I heard on radio this morning that no one had the right numbers last night. As such the drawing Tuesday night will be for 8oo,ooo,ooo [eight hundred millon] Hope I typed the number correctly . Not that I plan on winning .... I usually don't play but ....... Seriously, what would be one's first step if thay did win that insane amout ? ......... Attorney ?
The last number I seen was$790,000,000, but when you're dealing with almost a billion dollars $10 million doesn't matter. Actually by the time they count in the new proceeds it'll be well over 800 million. What would I do if I win well I figured I can always work part-time, HaHa. Seriously the first thing I do being my name is out there just move out of my house to secure and Secret location. Contact my financial advisor let his lawyers figure out how to distribute this money to my children, relatives, and friends, at the lowest tax rate possible. Then I would start thinking how I would spend some of it. Find another house, and a vacation place. In vest in some business ideas I have, the possibilities are endless.
I would have all my children and grandchildren go with me to claim the prize. Everyone would get an equal share to squander and pay taxes on.
Money like that changes your life forever...and not in a good way. I believe that some states permit you to remain anonymous, but not Virginia (although I have vague memories of someone successfully doing just that, with the help of a lawyer.) Even if you could technically remain anonymous, that's not gonna last for very long. But, yeh, Step #1 is Call A Lawyer, and you'll start spending those winnings before you've even collected them. Then kiss your normal middle-class life goodbye. And remind yourself that the wall you built to keep the world out is not a prison, huh? I play 2 different games once per month, and limit myself to $20 (it's usually less): -Cash 5 draws 5 numbers, with the top prize fluctuating but usually $100,000-$250,000 --Odds are 1 in 750,000 (rounded) -Bank A Million, which is supposed to net $1,000,000 after taxes, but the govt lies. You net ±$825,000. --Odds are 1 in 4,000,000 (rounded) In Virginia they sometimes add a couple of numbers to a game, which exponentially increases the odds. Or they'll change the payout amount or method. As I said, "Bank A Million" is out & out lying, but they're .gov, right? Don't get me started on the government's "It benefits education" garbage. As an aside, I have a friend who won Bank A Million maybe 5-6 years ago. He's the one who clued me into the "bad math."
I've often wondered what the restrictions are on being able to do this. I wonder if the government requires some threshold of proof that you jointly own the ticket.
How on earth could they prove ownership of a ticket?? There are plenty of workgroups of dozens of people who buy lottery tickets together on an ongoing basis. Besides, I never play the lotto so I'm pretty sure this is a non-issue.
I've read of coworkers each chipping in a dollar and collecting an equal share. One article had 20 co-workers, they buy multiple tickets and then collect together if they win. I would think if they all signed the ticket that's all they need.
There is so much potential for tax avoidance, I gotta think the gov't. would be on top of this. I cannot find anything on the VA Lottery website about multiple winners. But I did find this: As of July 1, 2019, a new law in Virginia allows winners of prizes greater than $10 million to claim that prize anonymously, meaning the Lottery won’t publicly release the winner’s name or hometown unless the winner gives written permission. I had no idea. I may start playing games with bigger payouts.
I'm not sure the regulations changed for the amount of the payout. Used to be as an example the 800 million was for 20 years of payments, if you want a lump sum payout it was considerably less.
Yes it is the annuity amount. "The highlighted pre-tax $790 million prize is for a winner who takes an annuity option, paid out in 30 annual payments. Most players choose the cash option, which for Friday's drawing would be $464.4 million."
Because the tax hit is so great at those amounts, you are almost always better off taking the annual payout, if you think you'll live long enough to receive every payment...or enough payments to hit the break even point.