Closing in on all-time lottery record
By Todd Northrop
Only once before has the United States — or the world — witnessed a lottery-buying frenzy like we are seeing this week.
That was in March, 2012, when the multi-state Mega Millions game was busy setting a record for the largest jackpot in world history.
This time it's Powerball's turn to make people stop what they're doing and line up for lottery tickets.
Powerball tickets are being bought at such a rapid pace that the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which operates the Powerball game, has raised the jackpot estimate for a second time in two days.
Who knows, it may even get raised again Saturday before the drawing.
Early Thursday morning, around 12:30 am Eastern Time, USA Mega announced the new record Powerball jackpot of $475 million after nobody won in the Wednesday evening drawing.
Twelve hours later, the jackpot estimate was raised to $550 million. (See $550 MILLION: Powerball jackpot now more than a half-billion dollars, Lottery Post, May 16, 2013.)
Now, one day later, the official jackpot estimate has been raised yet again — to $600 million — with one more full day of sales to go before the big drawing.
The only question left is whether or not this Powerball juggernaut will set the all-time lottery jackpot record, eclipsing the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot set on March 30, 2012.
The cash value for Saturday's drawing now stands at a jaw-dropping $376.9 million. Surprisingly, the cash value is still the third-largest amount in history, even though the annuity estimate is now the second-largest on record. (The updated list of top annuity and cash jackpots can be found below.)
The rush of people trying to check their numbers on the Internet tomorrow night will likely have most Web sites swamped. Players are encouraged to check their numbers at USA Mega (www.usamega.com), which tends to survive incredible traffic volumes better than most state lottery Web sites.
"Players checking online should hang in there and refresh their Web browser every so often until they get through to the site," said Todd Northrop, founder of Lottery Post and USA Mega. "The rush of traffic happens right at 11:00 pm Eastern Time, so waiting a half hour or so before checking the numbers will probably be easiest."
In the meantime, lottery players dreaming about what $600 million means to them after taxes have been withheld can check USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page, which provides the information for each individual state.
Powerball features nine different prize levels, ranging from $4 all the way up to the jackpot. Players can win even if they just match one number — the Powerball number.
States also offer the Power Play option for an extra dollar per ticket purchased. The Power Play multiplies any non-jackpot prizes won by a fixed amount, depending on the prize level won.
Players who purchase the Power Play and win second prize will automatically have their prize increased by 2x to $2 million.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 2rd-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States. The amount of the jackpot may rise before the drawing Saturday night, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and current sales frenzy may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.
If nobody wins Saturday, it's anyone's guess how high it will go.
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $600 million, May 18, 2013 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
- Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
- The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
- Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
- Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
- The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007 - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
- Mega Millions: $319 million, Mar. 25, 2011 - New York
- Mega Millions: $315 million, Nov. 15, 2005 - California
- Powerball: $314.9 million, Dec. 26, 2002 - West Virgina
- Powerball: $314.3 million, Aug. 25, 2007 - Indiana
- Powerball: $295.7 million, Jul. 29, 1998 - Indiana
- Powerball: $295 million, Aug. 25, 2001 - Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $294 million, Jul. 2, 2004 - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $276.3 million, Mar. 15, 2008 - West Virgina
- Mega Millions: $275 million, Feb. 22, 2008 - Georgia
- Mega Millions: $270 million, Feb. 28, 2006 - Ohio
- Mega Millions: $266 million, May 4, 2010 - California
For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Mega Millions: 11
- Powerball: 12
- The Big Game: 2
The Big Game is the original name of Mega Millions, from the game's first drawing on Sep. 6, 1996 through May 14, 2002. The name was changed to Mega Millions starting with the May 17, 2002 drawing.
Top 20 cash value jackpots
Since many lottery winners collect their winnings in cash, the lump-sum payout is an important measure of what a winning ticket could be worth. The upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 3rd-highest ever in the United States.
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $376.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($600 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
- Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
- Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
- Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
- Mega Millions: $194.4. million cash, Aug. 31, 2007 ($330 million annuity) - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
- Mega Millions: $185 million cash, Nov. 15, 2005 ($315 million annuity) - California
- The Big Game: $180 million cash, May 9, 2000 ($363 million annuity) - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $177.3 million cash, Feb. 18, 2006 ($365 million annuity) - Nebraska
- Mega Millions: $168 million cash, July 2, 2004 ($294 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $167.7 million cash, Feb. 22, 2008 ($275 million annuity) - Georgia
- Powerball: $166 million cash, Aug. 25, 2001 ($295 million annuity) - Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $165.2 million cash, May 4, 2010 ($266 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $164.4 million cash, won Oct. 19, 2005 ($340 million annuity) - Oregon
- Mega Millions: $164 million cash, Feb. 28, 2006 ($270 million annuity) - Ohio
$2 and a dream baby! I'm glad I got my tickets already, the lines at the store on Saturday are going to be looonnnng.
Yep- this is all Californians doing, to think otherwise is foolishness. Three Cheers for California.
I say 650 on sat. They are saying it passed 600 already.
I say $700 mil RedStang by spinning time.
ya'll excited for the 190M mega millions tonight? lol
How about $657 million just to beat the all time annuity record?
That would mean about 150 mill tickets sold. Pretty wild.
I just purchased my one ticket, good luck everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
People that dont normally play the lottery will be coming out the woodworks to play in worlds biggest lottery jackpot. I wouldnt be surprised if it reaches a little more than $700 million. And if by an act of god no one wins, expect a jackpot of at least 1.5 billions.
I want it all. All for me!!!
Definitely excited for both games! First time in history both jackpots combined have been close to $800M :)
I agree, I think it'll be at $700M or close to it by tomorrow night. I think people will be borrowing money and clearing out their checking accounts to buy as many tickets as they can. Seems it's jumping ~$100M per day, so why not $700 tomorrow night, unless everyone is broke by tomorrow. Which is possible at this rate of ticket sales.
I don't know what will happen if it rolls over. People will lose their minds.
old record Powerball: $384.7 million cash vs current Powerball: $376.9 million cash
ya i think we beat cash wise by draw time of old PB record
we did start higher then that old jackpot ,and have ca now, so i knew we have new PB record
but nonething going to touch the $471 million cash MM record
if 1 ticket wins, am going to rofl at media witch hunt, as they all camp out for lottery to show up
they better know how to hide via trust or something,
also 1 billion plus jackpot easy if it rolls"small chance with these sells"
lotteries are loving this , making them a killing
about time todd lol
Oopsie Daisy
Ima gonna win about $230 million in the bank after 39% in Federal Taxes. Woo Hoo, no State or Local Taxes here in PA on Lottery winnings!
Good luck LP friends!
Woo Hoo
That was uncalled for don't you think Todd works really hard on this site and USA Mega cut him some slack.
Actually I am!! I would be very happy to win the mega millions!!
Heck Yeah, shoot I'll take $1 million even $250,000
no i was just saying good job todd lol i have been here longer
Alright my turn.
So far I have 14 tickets for which I only paid $3.00. Think work pool.
I am thinking of buying 2 for myself with powerplay and wait for the draw.
Good luck people.
I hope you have the winning ticket for tonight's mega millions and I hope I have the winning ticket for tomorrow night's powerball. That would be sweet.
Oh Lord, Have Mercy....!
The PB annuity value will have to exceed $750 million if it wants to break the cash value that MM has at $471 million.
Lottery insanity rules.
singlewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinner
Bought some tickets today and had an interesting thing... Here in Texas you have to choose whether you want cash or annuity at purchase. Cash always for me. Anyway, this is what tickets look like normally:
Just before that, at a different location, my ticket printed like this:
It is nice that us folks here in Florida can now participate in the MM without having to drive to Georgia.
okay...hear that everyone? Buy more Powerball tickets now!
Just kidding, buy as many tickets as you are comfortable with. no more no less.
This is unbelievable .....just found out it's up to $600 million , what a surprise .
I checked my state and I'm ready to win over $260 million dollars .......
Wish I could play, hope you all win.
We also have to make the choice at purchase,
easy decision, cash, always.
I would take cash at purchase also.
hmm.... as i read the article i note:
"In the meantime, lottery players dreaming about what $640 million means to them after taxes have been withheld can check USA Mega'sJackpot Analysis page, which provides the information for each individual state."
640... and Todd... you trying to tell us something here?
GO POWERBALL!!!
Is it $640 mil ?
This is by far the largest Powerball Jackpot in their history. The world record jackpot was Mega Millions at $656 million shared by 3 winning tickets.
Good luck MzD!
The first drawing sequence that Powerball has in California and the jackpot grows from what, 50 million to 600 million? How convenient. How timely.
/rolleyes
The Federal tax obligation alone is almost $150 million! some folks out there will still think that is not enough of their fair share.
Our beloved Government will burn through that amount in 20 minutes.
Jesus first called them hypocrites, and then asked one of them to produce a Roman coin that would be suitable for paying Caesar's tax. One of them showed him a Roman coin, and he asked them whose name and inscription were on it. They answered, "Caesar's," and he responded:"Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's".
Closer to 2 minutes I'd say.
As Ridge would say that's mighty kindly of you whiteballz
Hi Todd-
You do an outstanding job running this site. Especially in times like these. So, I dont want anyone to go over the stupid mountain, and think Im criticizing you. But there is a typo in the article. See quote below:"In the meantime, lottery players dreaming about what $640 million means to them after taxes have been withheld can check USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page, which provides the information for each individual state.
Keep up the great work.
Lol! with the current Federal budget at close to 4 trillion. Our Government spends about $450 million per hour
Cause I earned that $376.9 million dammit!
How do you know the number of tickets? I've been wondering what percentage of sales goes back into the pot.
http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/econ/lottery-payouts-and-state-revenue.aspx
Sales are available at
http://<snip>/powerballsales.htm
Now what the chances the Powerball will roll again now?
At least below 20%
Love that people can put little sayings under their posts. You can really see who the mentally ill on here are.
Ok still a chance it can roll.
How many days old tickets win? It's always the ticket the person bought on game day. It's extremely hard to win the lottery, but most winners are sold on the day of the drawing.
That's because most people rush to buy tickets on the last day, so most tickets are sold on the last day.
It was a typo. I'm glad you found it, but probably best just to send me a quick note.
Please just send me a note if you find a typo - thanks.
Spot on. Many of the lotto retailers down here near I-45 and the major streets in the Houston area get absolutely packed with customers the evening of the draw.
Got my tickets
Trolling again, Venom? Not getting enough attention?
Take a deep breath and play responsibly!
Definitely getting mine tonight. :) I've seen the lotto machines go down due to network issues before a big jackpot.
Everyone who wins the lotto seemingly has this amazing story. The public bus broke down in front of a corner store and they went in to get a bottled water, and the change they had left was exactly enough to buy a ticket for the lotto they wouldn't have otherwise played if the bus hadn't broke down. It was also their first time playing, and someone cut in front of them in line and got a ticket, so if that didn't happen they wouldn't have won.
Stuff like that.
I was thinking, well, maybe that's the kind of story I'll tell them when I win, but I never win to even get the chance. I'm starting to think I have to actually live that story for me to win, roleplay style. I'm going to concoct some ridiculous story and roleplay it right into a corner store where I'll get the winning ticket.
No role playing for me. I'm claiming anonymously.
bummer... I thought you were giving us a hint... :)
I can't understand cleaning out a savings account to buy that many tickets. I have 4 that's plenty for me.
Sorry, I ment to include a "LOL"
on my reply to you.
$650 million PowerBall jackpot! I'm ready for it. Bring it on!
OK all I have to do is to win Powerball and Mega = $790 mil. I will start working on my magic numbers :D
I got mine too.
Guy in line two places ahead of me: $200 on Powerball, $100 on Mega.
Heard on the news that if no one wins tomorrow, it'll go up at least to 935 million dollars.
I think given the rapid sales, it is likely that all possible number combinations will have been sold thus guaranteering that it will hit tomorrow.
Of course I would love to hit the jackpot, but if I don't then i would love to see the worlds first billion dollar jackpot.
i needed to catch a bus, so asked for 1 ticket, the clerk thought i meant lotto, said i have to buy it now as they cant be cancelled, and what do you know! I won. I NEVER buy lotto, it breeds indolence.
I have the golden ticket in my shoebox...
Congrats goose! Was it the jackpot?
You're my girl!
Sho you right!
It's gonna be really difficult to get some sleep tonight...
I wish there was a way to find out the combos that have not been played yet so that I can play some of them
Cash .............in my state is says .......payout $263,815,000 Does that mean how much
a person will recieve ? Do they give you a small check when you turn in your ticket ?
How long does it take ? What is the procedure ? thank you
Hi brees. I don't know what state you're in so I'll tell you the best way to figure it out.
The money you receive from a jackpot payment, isn't entirely yours. They take 25% of federal taxes right away, but what you'll really owe is a total of 39.6%, so it's best to calculate what that extra 14.6% is, subtract that amount, put it aside as you'll owe it later. If you're in a state that doesn't tax you, then the 39.6% is all the taxes you'll owe on the jackpot.
Once they've verified your information, they'll deposit the funds in an account you provide or forward you a physical check (do they still send physical JP checks?) that takes about 3 weeks or so to hit your account.
If you need money to tide you over until then, you can get a loan against the jp, either before or after you come forward. It's best to get the loan ahead of time, IMO.
"why not $700 tomorrow night"
The increase in what they advertise doesn't mean they've actually sold those tickets already. It only means the sales so far have let them make a more accurate estimate. I'm guessing they also deliberately lowball it a bit when it gets to this level, so they can generate even more hype when they do bump up the total.
Figuring they knew the original estmate was low, we've seen an increase of $75 million followed by an increase of $50 million. I'd bet on an increase to $625 by early afternoon, followed by a modest adjustment at drawing time.
It's virtually impossible to sell all of the possible combinations. Once they've sold 90% there's only 1 unused combination for every 10 tickets sold. At the very end, when there's only 1 unused combination left there's only a 1 in 175 million chance it wil turn up each time another ticket is sold. That means that we should expect that finally using that single combination would require selling 175 million tickets.
Assuming the final tally is about $650 milion they will have sold about 300 million tickets. That will use about 75% of the combinations, and a 25% chance of another roll.
Every time there is a Hugh JP the media interviews Richard Lustig and he gives the same old advice. I don't think he ever won a huge MM or PB jackpot, but hell he's lucky than most. My mother bought a ticket yesterday, but I'm going to buy one today. If we win I will definitely have a Joker smile for life.
Have you noticed just how little media attention is with the 600 million dollars jackpot? The attention is a far cry from 656 million MM jackpot last year.
Moreover, there was no line when I bought a ticket in my location today.
I have a feeling that once a record jackpot was reached, it would take another record to get media attention. If the jackpot rolls over and reaches 1 billion dollars, then the media would be all over it.
That guy is nothing but a modern day snake oil salesman. System my a(s)s. If his system was all that effective he'd have won more than $1M by now and disclose how much he spends on tickets. His number of wins isn't that impressive to me without knowing the stats. Fine, he won 7 times, how much did he spend to get that? Especially since so many of the wins are $25k. And why hasn't he won any more since. He's been at 7 wins for years now.
What he's really selling is his book, not useful information. His book is where he's making the money. Someone may sue him soon because I have yet to read of any winner thanking him for helping them win.
One of the most stupid advice he gave was that you have more chance to win if you pick your own numbers instead of Quick Pick. Every possible combination has equal chance of winning, regardless how you pick it.
I have a feeling that now that the MM JP got claimed, more people will be focused on PB tomorrow. But you're right, seems there was more media interest for last year's $587 PB than there is now.
That'll be good for anyone who wins tomorrow.
You kidding? It was on CNBC every hour during the day and ABC national news for sure when I was watching. Then I know based on Google News it's a headline, in addition to each of the local news stations youtube segments posted under that headline.
Last year, the lottery jackpots were the leading stories on AOL, MSN and Yahoo. Last night I had to go looking for it. It wasn't even one of the top trending stories on Yahoo much less a news story. They started showing more interest today, but Beyonce's possible pregnancy, Maria Carey's lip synching, and Kim Kardashian's swollen feet were apparently much more important. It seems really odd compared to how it was last year
Those are the ones that makes the jackpot rolling. Gotta thank them when you win.
as jackpots of this size happens more and more, the frenzy dies down. When we see 3 bil, 5 bil jackpots, most people won't bat an eye on the little 600m
jackpots anymore.
"When we see 3 bil, 5 bil jackpots, most people won't bat an eye on the little 600m jackpots anymore."
I don't see 3 or 5 billion dollar jackpots with tickets at $2 each and this current 5/59 + 1/35 matrix.
Congrats to the MegaMillions winners, go collect quick, no ones looking lol
true dat.
Maybe not. But I don't think people would be much more excited if MM reached 1 billion rather than powerball.
So if a game was changed to say $3 and 7/59 or something, people would still be excited about a billion jackpot for the first few times, until it becomes
common. Even if the games don't change, and 600M jackpots happen more often, while reaching 1 bil occasionally, people will stop caring about 600M
jackpots. It'll become kind of like 275M jackpots these days. At that point, since not so many people will buy tickets for that one draw, it's more likely
to roll over.
I don’t know if we’ll see $700 million tonight but I think PB will break the current annuity record set by mega millions at $656 million.
Yes, I don't see it not surpassing $656M, especially with the MM gone. Such a pity their cash option is so much less than MM. We might have had 2 records broken.
It would be great to have both the annuity and lump sum record broken tonight. I'm going to get a few more tickets today to help the cause.
Teddi ..............Thank you ..........
1. I read in the past ....."Certain States wins more WHY ? EXAMPLE , Va , SC , NJ , NY , PA , Calif ???
2. Just wondering why ? MM 2 person's won on the East Coast ......
3. Read to These Games are Rigged true / false ? ........
Now that the Mega Millions has been won, and is no longer competing for $$$ with the POWERBALL, we are gonna watch the powerball jackpot EXPLODE LIKE NEVER BEFORE. You better go get your ticket now, and sweet dreams!!!.
Wow New Jersey hits the Mega Millions again! I didn't get any numbers on that however I get another chance at Powerball tonight. This the 3rd jackpot hit for NJ this year!
Go Jersey!
Here is something you might want to know .......If you play on sharing your winnings with family , you'll owe 35% federal gift tax,
if you give more than $14,000 to anyone indivdual in a year . ( In 22 states and Washington D.C. you'll need to write another check,
for state gift tax . "Powerball Winners Will Keep Uncle Sam Smiling " .......
New Jersey is on a roll
That's why you would claim it as a trust and add them to it for the percentage you want to give them of your winnings.
Them New Jersey people know something
Thank you. I will go get some extra ones today.
You're awesome, Ronnie. I'll be sure to thank you in my press conference
Be vevy vevy quiet ............ I'm hunting Powerballs ..................
I have a strong feeling that Houston, Texas has this one or, a portion of it. Something about the demographics of highly skilled and paid professionals migrating there and money coming with them.
Alas, GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! And oh, the game might increase to $650 Million with string sales, who knows?
singlewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinner
Good Luck Piaceri. However, with so many tickets STILL being sold. I doubt you might be a single winner. But, you might be ONE of the winners.
Good Luck to you, nonetheless
LOL thanks sandia. Maybe we will see 2 winners from the SE Texas/Houston area on 2 tickets! Good luck to you, too!
I just think it would be hysterically entertaining if only 1 ticket won with a single winner. I mean, if you don't win it yourself, at least the entertainment factor of people going koo-koo over a single winner will be worth it all.
singlewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinner
Thank you Piaceri, you are so sweet.
Now, if only 1 ticket won the entire loot. Oh wow, I will find it too hilarious. The poor media frenzy would be astronomical. He he he. Hey, if by some miracle, either one of us are the sole winners.....DISAPPEAR, pack your bags and loved ones and make yourself scarce. Charter the first thing smoking outta town. Send the media on a wild goose chase. Hmmm, more funny would be if either or both of us would win, my fiance suggests buying a billboard sign, with a smiling face of whomever pissed us off say, a boss from hell with it reading "I AM THE BIG POWERBALL WINNER". Hey, media goes crazy, boss from hell will try to run as fast as his sneakers can aid him/her from the attention and crooks....It is only fair...
Mmmmkay, evil thoughts there.
What is the chances of it being one winner?
If no one wins tonight, the Powerball Jackpot will be $925 million. Ultimately, that could mean a $1.2 billion jackpot by the time of the drawing. Based on current calculations, the cash value would be projected at $581.1 million and would reach $753.8 million (on $1.2 billion). In California and other states where there are no state taxes on lottery winnings, you could conceivably walk away with as much as $455, 295, 200 or as Jay-Z says, almost "half a billy."
With sales reaching such high pinnacles, I very much doubt that there would be a rollover. But, who knows, right?
Highly unlikely but not ENTIRELY impossible.
I wish they would go ahead and get today's bump out there. I'm sitting here waiting for it so I can celebrate by walking to Walmart and buying a hook for inside my pantry. Oh, and to pick up another ticket or two at the Murphy station there.
singlewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinner
It's like a less than percent 10 chance of it rolling and it been only winner. There is still slim possible we will see a billion dollar jackpot.
It's not highly unlikley at all. I'd say rollover + single winner = around 50% chance. Maybe a little higher.
Source? Or random number?
Both, somebody on 550 million dollar post told me it was a 20 or 30 percent chance of it rolling.
I think its around 20% chance rolling and 30% chance for 1 winner.
Although my numbers are also kind of guesses. Slightly educated estimates.
Oh that will be really hilarious. But when all is said and done, the ugly boss and the ugly lawyers will come for half your loot and then what?. When I win that kind of money, all the nasty mean ugly people I've encountered in my life, will become a distant memory, where they will be locked away forever. Too much fun to be had, to even spend a second of my time, on those kinds of idiots, will be a total waste. Happy playing.
mypiemaster,
It is my overactive mind thinking. But yes, to avoid litigation, best just not even bother. Like you said, with that much money, mean people would become but only a memory.
Good Luck to you as well.
I am the one that going to win, well, i spent 36 dollars!!
$36? Wow, I hope it pays off for you.
Good Luck to you.
Where'd u get those number from?Not even a 4 year old would be that stupid to say that.
And someone who uses ad hominem and "u" is intelligent? Just because you're not educated enough to understand probability and statistics doesn't mean
others are stupid.
I just reads news report that said that 80% of the possible combinations have been sold. I will be stunned if it rolls but I can expect to see a peak in last minute sales tonight so unlikely. Either way I predict that 2-3 tickets will win it like thebig MM.
With over 80% of combinations sold u think there is a 20% chance of it rolling, with 8 hours left to play? Your intelligence is beyond this universe.
Somebody on a "post" told you? And that, is a verifable source? Mmmmmmkay, carry on.
Nah, yoho. Come on, most combinations have been exhausted, a rollover? Really? I would eat my own hat if that were the case
well its rolled, from 475 to 600 mill thats 125 mill, 50% of money take is paid in prizes, and the top prize collects what %20? so the 125 hike on the pot is prob 20% of ticket sales ie 50c of ea ticket sold goes to the pot. 125 / 0.5. on my vauge calculations means 250 million ticket sales?
The jackpot is going to roll again....
Yes using the word u means UR less intelligent...I use u all the time and I have a masters degree and am 26...
most combinations have been exhausted,
they sell the same losing number combinations to thousands of people from east coast to west coast.
If they sell only one winning ticket tonight, and it goes to California I may lose it.
lose what your ticket?
If you know everything then is us the real percent are or STFU you negative Hater.
you sound like that guy that chasing that rabbit
WOW!!! Using argumentum ad hominem, on a fellow poster on a fun day like this, might be percieved as ..........unwise? Why question one's intellectual ability, abundant mentality and superficial magnetism? Simply stated, all this mental joisting and cacophony, on a day we should only be thinking of having fun and getting filthy rich might actually result in intellectual disability. Let's all just get rich and have some fun doing it. Peace.
Lose my mind. It'll be just my luck that I've been playing for a while and a state newly added will sell the winning ticket.
But I told my friend who lives there to leave her house and go buy a ticket...just in case. I want my odds covered.
You go check yourself. Mmmmmmmmmmmmkay, carry on.
102 Tickets for me heres hoping.
The cash value right now is about .63 of the advertised amount, and each ticket contributes a hair under $0.64 to the cash value. That means that the number of tickets sold is about what the increase in the advertised jackpot is.
Considering that it's just past 3PM and they still haven't bumped it up from an even 600, MUSL must not have much confidence that the final tally will be very much above that. If it finishes at 625 that will be an increase of 275 from the last advertised jackpot of 350, so actual sales should be fairly close to 275 milion tickets.
A distribution based on pure probability suggests that the percentage of combinations that have been sold is significantly below the 80% that some are claiming. The chances of a rollover should be pretty close to 1 in 4.
NEGATIVE VIBES GO AWAY!!!! KARMA KARMA KARMA!!!
'Merica!!!
RUN ORB RUN!!!
singlewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinnersinglewinner
I need to stop with the coffee or something...
come PB players add 100 millions so we can beat mega million, and become the biggiest jackpot. I gonna win it.
The lottery commision said that 80% of all possible combinations has already been sold and that was a couple of hours ago.
We need to go back to MM on 3/27/2012 when the Jackpot was $363M.
This was the drawing before the big $643M MM Jackpot.
For the $363M drawing 190,922,875 tickets were sold.
The odds are 1 out of 175,711,536.
Do we really know the interaction of duplicates and many people picking 1-2-3-4-5- 6PB?
I know most people are crunching numbers and getting all scientific and stuff. And it's a much better way of looking at the probabilities than mine.
But all I need to happen is for most people to have gotten really mystical about it and to have chosen their own numbers (instead of qp's) and for most of the numbers drawn tonight to be above 31. That's it. That's all I'll need to either win it myself, for a greater chance of it to be a 1 winner ticket OR to rollover.
Most people who pick the numbers, choose birthdates. If the numbers tonight come in at 31 and under, there is going to be multiple winners and they'll be no rollover.
Of course my theory has a big ol' flaw in it, in that most ticket sales are qp's. But a gal can dream can't she?
I'm sitting this one out and love watching all the lotto crazy!
Hope for your win or at least someone you know lol
See alot of peeps buying. Probably won't know the true amount until after the draw. GL
I didn't go crazy. I went crazy the last 2 times and I think I won $7. LOL. I only bought 2 tickets this time, 1 chosen and 1 qp. If I don't win anything I won't feel like a sap over 4 bucks.
You wont even spend $2.? That's less than what Boney will spend, and matches Jammy's efforts.
I suppose it is safe to say that you are a loser in tonight drawing?
The last time I refused to get even one line I had the correct bonus number selected and could have doubled me money. Lets just hope your not sacrificing $600 million in exchange for $2.
could have sworn they would have bumped it up to $650M by now.
Can't believe they wouldn't have pulled in $50M between yesterday's bump and now
Yeah somebody who has about a thousand posts on a lottery message board is going to sit out one of the biggest jackpots of all time. I beleive you...
Was going to stay with two tickets, then had time to kill while son had bass guitar lesson.
Oh look, there's a convenience store close enough to walk to.
Now I have three. Maybe that's the one.
good thinking
Along with my usual 1 ticket I bought 4 more, all with PowerPlay. If it bumps again I may get 1 more. Good Luck to all Lottery Post fans !!
I bought 26 lines!
I was at regular place I buy my tickets and lady said, at 10:00 AM EST, she had sold over $1800.00 already this morning I thought for it would be increase at Noon today to $650, or at Six maybe nothing... I guessing it will around $680 when we finish tonight, I got by winning ticket,, Hoping for the best......:)
just like other MM/PB half billion plus records
it be more more amount they said come draw time
they just not brothering to update it today"must of lottery staff off sat
lottery ceo's in charge of pb had phone call, said it be close , massive sells like this, they can't do a spot on number...................
so they are waitin
when in a few hours anyway they just know final numbers and tell us at draw video
not like sells going to be effected much past 600 marketed, everyone buying
i think we beat old pb cash record for sure
doubt MM monster will ever be beat
onless this rolls against all odds and becomes first billion jackpot
our thro away money lottery budgets will be broken if that happens.............
i just got about 10 bucks worth, same as if i got me large pizzahut meat lovers pizza , my fav i live without tonite
if it rolls, "mr. please play responsibly" is going to be kicked off top of lottery building spartan-style by powerball on a madness power trip of billion dollars
mr. please play responsibly: don't spend money u can use for other useful stuff
powerball: u insult my jackpot. u threaten my people with low jackpots
mr. please play responsibly: this is madness!
"powerball looks over to sign that reads 975 million dollars, it updates to 1 billion dollars right then , powerball looks back"
powerball: this is billion dollars! "kicks"
This has got to be higher than $600,000,000.00 by now, every store I went into today had a line. It's never like that.
Oh my, you have more guts than most! Nah hold it, someone at the store ahead of me shelledout $400, to the annoyance of everyone waiting behind them.... 200 lines!. 10 lines per ticket! Heck, both cashiers had to take turns printing all of them out.
It was different in my part of town. The lines were minimal. I am assuming that most tickets were bought between Thursday and yesterday.....****shrugs***
That's strange, the opposite has been true in my experience. Most QPs I get give me a set where there is no number larger than 31. On plays where I pick the numbers, I make sure I have at least one number greater than 31.
Woohoo. In that case, let's hope it did that to all (if not most) the QP's this time and that a lot of the numbers hit over 31. My QP's are always all over the place, I've never noticed a pattern either way.
I'd really really love to win something over 3 digits tonight, but I also really really REALLY want to see what it'll hit if it rolls over to Wednesday.
Poor MM. I don't think anyone will be buying MM tickets until this PB goes. People spent so much money on PB it'll take a while for both JPs to build up again if it goes between tonight and Wednesday.
Zero chance it rolls again but the final tally will certainly be over the 600M advertised.
zero chance of roll over, what about if the winning numbers are WB. 1-2-3-4-5 and PB - 1
Then there might be 1,000 jackpot winners since such numbers are common. Each one would collect 600 thousands while the 2nd prize winners would collect guaranteed 1 millions except in CA where we have pari-mutuel.
Riot would break out!
how many lines for you?
Some stores had a short line, some, none at all. More than likely a lot, bought their tickets in advance to AVOID the lines.
I bought 6 different stores. 100 of stores that sell lotterywhich close to the my house!!
Well, in a strategy that will surely pay off, I already signed the back of all three PB tickets in my possession. First thing you should do when you realize you're holding the winner!
A premomition on your part, Arrowhead?.
Good Luck to you.......
And to you!
I just got my ticket from Publix and even they had a line. First time I have ever noticed a line there.
Minnesota has not had a major Power Ball Winner since 2001 I predict a single Winner here Tonite
On va voir, mon ami. On va voir.
I read on the Hoosier lotto Facebook page that Indiana has the most Powerball wins with 38... So maybe tonight I can be a part of making it 39!!!!!!
Welcome to the LP
Hey, who knows? You might very well be the 39th.
Good Luck, Ashabug.
Georgia wins again.
I'd like to think it was for a lottery pool. I can't imagine an individual spending that much for a 1 in 175m chance to win.
For some reason I think when the jackpot gets around this amount, it is never gonna roll again. Do I wish it would?.........of course, who wouldn't want to throw money down on a billion dollar jackpot!