We had an office pool going, too.

$20 buy in.

We won $15.

A return on investment of $1.25.

Oh well, that was still a better return than my Vanguard Bond fund!

I wonder if the cut-in guy has any way of knowing how that turned out?

I heard on the news that one of the co-workers who usually was in the group, decided not to play this time; he said he didn't feel lucky that day.

The group was debating whether or not to cut him in anyway. I wonder if they did.

Would you, if you were in that group?

Sue

Oh my I hadn't heard that one decided not to participate. Maybe they'll all chip in and give him some consolation money.

The reality is that it doesn't necessarily mean he would have received the winning ticket. Presumably they both went with the quick pick and there's nothing that guarantees that those numbers would have come up in the same order at different times. Just as likely they wouldn't. The numbers aren't pre-set in the machines. It's the way it went and it's not really reasonable to read anything else into it. Some would tie religion to it and suggest the person was *meant* to get in there too so the guy would win. People can read into it how they want. I think the one guy was lucky and however many *million* others were not.

I heard about the guy who didn't feel lucky. Although if I liked the guy I probably would give him something as a token just out of generosity, but I certainly would not give him a "share" in the conventional sense. Most pools are that, pooled resources to increase odds, for instance, 5 people chip in $20 each and they buy 100 tickets and split the winnings. If he didn't participate and contribute his $20 they have two options, cut their odds by buying only 80 tickets or increase their investment to $25, either way, costing them more. How is it remotely fair for him to cash in on the others' investment? He *cost* them and they lucked out in the end. Tough luck pal. Though like I said, he might get lunch or something as a consolation, he sure wouldn't get an equal share AFAIC any more than anyone else who hadn't contributed.

Now the thing I wondered about is whether they had a lottery agreement. Sometimes they're committed to investing and can't drop out so there's been lawsuits over the winnings in similar cases. Guess we'll have to stay tuned.

If the person who didn't play that day and always had, I would give him his fair share. I mean, what's the difference between 15mil or 19mil. I just think karma is a force I wouldn't want to mess with.

I would share in the winnings with this guy. Really, 15 mil or 19 mil. No big deal. Why not share? You will have more than enough anyway if you use it wisely.

Talk about karma. That is what the guy who cut in front experienced! That is one of my biggest pet peeves - people who cut in line...in a store or on the road. I hope that he realizes what he did. Maybe the store will post the security camera footage so he'll know what he missed out on. As for the guy who said he didn't feel lucky that day, well, he was right! From what I read, it wasn't clear if he always chipped in every time, or was an occasional participant. It kinda sounded like other folks also chipped in from time to time. Really depends on the circumstances.

Actually heard there were 5 people who didn't play this time. Still would share with them.

Yep, I read it too that there were 5 guys who refused to play. From what I understood, there have been 25 players that are in and out at different times. The list of players kept changing so much that they had to write the names of players in order to keep track with it. This time, it happened to be 5 guys. Seemed like a hit & miss kind of thing.

If the winners share with those 5, wouldn't then, they have to share it with all 25 of the on-and-off players? Hum.... I could be wrong on this. Too much reading confuses this ole brain of mine.

k-frame 19...LOL LOL....

It's interesting how many of you would share with the person or people who didn't play this time. If I were the person who didn't play, it would never occur to me that the others would cut me in for an equal share.

I'm not a lottery player, but I thought this was part of the psychology - once you're in a pool or once you start playing the same numbers all the time, you feel like you have to keep playing because you'd be crushed if "your" pool or "your" numbers won when you weren't playing.

If I were in the winning group, I'd vote for a substantial consolation prize for the one(s) who didn't play that week, but not for an equal share.

No play, no pay.

Also, there's a matter of a substantial gift tax which would be owed by the "givers" since the "losers" names apparently weren't on the winning lottery ticket.

Believe it or not, my husband's sister's husband used to work with that group in Albany. It could have been an eight-way split! And DH knew exactly where the winning ticket was sold, Coulsons Newstand. He used to be a cab driver in Albany. I bought a ticket last week on that $319 M jackpot-I had one number matching. But for a couple of days I was walking around on a cloud, telling my husband I had purchased the winning ticket.As the saying goes, All You Need Is a Ticket and a Dream.

They could give up to $13,000 each without any gift tax - I would take that! LOL!!

My parents won the New York Lottery once, many years ago, early 70's. They had 5 out of six numbers. They won around $30,000, which they used for much-needed home repairs. They gave me $1000 cash. I didn't complain. I went right out and blew $100 on a fancy haircut at Mr. Kenneth in New York City.