I went into a gas station to buy gas and walked in to pay. There was a line of people. Luckily, there was a person for people paying for gas or buying something. I asked about the line and she said, the lottery. I said I heard about the big jackpot on the news, I thought I would buy a couple of tickets. I haven't bought a lottery tick for over 20+ years. She said she'd see if she could use the terminal, as the line was so long

I told her I didn't know how to play and could I just buy a few tickets. She said, 'yes, quick-pick.'

'Great,' I said and I told her to give me 4 tickets. Two for my son and two for me.

So, I got 4 tickets! Fingers crossed.

Jane

How much are the tickets for these super draws?

$2 for the ticket + $1 for the super number to double it.

We get lottery tickets every time we are near the state line, as Alabama does not have a lottery, though if we were to win it they would surely be clambering for their cut wouldn't they?

We will get some later today. Of course its a long shot but why not? That kind of money could make real,positive changes to our lives and the lives of those we would choose to assist with it.

I wonder how yours get so high and ours go at 50-70M? With ours you have to match all 7 numbers, not an easy feat, but definitely gets done. And ours is a $5 ticket.

Well, population of Canada is about 38M, the US is about 330M.

I don't even go into the casino on a cruise ship.

I'm also bent on avoiding the Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times."

What's the latest we can buy a ticket?

Drawing is about 10 PM EDT

I won $10. Anyone else?

I haven't checked mine but I read that nobody won the jackpot and it will be going up over $1B.

I'm sure when I scan my ticket it will say 'You're a loser' once again.

You won $10? Are there lesser cash winnings for some MM tix?

Nicole congratulations!! I haven't checked, but even if I did not win money, I'm ahead. I had a nice walk yesterday to the 7/11. And of course the pleasurable minutes of fantasy as I decided what I would spend my money on if I won. Worth the few bucks I spent so no matter what happens, I'm satisfied with my purchase.

For a winner of a huge lottery, what is the prudent advice beyond keeping quiet?

Don’t sign the ticket? Go to some expert winnings trust lawyer who is totally ethical?

Now that the amount will be $1 Billion I'll buy a ticket, $800 million just wasn't enough, nyuk.

Petalique, there were over 580,000 winners of various amounts just in Texas.

@petalique...I had two numbers + the MB number correct = $10. The same place that sells tickets can cash in small amounts.

Prudent advice if you do win big: Split the money between banks, because only $250K is FDIC insured in a bank account.

Petalique different states apparently have different winning amounts. Here if the Mega ball is gives you $2 other combinations go up to $1 million unless you have all of the numbers. The state lottery will give you a new ticket vs the amount you paid.

Even people like my parents who purchased tickets for years are not aware of the winnings beyond the main amount. When I cleaned out my parents house I found several boxes of tickets that they had saved. The reason they saved the tickets was to prove if they won big they had proof they had actually spent the money. As much taxes as would need to be paid for a big winner saving every ticket might reduce what was owed by pennies.

Just me but I would not worry about splitting the money for a big win into multiple banks. Think of the thousands of banks you would need to place deposits into.

Always sign the ticket as it proves that it is yours. I used to if I did win something underline each number on the ticket that was drawn if it was on the ticket. Twice for small amounts the clerk took the ticket and supposedly scanned it. Told me it was not a winner. At that time the scanner where I purchased the tickets was behind the counter where no one other than the clerk could see. Second time I reported it. Now while there are private scanners the one where the ticket must be scanned is placed so it can be viewed by the public. All it states is that there is a winner and if over a certain amount you must contact the state. It spits out a slip so the clerk can use it to immediately pay you if it is below a certain amount.

Someone mentioned putting other people's names on the back of the ticket where you are supposed to sign. Not certain if just the names are accepted or the individuals must sign. I am unlikely to ever find out.

Okay, start packing your bags for that all expenses paid GW gtg. I bought five tickets. Woo hoo, i cant wait to be a billionaire. Look for me on My Lottery Dream House.

I got stung.

Wrote a response, hit the wrong button, got taken to a display of all matters operating at the moment, picked the wrong one, by the time I had navigated back - had a clean slate!

Although some lottery operators may pay out a high percentage of the total amount pulled in, no lottery operator pays out the total amount collected.

Even if it may not be a large percentage ... the house always wins!

I don't buy lottery tickets.

ole joyful

P.S. If you won a Canadian lottery, where there is no tax on the winnings, would you have some local tax to pay to take the proceeds home?

o j

Was surprised when i bought gas today aaand they said MM was $999,000,000! Bought 5 more tickets.

The amount will even be bigger by Friday. Now 1.021 billion. I decided to buy groceries and purchased tickets for the three main ones here. I stopped at a gas station for coffee because I did not want to make a pot just for one cup. There was one other person ahead of me and the clerk mentioned to him the sales were slow today. I expect things may be busier on Friday.

I have more fun thinking about it rather than actually winning a large amount.

"If you won a Canadian lottery, where there is no tax on the winnings, would you have some local tax to pay to take the proceeds home?"

If you're asking about how Canadian lottery winnings of an American are treated, the answer is Yes. Americans are taxed on worldwide income regardless of geographic source and net gambling winnings are fully taxable. Income from foreign sources are treated no differently than income of a similar nature from a domestic source. A credit is available should foreign earnings have also been subject to foreign tax. Same taxability (but not credits) is generally true for state taxes.

As I understand it, an identical "worldwide income" rule applies to Canadians.

I was outside staining deck supports @ a rental, there was a potluck happening next door. The topic of discussion...what-if-they-won-the-lottery. The one kid, he's about 28, said he only wanted $7million. He'd buy a nice house, hire a cook to cook him only healthy foods, he'd be in shape then...and get a massage every morning. He'd spend his money carefully and never need more. 😇

We do have an extended family member who won 37M in the lottery, probably 25 years ago. He has been very good with the money, told his brothers and sisters that he would pay for their kid‘s college and help with medical bills if anyone had major medical expenses and that was his contribution. He also takes most of his siblings on vacation each year. He has a beautiful home but beyond his home and his vacations is not a big spender.

A group of 5 of us friends play the lotto together, I do not expect to win. We invest low dollars, I call it my ”dreaming money”. I am not much of a gambler overall, we have a number of casinos near our desert house, we visit for the entertainment and enjoy few of the restraunts, but we rarely gamble, and if we do, we might risk $20.

Done. I found it amusing that when I walked up to the store, the electronic sign that shows the current tally couldn't go higher than $999 million.

rob333 - same here on the maxed out sign. I bought one ticket today using the auto pick option but I'm pretty sure it has the right numbers this time.

I picked one up on the way home. Of course, I picked one up earlier in the week, too.

How can that be possible LoneJack, when mine has the correct numbers?!

😂

There is always the possibility that two (or more) people have the same numbers. Y'all will just have to split the prize.

I’ll split it with you, lucille!

We have to include at least Rob and Lonejack since they have the right numbers too.

I went across town today to drop off a watermelon from my garden at a friend's house. On the way home decided to pick up some tickents. I bought ten. I don't play very often. I really want to win second prize, not the jackpot so much. It would be nice to help people but I think it would be a massive stress in your life if you won the whole thing and other people knew about it.

Having been a financial advisor for a while, I don't buy lottery tickets.

As the mega ones are engineered so that there'll be only one or a few winners and so many more tickets are sold, I figure that my possibility of winning are very remote.

Most likely "bet-ter" to buy one of a few million sold for a prize of a million or two. If the prize is a hundred million or more, the additional value to me of the extra 98 or many more extra millions is less than double that of the first million or two, not enough to justify the much reduced possibility of a win, I think.

ole joyful

I never do, but what the heck...I bought 2.

I think this is the 3rd time I've bought lottery tickets... ever. I bought two. One for me and one for dh. Fingers crossed.

I had to laugh at myself a couple of times today. I went to the grocery store on Wednesday and while there purchased lottery tickets. Then decided I wanted coffee I did not make myself. Stopped that the gas station in the parking lot of the grocery then proceeded for some unknown reason to purchase lottery tickets again. This morning when making coffee I realized that I had not purchased it when I went to the store. Was ready to change clothes to things that I would not be arrested in public then thought of the tickets from the other day. No need to get another one for tonight. Having my afternoon snack I thought again about tickets for tonight and if I really wanted to stop at the station that was on the way back from picking up my CSA veggies. Both times I just shook my head and told myself I was a dunce.

Strangely I actually one a free ticket on my state's lottery something I may do perhaps a couple of times a year but this was the first one this year. Thinking of winning a big sum is much better than winning it although I do like the small wins.

We were going to. But while I was out, I seriousky got to thinking, what if we won? I started thinking through the call to the attorney, and all the ”schlamozzle”, and seriously, we don’t need it, and decided it would be too much trouble! I could handle winning a million, but a BILLION? Heck no,

I never (or almost never, like once every 5 years) buy lotto tix, but the deliciousness of winning a billion dollars and what I could do with it was too tempting. I bought 5, including the winning one, lol!

I love that we all have a winning ticket!

This takes me back to my high school days of marching band. We won the Contest of Champions, the ULTIMATE contest for our area, which means state champions, but also regional. We marched in the Fiesta Bowl parade, and hoped we would come in second so we would not have to march at the game. Exactly what we did. Bragging rights without the work. We got the day off.

I'm pretty sure I'd prefer coming in second for this particular jackpot. Millions without the notoriety.

Good luck to everyone in tonights drawing!

1 winner in Illinois.......I think I have a cousin living there ;-)

I didn't win but between my own money fantasies and listening to the interesting hopes and wishes and in-case-they-won plans of others, I feel like I got my money's worth.

Single winner in my state! I’m either glad i didn’t play, or wish I had!

I won enough to pay for my ticket.

It boggles my mind that out of all of the millions of tickets that were sold that there was only one, ONE, that had the correct numbers.

Bpath, i thought for sure it was you! I still havent checked my numbers to see if i won anything. oh well, next time.

I won $2, what to splurge on now....

I tried cashing in my $10 win and the cashier just stood there staring at me. I said, "I'd like my $10". He said, "Oh! I thought you'd spend it buying more tickets." I didn't. It does seem like too much money to win....doesn't it. 😉