No ticket had the winning combination of six numbers to win America’s largest-ever jackpot Saturday night, leading to the massive prize.
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“The best way to make money on the lottery is not to play”, said Matheson.
In the end, that means your $1.5 billion could end up being as little as United States $576 million – leaving you in Marissa Mayer’s neighbourhood instead of Warren Buffett’s. 10 of those prizes are worth $50,000.
The best part: Since you would guarantee yourself a win, all your losing lottery tickets would be tax-deductible.
That’s because there are more people playing, increasing your odds of sharing the jackpot with someone else (or multiple people).
People who bought Powerball tickets have more time to think of elaborate ways to spend the largest lottery jackpot in the world – and they’ll likely be joined by thousands more seeking a quick $1.4 billion fortune.
The previous USA jackpot record was $656 million in March 2012 in the Mega Millions lottery – another bi-weekly drawing.
His ticket was one of 25 across the country that won the $1 million prize. Or the victor could opt for a lump-sum payment of $930 million. But there are actually quite a few lotteries that pay off.
“When the jackpots get big like this, it creates a frenzy”, said Brian Johnson, vice president of finance at Casey’s General Stores, which runs 1,900 stores in 14 states.
Matheson and colleague Kent Grote researched 23,000 state lotteries and found that just over 1% represent a net positive investment. But if you insist on playing, Matheson says there’s one way to improve your expected return, albeit by a miniscule amount: Choose obscure numbers.
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Okay, a very slight chance of winning.
