust departments.
Keep the investment solutions simple, minimizing taxes on income and gains and securing written guarantees from the top investment and insurance companies in the world.
4
I have often used the sentence : What would I do differently if I won the lottery? to clarify what I want to do with my life.
But seriously, if I won (and I have thought about this) such a big amount, it would not ruin my life. I wouldn't do that much differently except feel more secure and not worry about money. No big fancy anything.
First -- get advisors, put money in the bank and think about it, remain anonymous. Then --
1) get rid of my mortgage.
2) renovate the house all at once.
3) give a million dollars to each of my closest friends so they can enjoy the winnings with me.
4) Help a few individuals whom I know need help, who are not my friends.
5) Give A REAL LOT to charity -
6) Get a second home abroad (but not too big)
7) continue working, but maybe a little less.
8) Give enough to each of my children to help them (a house free and clear) but not too much so that they don't work. Give them some security, not too much.
9) definitely remain as anonymous as possible.
5
My own greatest fear about winning is how to tell my husband... I'm genuinely afraid he'd have a stroke. How the heck do you break news like that gently?!
If I could contain my own astonishment well enough to fool him for several days, I guess I'd arrange a group meeting: me, him, an estate-savvy attorney, our couples therapist, and our primary care physician... in a conference room in a major medical center!
I wonder how many winners or their dearest relatives have experienced a medical emergency when hearing the news...
7
Yes, I know the odds. I never buy more than one ticket. But - and maybe this is silly - I rather enjoy the feeling of having a lottery ticket in my purse for a draw that has passed, but I've yet to check my numbers. I usually don't check them until at least a week after the draw. Who knows, for that week I might - or might not - be a millionaire!
My husband calls these our Schrodinger's lottery tickets, because until you actually look you might, or might not, have won. (I won $4 last week, and reinvested it in two more Schrodinger's tickets.)
22
@essexgirl1955 I do that also.
3
@Jonathan Bush
And me too.
$2...a small price to pay for an extended fantasy.
1
Remy blessed father in law ( and I mean that) once told me that lotteries are for Shnores. I can't be sure of that spelling.
Of course he was completely right.
I still buy lottery tickets mainly because thinking about what you might do with the winnings is the easiest way to fall asleep at night!
Wake up in the morning feeling refreshed.
Guess I'm a Schnore.
2
I bought one ticket. To be honest - I am surprised that I lost. I am usually pretty lucky.
7
I expect to win some day as I am a really, really nice person. On that day, I will re-read this article so I will know what to do.
5
Just put the winnings in laddered tax-free municipal bonds. Don't need tax consultants because the returns are tax free and you'll have only limited access (whatever returns you get each month) and you can still give to charity and take it off of any other income you may have. No big schemes from whomever, no worrying about achieving write offs or making any big play in something new - just income, tax free.
3
The thing is there is not much need to win the lottery.
Many people in this country have become greedy and full of avarice. People have put power, politics, and money over doing what is right for the country. They take what they have completely for granted, and they do not realize how fortunate they really are.
Everyone should just be happy with what they have....
4
Well the thing is, I have a need to win the lottery because I am in the hole due to student debt, and need a vacation. Not that I need millions upon millions, but I could stand to win a small lottery.
6
If I was going to have my life ruined I would prefer it to be done by 1.6 billion dollars, thank you. There surely are endless other worse ways in which your life could be ruined. Oh to have rich people's problems. sigh
51
first thing I would do is buy a few politicians - they might come in handy. then off to buy a few lawyers and maybe a few judges (its always wise to be in the good graces of judges). Maybe buying a couple of FBI folks could be useful as well. The local police department always could use some more money so they could actually do their job as would the fire department and child services.
Serious money would be given the the children's hospitals across the country and might as well contribute something to an education fund because I hate stupid people.
3
Think of the odds. Every single ticket sold in NY state and California were losers. Imagine all the millions of tickets sold in these two stages.
1
Excellent advice, NYT. I've told my brother that in the unlikely event of my winning a large lottery prize, I'll be at his door immediately for his signature on the ticket next to mine - it's more money than I could ever enjoyably spend. We'd pretend to work for the next 6 months... I'd buy my grandmother's farm in Ireland, fully fund my closest friends, give millions away to recovery centers and animal shelters and travel the world.
12
What are you going to do with the other 1.5 billion?
6
Great advice on the lawyers, decent on keeping it quiet.
Some could decide how to invest and spend the money, most could not. I hope the person who won will take this advice, or he could just allow me to claim it.
4
"If you’re really close with someone and they feel they deserve a gift, it’s really difficult. It’s one of the things winners are freaked out about when they come to me.”
I don't get this. If I won such an enormous sum of money, of course I'd help out a few really close friends and family. Just a few. There's only so much money I need to secure my own future and that of my family.
7
@Outraged I would help as well, but not that much, only the amount that you can give without gift tax. And how about doing some personal charity, lots of things I would like to do in that regard.
@Outraged
"I don't get this. If I won such an enormous sum of money, of course I'd help out a few really close friends and family. Just a few."
Sounds like a blueprint for one heckuva Slippery-Slope!
And what happens when that 'really close friend' burns through all the money you've given them?
4
I hope Cambridge Analytica isn’t involved in this winning too!
3
No problem, I didn’t win squat !
The solution to maintaining sanity is to donate it to charities of your choice.
5
If you are going to invest in the lottery - the smartest way to do so, is to purchase tickets for decent sized jackpots with the very best odds.
https://www.alllotto.com/latest_lotto_jackpots.php
Case in point - NJ currently has a jackpot of 23 million. The odds of winning it are 1 in 14 million.
Far superior to the odds of hitting Mega Million which are 1 in 302 million. A little less for Powerball - 1 in 292 million. Waste of money!
Indiana is currently at 19 million dollars. The odds of winning? 1 in 9 million. This is one of the best lotteries because the jackpot always grows.
Illinois is 1 in 20 million the jackpot is currently 18 million dollars.
Ct however has one of the best odds - 1 in 7 million the current jackpot is 7.1 million.
Granted, you have to know someone who can play it for you in these states but surely a friend of a friend has a relative and or another friend. Hah!
And although 23 million might seem paltry in comparison to 1.6 billion - 10 million after taxes (roughly) is certainly nice. And don't forget, some States have no taxes i.e., PA. The above web site tells you everything.
Cheers and good luck to all!
5
@BJ Interesting philosophy. As for me, I consistently play the Colorado lotto no matter what the jackpot is. It doesn't go that high. If I hit the minimum jackpot of 1 million, then I get half that, plus a little less for taxes. That money would still be a windfall for me. I don't bother with these MegaMillions or Powerball. Its highly unlikely that I would win the small ones, but more likely.
1
Infinite luck is what results in winning a megamillions jackpot. Having never won a jackpot I have no advice for the winner who has got my dollars and that of millions of other Americans going to his prize. I am sure he will get plenty of advice and lots of family and friends to contend with. I hope that the winner does charity work for genuine causes that will alleviate the suffering of fellow human beings, prevent diseases and opioid addiction.
10
Congrats to the person who won in South Carolina. I know that one day I will be one of those people who win and because I live in a state where they force you to give up your right to privacy by making you go to this press conference. I think that you should have a choice as to whether you want to have the press conference or not. In this world you put people's lives in danger and the lottery only cares about selling tickets. In many states you can remain anonymous. New York should definitely be one of them.
3
You have to go to the presser. You do not need to say anything besides no comment. Let your lawyer answer questions with answers of no comment. It looks like you can bring a friend. You do not need a friend. You need a lawyer. Bring her.
Get your team together, stay on plan, have your escape route ready, never ever provide any info to press, keep your lawyer at your side and beat feet as soon as you can. You need to get to the next stage of your life as quickly as possible. Nothing you say or do at the presser will make it easier or harder as long as you do not break a law do or start insulting people. Insulting requires opening your mouth. Act accordingly.
7
The lottery is just a regressive tax, as lower-income households spend much more on lottery tickets than do higher-income households, in the belief that they can beat the astronomical odds. While it's fun to play and dream about winning, lower-income people could put that money to better use than this regressive tax.
8
@Mark S. Low income people should not gamble, use drugs, or many other things that they do.
@vulcanalex neither should anyone else. Let’s not judge people who have less money than apparently you do.
6
Back when I taught anthropology I would spend some class time on odds and positive expectation. Then I would give an anonymous, ungraded pop quiz and ask two questions. 1) Should a person buy a lottery ticket? 2) Why? Inevitably, one or two students would give the answer to 2) that I was looking for: "It's only a dollar."
5
Congratulations to the South Carolina Winner! Endless good wishes to you. ☺️
6
Want a better chance at winning the lottery? Get 19 of your friends to pony up $100- ea and have a drawing based on random numbers that appear in the NYT in a certain place and on a certain day. Maybe the first day that the Dow is up 1-20 points after the money is collected. Each purchase gets a random number...1-20. Maybe do this four times a year assuming you can find players in your social contacts. The winners over a year get four chances at $2000- with the government not getting their tax cut. Exciting to play and for a $400- annual investment a player might potentially come away with $8,000-. At least you'd have the knowledge that a friend won this game of chance.
Congratulations to someone in South Carolina. Guess I’m still stuck in Kansas. Oh, wait. Powerball is tonight.
7
I wouldn't argue with any of the advice given. However, it's important remember at all times that the odds are so huge that winning is infinitesimally small which makes the gamble utterly stupid. in the end, though, people do will and so it's reasonable to ask onself., "Why not me?"
Here's how I rationalize that the game can be played without gambling. Gambling requires a belief that the bet can be won. With lotteries you CAN'T. But you can play without gambling because another imperative of gambling is that the player will take actions that they believe will improve your odds. With lotteries you CAN'T! As long as you only buy one ticket then you're just playing the game and having a little fun with the fleeting possibility that dangles out there somewhere. The minute you buy that second ticket because then you're trying to improve the impossible odds to odds are barely mathematically better - 1 chance in 302 million as oppsed to 2 chances in 302 million. So buy one ticket. Be part of the game and then, as another poster suggested, buy an ice cream cone enjoy your fantasy.
16
With that kind of money you could buy our corrupt Congress whose membership has largely forgotten who pays their salary.
22
I won the lottery today... by getting at least $2 worth of fun out of pretending I might.
34
Just pretend that you waited in line to buy the ticket, too. Give the two bucks to that homeless person with the sign.
4
I buy tickets because it’s a $2 investment in daydreaming.
20
Just daydream that you stood in line to buy the ticket. Save two bucks.
2
i estimate that this article is irrelevant for more than 99.9% of the population, except for the phrase:
"You’re likely to be better off if you keep going to work..."
however, state finance departments might seem to be happy if you ignore my estimate. actually, i am happy too because my taxes are lower than otherwise.
but personally speaking, you can't lose if you don't play.
4
If I win, my #1 goal is to buy some politicians so I can keep almost every dollar w/o taxes. Next goal: help as many people as possible, maybe near the southern border.
5
The lottery should guarantee a winner with every drawing (keep going until there’s a winner), and stop the insane growth of the jackpot. To most people, a billion is as incomprehensible, and will change their lives, as a million. Make the chances of winning better, and spread the wealth — a thousand winners getting a million dollar jackpot will changes more lives for the better than one billion dollar win. The theory is that the larger the jackpot, the more people will buy, but an untold number of people, like me, will never buy a ticket with those astronomical odds.
35
@PL the TOLD story is that $800 MILLION of tickets were sold in one swoop so I don’t think the system is worried about you not buying a ticket. I’m not saying the system is “good,” mind you...
3
I think it’s safe to say more people’s lives will be changed as more tickets are sold. A small jackpot brings in far fewer sales. People benefit from the lottery by the taxes each state gets from the ticket sales. Depends on what your state does with the money.
1
The only legitimate purpose of these lotteries is to fund state government. Government takes x % plus state taxes. The bigger the pots, the more tickets sold. The tickets sold per pot size is not linear. The ratio change may approach exponential. Your approach would likely generate 52 X pots per year, little change week to week, The current approach generates 3-4 50X pots per year. Do the math and see what approach generates more money for government.
I never play the lottery because I stand about as much chance of winning by not playing as I do if I play.
5
If I won the lottery I’d definitely take the annuity. It would help to smooth things out and get me accustomed to my new state. Oddly, I have never read of any winner who has done that.
6
@P. P. Porridge. Because most people, particularly when it involves money, run under the construct that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
1
Take the money. With it, you are likely more solvent than many of the states that you expect to pay you over the 20 years. Can you really trust the State of Illinois?
5
I think Walter Mischel did a study about this with kids, except he used marshmallows instead of lottery winnings. The kids who waited for two marshmallows later instead of opting for getting one marshmallow right away tended to do better in later life. Makes me wonder about the bird-in-the-hand logic.
1
How do people have time to do all of this planning to remain anonymous when they need to notify the lottery that they won (if they don’t let them know within a few days won’t there just be another drawing?). I know you get 180 days to claim, but how? What if someone already won on a previous drawing and is just waiting to come forward until they have everything lined up?
@Marie
Tickets are purchased from machines that leave an electronic record. As soon as the drawing is complete the administrators of the lottery know if there are any winners and where exactly the winning ticket(s) were purchased.
12
Once the system knows a winner exists, the money goes into escrow until winner(s) declared. The winner has a year to claim. The piece may not have emphasized enough that you have plenty of time to plan. You can take a month or two to line up the resources described. You simply have to stay quiet. Once you verify to your legal team, they will notify the lottery that the winner exists and will eventually claim the prize. Since the lottery must make public that communication to claim, my guess is that is the period described when everyone beat up on the lawyer. Once you are ready, the lawyers send someone in a nice suit to the lottery office with a limited power of attorney, she signs the firm for the trust, provides the trust account number to receive transfer and leaves out the back door.
Another recommendation would be to transfer all your non-lottery assets to a separate trust that never links to the lottery trust. As a legal human being, you basically disappear and can then enjoy your money. Your friends and family do not need to know anything. If you are generous to them, tell them you won a lottery, one of the tiny ones.
4
If the lottery ticket can be claimed by an entity that implies you could transfer the ticket to a CRAT and skip the taxes completely.
1
That would be completely stupid. If you have any legal team that advised that approach, you are dealing with crooks.
1
It would be a lot more useful to very nearly all of your readers to explain how we can convince a mega lottery winner to give us a share. Do any of these gold diggers actually cash in, and if so what is their secret?
3
From the NY Lottery "Winners' Handbook":
<<Will the fact that I’ve won be announced publicly?
Lottery policy has always been to release only the name and city of residence of each winner to the news media. Since the Lottery is a government agency and Lottery prizes are public funds, it is our responsibility to inform all of our players just like you, of Lottery winners and prizes. Therefore, we must require jackpot winners to participate in a media event arranged by the Lottery. We owe it to everyone to disclose the names of all winners to protect the integrity of the Lottery. For your protection, the Lottery maintains a policy of not releasing personal information such as street addresses or phone numbers to anyone. That’s up to you. Even so, once the media find out the name and city/borough of residence of a winner, they are active in seeking out the details regarding the identity of the jackpot winner. That’s because you are now a celebrity of sorts and reports of large winners are ‘newsworthy’ and usually good fun news stories. Viewers, listeners and readers like to learn more about you and become confident that they have a chance to win a prize too. A media event is advantageous to you as a winner because it allows you to answer all reporters' questions at one time.>>
1
@R. Finney The reason for publishing winner's ID is a good one, but the reason to allow them the option of anonymity is far better. Could be a life-saver.
2
@R. Finney I love the assumption that a lottery winner would wish to talk to reporters at all.
Who needs fame when you have money?
Best wishes to the winner in S.C. and I hope he/she and a lot of loved ones have fun with it.
Really? An article devoted to advising the potential 1/325,000,000 winner of what do do with their billion dollar headache? Bravo!
5
@Jeff K
You read it didnt you?
11
@biron
I didn't waste my time
All states should have the option of anonymity. Jackpot winners will be "on the run" for the rest of their lives. The number of attacks and murders of winners has proven this. Because of "people search" engines, hacking, and social engineering, it is impossible to live on the grid and not be found. (You still need to give your physical address to banks, the DMV, voter rolls, most government agencies, employers, etc.)
Mr. Irwin, pretend you won this huge lottery; do the research, and write a follow-up article about how one can maintain the most privacy according to NY State law. Find out the rules regarding name disclosure, public appearances (Does one have to appear? Can you wear a disguise? Can an attorney take your place?), the use of trusts, etc., and how the recent NHampshire court case might be a precedent for future lawsuits. And should we sign the ticket or not? Or can you sign then amend?
The Lottery cares about 1 thing-- selling tickets, which is why many states insist on outing the winners. Their excuse of "the public wants to make sure it's legit" is totally bogus.
There are 50 states and 2 big lotteries. Who can really know what the right thing to do is? Mr. Irwin, this is the hometown paper. What, precisely, should a NY State resident do to keep as private as possible?
Unfortunately, bad things usually have to happen (a homicide) before laws are changed. I hope the state gets ahead of that and allows anonymity for lottery winners.
15
@R. Finney I hope wearing a disguise is legal. I've already planned my own, during one of those happy fantasies that ease me into slumber.
Problem is, my disguise fantasies are limited. A young person can wear a white wig, use makeup to fake wrinkles, and hobble in with a walker, but that's already "me!"
Maybe a fright wig would do the trick...
Thank you. I will keep this in mind tomorrow when I am retaining advisors.
19
You will not win. Don’t feed into the American obsession with get-rich-quick schemes. The only one getting rich is one lucky person and the companies who thrive off our gullibility. Focus your efforts and time on strengthening your relationships. Spend less than you make. Save and invest your money wisely. Enjoy your world and work to make this world a better place.
20
Prepare yourselves, I’m going to make a positive remark about KANSAS. This is one of only SIX states that allows Winners to remain completely anonymous. So, if I disappear from the comments, assume that I’m packing my stuff, and waiting for a humongous Check. I’ve enjoyed the repartee, except from one person in New Jersey. Seriously.
32
@Phyliss Dalmatian
You can still comment from Seattle, don't leave us! Just hire someone (me me me!), and have them be "Me, commenting for Phyliss Dalmatian".
If I could just win enough to pay off my student loans, then I’m happy.
25
@Jimmy so the $1.6 billion, then?
14
How to win the lottery:
1. Never, ever play.
2. If you accidentally play and receive a prize, maintain absolute secrecy and carry on as if nothing has happened.
8
@John R. Um ... if you carry on as if nothing has happened, what on earth is the point of getting the money?
I’ve bought a ticket, and I will enjoy hoping to win until I find out I haven’t. But as I already own a house, I already have enough to eat, I’ve traveled the world a bit and don’t really hanker for much, what I enjoy is thinking about how to use the money for good. Here comes climate change, you know? I think I’d like to help purchase conservation land, protect forests and other habitats. Underwrite local agriculture. Help people insulate and solarize. Invest in public transportation. Prepare some affordable housing for the climate refugees to come. Etc. This is what will save me from ruining my life.
65
I have spent many happy hours scheming in great detail how I would react and plan(down to the level of identifying a Trust Company) for such a windfall. The one missing component is actually going out there and buying a lottery ticket otherwise, everything else is planned for .
45
I play the lottery when the jackpots get up to $100 million and justify it by knowing that a portion of my money goes to the state education fund. No guilt and not really gambling. I'm investing in the next generation!
16
Find a good lawyer? A lot of Trump's lawyers are available - but they're not very good.
10
I find it amazing that every article I have read says stay anonymous. In many states that is not an option. Winners should be able to stay anonymous for at least 5 years after winning.
14
@Sutter....lawyers, financial advisers, and the like. Absolutely necessary that a trust be set up, and the the trust signs the the ticket, and the money goes into the trust and not to you personally. Until that happens put the ticket in a safe deposit box and hope you do t die. Kill all your social media, accounts, pack up and move, go as far off the grid as possible and hope this doesn’t ruin your life. The simple fact is that no average American citizen has the slightest idea how to deal with this sort of sudden wealth
2
I know people tut-tut and disdain the poor buying lottery tickets, or call it "a tax on the mathematically impaired". But consider this: perhaps they feel, in this country, they are more likely to get ahead by the sheer luck of a lottery draw, than by "working hard and playing by the rules".
If we had a society where anyone willing to work a full-time job could get one, and could earn enough to care for themselves and build a future -- maybe you'd have some reason to scorn their choice to instead buy a lottery ticket!
96
I don’t need that much money. $500 million would do us fine.
21
With odds of 1 in over 300,000,000 I saw on the news that it would be more likely for a person to achieve sainthood than win. And the fact that the PowerBall Gaming Commission made it even more difficult to win (which accounts for the increase of the jackpot prizes which equals the ticket-buying frenzy) was enough of a turn-off for me to stop entering the lottery altogether.
Yeah, sure, someone has to win. And eventually someone will win. But the sad reality is that people in the lower income brackets are buying tickets like crazy in the hope that they will be that person. And it won't be.
8
It's fun and games for most people, but the dirty secret is that the state run lotteries are nothing more than a tax on the poor and lower income who spend a disproportionate amount of the little income they have on lottery tickets every single day.
22
@ERA Yes, the lottery is a sucker’s gambit. Yes, your chances of winning are infinitesimally small… but a lottery ticket is a small price for infinite Hope! Until you find you have lost, you get to play around with the kind of money and power a Rockefeller deals with every day.
1
To avoid spending it all fast and going broke you could create an irrevocable trust naming yourself as the beneficiary with an annual payout over X years, with "X" being the number of years you want, not what the lottery commision wants.
5
I read your advice with great interest since I do intend to buy a ticket and win. Retaining anonymity will not be a problem since I live in Trump country and, being a Democrat, I have no friends to share my good fortune with. Family is no problem, I have a gold digging daughter in law and to let her know of my good fortune would be asking to be "Kashoggied".
Since most lottery players have a low financial IQ it would be difficult to connect with a qualified attorney on the downlow. Chances are you find a caring and smart sounding guy who also values anonymity, mostly because he is disbarred and needs to stay off the radar of his creditors. (I married one of those.) He will be well connected with a Tax attorney (his cousin) and investment advisors (his creditors). So, I have decided to manage things myself and if I have a lot of money left when I am near the end of my life (I am 77 now) I'll just take it up in a Helicopter and throw it out by the fist full over a bluu state.
Wish me luck.
146
@Karin Byars
Your comments are the funniest thing I have read in quite a while! Can't wait for the helicopter!
20
@Karin Byars
Hilarious. If I don’t win, I hope YOU do.
Seriously.
29
@Karin Byars - thanks for an uplifting and hilarious post!
6
When it gets big and I get tempted to buy a ticket, instead I go ahead and pick numbers but don't buy a ticket. Then I confirm that I lost and saved a couple bucks. So far, it has worked like a charm. If I do manage to hit the numbers (never hit more than 2 or 3 before), I'll curl up in a ball.
29
@Upst8er
You've got to be in it to lose it (your 2 bucks).
Nonetheless, $2 is not a lot to pay for a daydream that can last for a pleasant few days...
40
Good advice. In addition I would immediately get a post office box, a new phone, phone number, and email address, and disappear for a year to see the world in grand style.
87
@Pat
You would have to move, of course, as would all of your close relatives. They would be subject to harassment (at best) or even violent acts in order to get to you. See my post. You can find the address of almost anyone in minutes on the web unless the target has specifically made efforts to move and stay off of peoplesearch websites.
4
I’m no different than any other red-blooded American.
When I win the Powerball and/or Megabucks Lotteries, I’m gonna buy my wife a sewing machine, pay off the $728.55 I still owe VISA for my Christmas shopping and invest the rest in Bitcoins.
These are perilous times and President Trump and Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan are our leaders.
One cannot be too careful.
39
Thank you, this was very helpful. I am now prepared for tomorrow morning.
98
It will ruin 99% of people who win it.
There was a documentary about it, the curse of the big lottery.
Everything from divorce, to family breakups, bankruptcies, suicides, loss of friends, murder, forced to move etc.
They could find only one person who made it thru albeit with major changes in their lives.
Money like this is only meant for people like Gates, Buffet etc. They know how to handle it and avoid the pitfalls and accept the downs that go with it without ruining their lives.
12
@Paul
Most very wealthy people, and I’ve worked for a few ,had the luck and skill to amass their fortunes slowly along with their increasing success, this gave them the time “to learn” how to be rich and slowly get accustomed to its advantages. This also put them in the company of financial equals eliminating the doubts they might have regarding even their oldest friends.
The difficulty with winning huge amounts in the lottery is BOOM all of a sudden, in one fell swoop, you’re IT.
22
@Doug--exactly ....you understand...however 100% of the people who buy these mega million tickets don't care or don't know.
It is the nature of the beast.
The grass is always greener on the other side, especially if it is super expensive grass.
Another saying I love, rich people know money does not bring happiness, the ordinary Joe doesn't.
1
This brings to mind a song Cyndi Lauper used to sing: Money Changes Everything. Yes, it does.
8
@Douglas Ritter
That's the whole point of buying a ticket. To change everything.
1
If it were me winning that kind of money, I'd move outside the United States. In fact, I already have left the US and I'm not wealthy or even rich.
Invest enough money in a foreign country and you can literally "buy" another passport. The truly rich have multiple nationalities and passports. Many countries allow dual citizenship.
I'd set up the receiving trust in a low tax country. While the US taxes on the prize winnings are deducted from the lump sum payment, $900 million on deposit producing a 5% annual rate of return is generating $45 million a year without ever touching your $900 million. You want to minimize taxes on that amount of annual income and America is not a low tax country.
It might even prove advantageous to renounce US citizenship for tax reasons as well as greater privacy and anonymity.
The number of rich people renouncing their US citizenship due to FACTA (the US law that taxes worldwide income) has been steadily increasing.
If you have never traveled internationally (only 37% of Americans even have a passport) you may be a bit brainwashed in your beliefs of America's superiority.
Basically, America is no longer first in much of anything worthwhile. America is #1 in guns per capita, military spending per capita, incarcerations of its own citizens, and medical bankruptcies.
Quality of life is a lot better these days outside America and away from the tribalism and greed of unfettered capitalism.
126
@SF Native
Hahaha- You write eight paragraphs on a tax evasion scheme for your unearned billion dollars that compels you to renounce US citizenship and you have the nerve to complain about greed in America?
66
@SF Native That won't work if you are an American citizen at the time you win. You'll still pay American taxes.
8
I'm willing to take the chance. Forest Gump said "One Less thing" when discovering money was no longer a problem for him.
No question it would be disruptive but ...
10
Is there a table or list somewhere that details what the options are in each of the Powerball / MegaMillions states? For example, if I were to win (ha!) would I be able to appear with a mask on (or, perhaps an orange comb-over wig and a too-long tie!) in my state if compelled to show up at a news conference? Is this a possible NYT follow up?
24
@George
Yes, Irwin should do a follow-up. The lottery agencies have their "rules" but you'd have to hire lawyers to find out what you could do (and not do) legally.
All states should allow anonymity. At the very least, everyone should be able to claim their prize through a trust or LLC to keep their name totally private.
6
Instead of one grand prize of $1.4 billion, which is as likely as not to ruin the life of its winner, why not 1,400 prizes of $1 million each? The odds of winning would go way up, the winning prize would still be big enough to change the life of anyone not already rich, and the risks of winning would be considerably reduced.
77
@Ecce Homo because people play the lottery when the prize gets big. it makes them a lot of money. they could do lotteries where people win thousands of dollars if they truly wanted to, your odds would be higher and more would win. But that doesn't rake in the big bucks or bring up excitement or news coverage.
9
Sound advice. I was co-worker to a guy that won $20MM and he followed most of these tips. I'm curious if he has any left after purchasing a ridiculous truck, a bar, stocks and investing in a race car team. Huge windfalls tend to cause people to spend carelessly without concern for tax consequence or long term. IE house maintenance, property tax, insurance, operating expense.
NYT, run some of those stories as a follow up to this piece.
48
My brother won $10,000 from a scratch-off ticket. He and his wife immediately bought a new car and installed a backyard pool. I’m sitting here, adding it up, and it seems to me that they were in a deeper hole financially AFTER winning the money than they were BEFORE winning. And that was “only” $10k. I can imagine the even bigger hole people would dig for themselves with even more money.
That said, I’m hoping Phyllis or Karin (other commenters) win one day because they are so funny!
3
Your odds of winning the jackpot are not statistically different from zero. And unlike poker, you can never live long enough to see the pot odds or expected value pay off for you, not one time. All that clever math means nothing if you can never win.
So when you spend your money, know that you are simply giving it away. Once you understand the game, that you have effectively zero chance, there shouldn't even be an entertainment value to playing.
Don't fool yourself into dreaming you might win. Don't fool yourself into rationalizing that it's only a cheap thrill. Gambling is still a vice. Save your $2, $4, $6 and give it to your server the next time you have lunch or dinner out somewhere. It'll be much more satisfying for you.
71
@Tyrone Greene the odds are the same as picking one person randomly from the United States. Low but not 0. Someone will win eventually. The odds are not zero.
24
@Tyrone Greene
Boo. Party pooper.
8
The theory isn’t very sound. Someone actually won. There have been times when there were multiple winners. Of course it’s against overwhelming odds, and no one should buy a ticket until after taking care of their family’s needs, given money (and time) to a charity, and laughed at the fact that they are actually going to fantasize about what to do with the money. That’s almost as much fun as going to a movie.
7
The annuity is almost always the best choice.
First, it's much harder to be swindled 30 times than once.
Second, it's easier to rebuff demands if you have just received $30M, rather than $1B.
I find the 'tax efficiency' rationale vulgar. You win $1.6B, and you begrudge the state a share? The state is the only thing keeping the mob from overrunning your mansion and taking everything you've got.
135
People making 30 million a year are in the same tax bracket as a winner of 600 million. The tax efficiency is result of uncertainty about future tax rates. Once you settle with the IRS after the win (the 25% withholding is just the first salvo), you could be done with them. Buy municipals, move to a no income tax state, rent your homes, lease your cars, Uber everywhere and you may never pay taxes till you die. Tax rates will unlikely get lower than present. Some people that regularly comment here think your tax rate should be 90% . Every year for next 20 years, they may get bigger and bigger pieces of your fixed annuity.
Also interest rates, an indirect measure of expected inflation rates, are also as low as they will ever be. Those rates determine the discount factor on the nominal 1.54 billion to calculate the cash award. Should inflation rise, as it surely will, the cumulative true value, after inflation, of your annuity will decrease faster that the discount you took in year zero. Another win for you. Since you have the money at year zero, your financial team has the assets so you can make returns on money that exceeds the inflation rate. Another win for you. You get 3 wins if you can stick to your program.
I would look at these as good problems to have.
11
This is the most pragmatic lottery fantasy of them all!
6
Too much trouble. I want to simplify my life, not complicate it. I'll stick to the cash5 that generally pays out no more than 1 million.
5
If I win, I’ll be leaving Kansas. Quickly and permanently, with OR without the Husband. Hello, Seattle.
Seriously.
57
@Phyliss Dalmatian
Been there. Done that.
(Warning: You won't have people like Brownback and Kobach to kick around anymore.)
Your plan works just as well whether you win or not.
4
@Remember in November
Why oh why do people NOT do the thing they desperately want to do. It doesn't require millions. Good advice!
1
@Barbara Ottolino
no kidding , I've been a busy , booked ( not rich ) musician since the early 70's
I had my car's bumper repaired...the shop owner said he was also a musician and would start a band if he won the lottery !!!
YOLO
From my childhood I know a guy who won a (small) lottery years ago. This guy was (and still is) largely uneducated, largely untrained, extremely lazy and totally incapable of holding a steady job. He used to live with his parents and he was jobless when suddenly he bought himself a sporty car (nothing too glitzy, it was a VW GTI, but nevertheless quite an expense for an unemployed guy), and then he went off on long vacations to Australia, Kenya, East Asia and so on.
Fast forward 20 years, as I recently visited my childhood hometown I found this guy still unemployed, still living in his (now deceased) mortgage-free parents' house, the GTI is gone, replaced by a bicycle, while he spends his entire time sitting on his porch reading car magazines and rebuilding old stereo systems for fun.
This guy is either a fool or a genius... the jury among my friends and relatives is still out. For sure he's not the brightest bulb in town, but I wonder how many people would have made a career out of absolute laziness with only a small lottery win in a lifetime?
38
@Andy
I say the guy is a genius.
2
Being able to collect the winnings anonymously should be legal in all 50 states.
102
Thanks. I need this advice since I am going to win. :)
9
"You’re likely to be better off if you keep going to work..."
Or you can just pretend you're going to work.
46
Forrest Gump is a good role model.
1
I find it hilarious that even for this unimaginable wealth the author states it needs to be managed so you pay as little in tax as possible. How about just being glad you can easily pay the taxes and contribute, since you now have more money than you’ll ever know what to do with.
169
@hanna I mostly disagree. I am sure that people who win less than $1 billion will also need and look for advice, and someone who wins $1 million, say, or $500,000, or any sum much bigger than they have dealt with before very much does need a heads up about taxes, in my opinion.
1
I do play the lottery and I never understood why folks who win the lottery end up worse off in the long term. Please, let me win the lottery and I will show you how it is done.
1. Find and hire a real fiduciary financial advisor and allow them control of cash flow.
2. Find and hire a estate planner and lawyer.
3. Continue to live your life on current track till fiduciary, estate planner and lawyer have come up with a plan.
4. Once a plan has been completed and you know that your new found wealth will outlive you, then execute the plan and rebalance your life accordingly.
5. Finally, never forget that money can buy you a bigger box to put stuff in it, but money will never fix your current state of mind.
6. Find a life coach.
75
@Truth Is True
A life coach? You mean, one of the 20-somethings without any other serious career experience the NYT profiled a year or so ago?
Sure, and after that, become an investor in GOOP and an admirer of Gwyneth Paltrow. Maybe convert to Scientology?
27
@Truth Is True Some good points, but I would not give anyone control over the money. And....a life couch? No, thx.
My winner's plan is to pick the amount I believe Frump will take to resign immediately, add what I believe the VP would take to quit as well, then cast my lot with the line of succession to the Presidency.
The balance of the jackpot would not matter because removing the heads of the snake would be jackpot enough for me.
78
Surprised that the advice wasn't given to wait until after new year starts to cash ticket and establish a residence in Florida or California where the state doesn't tax lottery winnings. New Jersey where I live would take enough to buy a few mansions in both states.
8
That's an interesting theory. I wonder if it would work. When does the tax man establish receipt of the winnings? My guess is that the winner would have "earned" the money on the day of the drawing and that this wouldn't work. CPA's please clarify since I will be needing the right answer when I win.
5
@Robert You are a taxpayer in whatever state you bought the ticket in ...forever. If you take the lump sum, they tax it at distribution. If you take the 30 year annuity, they tax you or your estate at the then prevailing rates for the life of the annuity term. No way to win in NY and immediately move to FL to escape state tax.
7
@Robert NY taxes NY tickets, period. I imagine other states do the same thing.
3
I hope I have to come back to this article tomorrow morning.
49
The best and smartest way to prevent the lottery from ruining your life is : do not ever buy a lottery ticket. It is a fraud, a game for suckers. Be joyful in your life. Get off the wheel, it only makes a gerbil happy.Put your lottery money in the Salvation Army bucket ...eat an ice cream cone.
131
@Kirk Hear, hear, Kirk. Truer words were ne'er spoken.
6
@Kirk I would love to win 5-10 million, after tax. But, I do think winning a billion would make you so visible, it could be a curse.
1
"Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.”
― Ambrose Bierce
31
I heard a (perhaps apocryphal) story of a person with an advanced degree in mathematics who was chided for buying a lottery ticket. “You, a mathematician, of all people, should know better than to bet on such statistically improbable odds”. His reply? “I buy tickets occasionally, not to win. I know I won’t. But $1 seems a small price to pay for the enjoyment of my “what if” fantasues
35
Q: ”How to keep the MegaMillions $1.6 billion jackpot from ruining your life”? A: No problem. In all probability, if not certainty, we won’t win it! LOL
8
OKAY, ruin my life if you must.
39
The good news is, it is HIGHLY unlikely anyone reading this will need this advice. When people ask me if I bought tickets for a lottery this big, they are always baffled by my answer that I am afraid that if I bought a ticket that I might actually win! If you are already a multi millionaire, this might not be a big deal. If you are like the 99.99% of the rest of us, this will at 99.99% wreck your life. That is far too much money for the inexperienced, and remember, the lottery IS indeed the only game you win if you do not play!
9
It is unfortunate that more states don't allow a winner, especially of a large amount, to remain anonymous. After all, once a the winner of a large jackpot knows that his/her/their names will become public, there is no motivation to remain in, and continue to contribute to, the local community or the state where they reside.
54
@Cardinal
Right-- you have to be on the run for the rest of your life, and you can never make a new friend or lover because you will never know if they just want money.
4
@R. Finney Well, you could accept that they are only with you for your money and enjoy it for what it is, if you chose.
It would do more good if such lotteries were to cap the top prizes at a level that would give winners financial security, rather than excess, then increase the number of those prizes, so that far more people win them. E.g. $1.5B = 500 x $3M prizes.
Even better was an old UK system that had players buy One Dollar savings certificates, but the interested was pooled and used and paid out as lottery winnings monthly based on the certificate numbers. That way no-one lost their original investment and could recover it at any time.
72
Don't buy a ticket.
18
Since these instant mega-prize winners are so notably vulnerable, from emotional upheavals to bankruptcies to murder, why not provide solid links to a support system, to advise these instant millionaires and billionaires right at the onset of their change in circumstances, torn away from everything they've known. At the very least, a packet of information can be provided them to make good decisions, including the names and specialties of well known certified estate firms, accountants and lawyers in their area, offering to keep their identities private and their decision to remain private protected and honored, anything and all they would need to help them survive each step of their journey to a successful life of great wealth.
16
@BLB Sure, we've got homeless folks living in cardboard boxes so let's worry about instant millionaires! Talk about 1st world problems!
6
@BLB This is the trick, in order to get those supports, you would have to admit to being the winner.
How about several economic studies heralded in this newspaper that once you hit an income of 80K, any money over that is just gravy,
And does not make an appreciable difference in life satisfaction. My reaction to these past studies has always been that the authors bias as middle class authors shows. I started out life in a manger,okay ,really my earliest memories was sleeping on a mattress on the floor in a studio apartment. I was raised in that environment by a single hard-working Latinx mom. Luckily , I have lived on the opposite side economically of my beginnings. I agree totally with this Swedish study. Lots of money does substantially increase life satisfaction. It has to be under-girded with good values of rejecting the rampant consumerism of this society ,and helping others who haven’t been so lucky.
67
@Angelina Arroyo
I don't agree. It depends on what your life's passions and goals are. I'd like to earn millions so that I could fund various environmental protection programs and organizations. I would also donate a lot of money to progressive causes, and I'd probably start up my own foundation. To do all this, you need far more than $80K. 80 Million would probably be a better starting point.
18
@Angelina Arroyo (Please publish my name as A. Arroyo as I am a private person)
Your name appeared in full because the times doesn't edit anything in these comments. You have to change your display name yourself when you start a comment by clicking the "edit" button to the right of your name. Then go into the box with your name and change it. That will then become a permanent change unless you change it again.
27
Thanks. I didn’t know that.