Lotteries

Image: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)The $900 million Powerball payout is now among the top three largest prizes of all time, but your odds of winning this huge chunk of cash are achingly slim. Threads Needs These Five Missing Features to Be a Twitter KillerThe Powerball lottery just got a little more exciting. After no winner claimed the prize on Saturday, the Powerball’s jackpot has now risen to $900 million. The upcoming winner—assuming someone will win it this time around—can either cash out the $900 million in 30…

Fatih Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesThere's a chance a Mega Millions player is on the verge of joining a very short list: winners who snag a jackpot worth more than $1 billion.The grand prize is an estimated $1.35 billion for Friday night's drawing. That's how much you'd win if you were to take the windfall as an annuity paid out over three decades. (The upfront cash option is $724.6 million as of mid-day Friday). Between Mega Millions and Powerball, there have been winners of five other jackpots totaling more than…

Scott Olson | Getty ImagesYou may face long odds of hitting the Mega Millions jackpot — now worth $1.35 billion — but the taxman is always guaranteed a slice when there's a winner.The jackpot jumped again after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night to land the grand prize. If won in the next drawing — set for Friday night — it would mark the second-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever and the fourth-largest lottery prize in history.With the odds stacked against a single ticket winning the motherlode — 1 in…

Photo: Charles Krupa (AP)The Mega Millions multi-state lottery has hit an estimated jackpot of over $1.1 billion, making the upcoming drawing one of the largest lottery prizes in U.S. history.But huge prizes come with tiny odds. A player who buys a single ticket for the January 10th Mega Millions only has a 1 in 302,575,350 chance of winning the jackpot. You’re way more likely to get hit by lightning.But if you still want to play, there’s a few things you should know that can improve —or worsen—your chances.What is the…

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot, which is now $940 million, is 1 in more than 300 million. While very few will experience that kind of windfall in their lifetime, the lottery isn't the only chance to come into sudden wealth.Whether it's an inheritance, sale of a property, bonus or even a tax refund, there are other ways to receive an unexpected sum in a lifetime."It's common enough," said Daniel Scott Johnson, an investment advisor and founder of Windfall Advisors in Los Angeles.In every case, there are…

This could be a very good year for one lucky winner of the fourth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.And yet, kicking off 2023 with $785 million could have a downside."The curse of the lottery losers is very real," said Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based lawyer who has represented several recent lottery winners.One of the very first decisions a winner must make — whether to accept the jackpot as a lump sum or as an annuity — often ends up being their downfall, Stoltmann said.More from Personal Finance:4 key things to…

The Powerball jackpot has topped $1.9 billion with an option for an immediate payout of $929 million.Image: William Thomas Cain (Getty Images)Update November 8, 10:00 a.m. EST: The Powerball numbers have officially been drawn following last night’s security issue.The winning numbers on November 7, 2022: 10-33-41-47-56 and the Powerball was 10.The growing excitement over which lucky person will win the growing Powerball jackpot—which is now a whopping $1.9 billion—hit a snag as the lottery drawing was paused following…

Mark Ralston | Afp | Getty ImagesWhoever is the next jackpot winner in Powerball will be looking at the largest lottery prize ever awarded.The tax bill will also be pretty impressive.After no one hit all six numbers drawn Saturday, the Powerball jackpot headed higher. For Monday night's drawing, it's now an estimated $1.9 billion if taken as an annuity spread over three decades and $929.1 million if received as an upfront, lump sum of cash — that's nearly a $1 billion difference in the two options.More from Personal…

A powerball powerplay ticket.Photo: Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer (AP)A winning Powerball lottery ticket is one of the most coveted items in modern capitalism, and with the current estimated jackpot at $1.5 billion, lots of people are buying tickets today. We all know that winning the lottery is rare, but with the jackpot cresting over a billion, the odds of you actually walking home with the money are 1 in 292,201,338. There are a few lottery hacks that can improve those chances. But keep this in mind: The…

Jonathan Alcorn | ReutersIf you manage to beat the odds stacked against hitting the Powerball jackpot, don't forget you'll have a silent partner in the win: the taxman.The jackpot for Saturday night's drawing is now the largest lottery prize ever at an estimated $1.6 billion — pretax — if you were to opt to take your windfall as an annuity spread over three decades. The upfront cash option — which most jackpot winners choose — for this drawing is $782.4 million, also pretax. With the chance of a single ticket hitting the…