How am I supposed to win the world’s largest lottery jackpot if y’all keep buying tickets?
Stop buying tickets.
No, I don’t typically channel Paula Deen on a daily basis, and no, I don’t think I have a chance in you know what of winning $540 million.
So why am I headed to the store later today to purchase five more Mega Millions tickets?
Like the rest of you, I like to dream big.
You don’t have to be a math whiz to know the more tickets you buy, the better your chances of winning.
Currently, the odds of walking away with tonight’s mega-jackpot is 1 in 176 million, though that number is expected to rise prior to the 11 p.m. Eastern Time drawing. By the time ticket sales end at 10:45 p.m. Eastern Time, experts say your chances of winning will likely dwindle to 1 in 200 million.
According to the Associated Press, based on U.S. averages, you’re about 8,000 times more likely to be murdered than to win tonight’s jackpot, and about 20,000 times more likely to die in a car crash than possess the winning Mega Millions ticket.
Thanks for the reality check, AP.
Still, that’s not stopping people in 42 states plus the District of Columbia and the U. S. Virgin Islands to buy, buy, buy, in an effort to cash in on the elusive $540 million grand prize.
Financial experts did some number crunching and calculated that if a single winner opted for the lump sum payout, he or she would net $389 million, though after state and federal taxes were subtracted, the total would be around $253 million.
However, keep in mind, that with so many people playing Mega Millions right now, there is also a greater chance of having multiple winners. According to money gurus, if you have to share the jackpot with even one other winner, expect a loss of about $30 million.
Still, $253 million (or even $223 million) is nothing to sneeze at. According to Fox News, with that amount of money you could:
*Pay off 1/10,000 of the U.S. debt
*Feed a family of four for 22,381 years OR feed 22,381 families of four for one year
*Buy 281 million Twinkies
*Buy 1,265 seats/trips to outer space aboard Virgin Galactic
*Start a company and pay 10 employees $100,000 for 253 years
In order to burn through the historic jackpot in a year’s time, financial experts maintain that you’d need to spend $693,150 per day. To spend it all in 80 years, you’d need to purchase $8,658 worth of items per day.
How would you spend the money if you won?