Lotto Addiction Pays Off
No, I didn't win the $370 million. I did, however, have 2 matching numbers, and the Mega Ball (I love that term, Mega Ball) on the same ticket, which means I win $10. Ship it. That's an 844:1 odds against victory. That's like playing roulette with 844 numbers, and only a 10:1 payout. Bad bet.
The real winner of the lottery is the government. Do you realize how much money they clean up on this thing? First of all, they tax about half of the winnings. And I'm sure that not every cent they take in from ticket sales goes to the prize pool or promoting the lotto. Then let's say you want to give some of the money away, more than likely with such a tremendous sum, they're going to tax that gift, too. Let's say I had won, and wanted to give my brother $1 million. The government would probably take at least $350,000 of that, probably more. Let's say you invest the money (the smartest thing to do), the government will receive taxes on your capital gains. If you have a $10 million mutual fund, earning 6% interest, the government is going to tax the money you make from the investment. Let's say you buy or start a business, the government will tax every transaction you make. Let's say you buy a car, you have to pay excise tax on it. Let's say you buy a shitload of stuff from Best Buy, you're going to be paying sales tax. Let's say you buy a house, you're going to have to pay property taxes.
In short, lotteries run by the government are nothing more than legalized gambling, existing in a monopolistic state (no-one can legally run other lotteries), with a massive vigorish (vigorish=the fee paid for placing the bet) if you win, and little chance to actually win.
Still, it's fun. And actually, the odds of the jackpot were justifiable for buying a ticket. The odds of hitting the jackpot are 175,711,536:1 with a 370,000,000:1 payout. BUT, that doesn't include taxes, and your winnings may be split. There were 2 winners of Mega Millions, so the real payout odds turned out to be 185,000,000:1. And that's before taxes, and if the amount is taken as an annuity, and not a lump sum.
The real winner of the lottery is the government. Do you realize how much money they clean up on this thing? First of all, they tax about half of the winnings. And I'm sure that not every cent they take in from ticket sales goes to the prize pool or promoting the lotto. Then let's say you want to give some of the money away, more than likely with such a tremendous sum, they're going to tax that gift, too. Let's say I had won, and wanted to give my brother $1 million. The government would probably take at least $350,000 of that, probably more. Let's say you invest the money (the smartest thing to do), the government will receive taxes on your capital gains. If you have a $10 million mutual fund, earning 6% interest, the government is going to tax the money you make from the investment. Let's say you buy or start a business, the government will tax every transaction you make. Let's say you buy a car, you have to pay excise tax on it. Let's say you buy a shitload of stuff from Best Buy, you're going to be paying sales tax. Let's say you buy a house, you're going to have to pay property taxes.
In short, lotteries run by the government are nothing more than legalized gambling, existing in a monopolistic state (no-one can legally run other lotteries), with a massive vigorish (vigorish=the fee paid for placing the bet) if you win, and little chance to actually win.
Still, it's fun. And actually, the odds of the jackpot were justifiable for buying a ticket. The odds of hitting the jackpot are 175,711,536:1 with a 370,000,000:1 payout. BUT, that doesn't include taxes, and your winnings may be split. There were 2 winners of Mega Millions, so the real payout odds turned out to be 185,000,000:1. And that's before taxes, and if the amount is taken as an annuity, and not a lump sum.
posted by rob | 5:07 PM
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