If I should win the jackpot, do I have the option of remaining anonymous as far as the public and the media are concerned?
In most states, lottery winner information is public domain, therefore it is public information.
Publicized information normally includes the jackpot winner’s name, city, county, game in which they won,
date won, and the amount of the prize.
After you win the jackpot, we recommend seeking the professional guidance of a good lawyer and accountant to see if there are ways of maintaining as much privacy as possible— before contacting the lottery and/or claiming the prize, and possibly even before letting friends or family know. You may be tempted to yell to the rooftops in glee about your newfound fortune, but you will probably end up regretting that decision once the excitement of the win calms down, and you are left with a continuous stream of lawsuits and requests for money from those who want a piece of your win.
Is it realistic to win the American lottery?
You can mentally collect diamond dust all your life, like the heroes of Ilf and Petrov, but you can set a goal, arm yourself with faith and - hit the Jackpot in dollars.
Esotericists claim, that faith is the key to winning big, mathematicians say, that logic and sober calculation are more important, and the lottery organizers Mega Million advise to just buy tickets for the raffles.
If these tips aren't enough for you, then keep another one: study the statistics carefully, practice a balanced approach to the game process (don't get addicted to the lottery) and at least superficially study the theory of probability. And - yes - do not turn off confidence in victory in yourself under any circumstances.
Everyone has a chance to win the American lottery, equally, like the chances of winning any other lottery. Just train yourself to think about big money, don't be afraid of millions, start to feel like a rich person right here and now. These are proven methods, they will definitely give a positive result. Mega Millions obeys only the confident and stubborn (in a good way).
"Seven from Albany" - $319 million
In March 2011 of the year 7 colleagues from Albany County, New York State, won the jackpot in $319 million. How they got on the list of the biggest syndicates wins? It happened thanks to one lucky ticket.
Unlike other office syndicates, Albany Seven didn't buy a lot of tickets for the draw, in which they participated. Instead, one of them bought the only ticket for the draw.
This time it's Mike Bart's turn to buy a ticket.. He went to the store near work. Standing at the checkout, he decided to grab a Snickers bar. At this moment the person, the one behind him crawled forward and asked for a Mega Millions ticket with pre-selected random numbers (Quick Pick).
Mike decided not to make a scene and just took the next ticket, when the impolite stranger finished paying. "Then I realized", told by Mike Bart laughing, "That our ticket should have gone to him". There is no doubt, that Mike was in the right place at the right time. It brought him and his friends $319 million!
If I live in a state that taxes prizes, but bought my ticket in a state with no tax on prizes, do I still need to pay state tax?
Yes, you do. Think of lottery prizes as regular earned income from a job. Just because you may work in a different state, that doesn’t permit you to get away with not paying state income tax in your state of residence. The lottery works the same way.
Whether it’s income from a job or income from gambling, the state where the money is won will tax the prize first at their out-of-state tax rate (assuming the state taxes lottery winnings). If your state of residence has the same or lower tax rate, then you won’t owe anything else. But if your state has a higher rate, you will get a credit for what you paid in the other state, and pay the difference to your state.
If the other state has no tax, you just pay the entire tax bill to your state.
The net result is that you end up paying whichever tax rate is higher between your state of residence and the state where you purchased the ticket. Of course, the tax law is quite complex and it’s possible that some condition or arrangement exists between the two states and a good tax attorney and/or accountant could discover a tax-saving loophole. That’s why we always recommend that major prize winners do not make any major decisions before first hiring a good legal and financial team.
One other option to consider, depending on how much in taxes you’re looking to save: the residency requirements as they relate to prize claims, state taxes, and income reporting. Since you aren’t responsible for paying taxes until you claim the prize, perhaps there is time to establish residency in the state where you purchased the ticket before the prize claim period expires. However, that is something you would definitely need to explore with an attorney before taking any action to assess the feasibility. You would also need to decide if it would be worth the risk of that important little piece of paper not getting lost, damaged, or destroyed in the time you spend arranging everything.
What is Mega Millions Lottery
Mega Millions, or in the original MegaMillions, is the most famous lottery in the USA. Any adult can participate. It is enough to buy a lottery ticket at one of the kiosks 44 member states, and if you are out of reach, then via the Internet using a trusted reseller. It remains to fill in the numeric matrix, select five numbers in the main field of the ticket and one in the additional (Megabol) and wait for results.
US lottery ticket price is around 2 dollars. For citizens of foreign countries, the cost will be higher due to the services of an intermediary - on the Golotter website, a ticket can be redeemed for 958 rubles.
Why is the cash option always a different percentage of the annuity from draw to draw?
If you’re calculating what percentage the cash value is of the annuity, then you’re looking at it backwards. The cash value is the starting point, as it is a direct percentage of ticket sales. Then the annuity amount is calculated from that, based on prevailing interest rates. Since the interest rates are constantly changing, the annuity amount calculated on one day will be a different number than if it is calculated the next day. So when a drawing occurs and the lottery has to estimate the next annuity jackpot, they first estimate the number of tickets that will be sold for the next drawing, which determines what the cash value estimate is (because a fixed percentage of each ticket sold goes toward prizes). Then they finally calculate what the annuity will be based on the current interest rates.
Mega Millions. results. How to play
22 October 2013 the first edition of the game in a modern format with record, by the way, jackpots.
How to play Mega Millions?
The player must choose 5 numbers from 75 for ordinary white balls, then you need to place a bet on the so-called golden ball (one of fifteen numbers) . Besides, there is an option with a Megaplator, which increases all winnings, except for the jackpot, five times. for example, winning 10 thousand dollars and having a megaplator, you get everything 50 000. Not bad, isn't it true?
How to win the Megamillions jackpot?
Like other lotteries, there are also several prize categories here. let's consider, how much you can win and how many numbers are correct. Examples below:
- 5+0 — 1 million. dollars
- 4+1 — 5 thousand. dollars
- 4+0 — 500 dollars
- 3+1 — 50 dollars
- 3+0 — 7 dollars
- 2+1 — 5 dollars
- 1+1 — 2 dollars
- 0+1 — 1 dollars
***Note: the first digit is the number of guessed digits on the white balls (from to 5), second (which comes after the "+" sign is the number of guessed digits on the golden ball (from to 1).
Megamillions - lottery with record jackpots
50% all sales go towards the prize, unlike other lotteries, where a much smaller proportion of the money raised is allocated to winners. Winning the lottery isn't that hard, as it seems. Now you are just reading this information, but you just have to decide, to buy a ticket, place a bet and ... who knows, may be, all your dreams will come true after the next draw? The minimum jackpot is 15 million USD and increases by 5 million. after every game, if not ripped off. The last lucky ones, who took the whole amount, were in 2013 year, and the lottery is held twice a week. What do you think, what is the jackpot amount now?
One winner with one ticket in hand
Increase the chances, by buying several tickets at once, can, and even recommended. However, don't fill them in the same way. Since if at once all your tickets get the jackpot, you can pick up, Alas, only one maximum prize. Fill lottery tickets differently, take risks! If all your tickets win some bets, you can pick up only one!
Mega Million Lottery. Winners
The jackpot has never been hit in the format 575 and 115, but once in a warm March 2012 of the year, three lucky people at once shared a huge jackpot and received 174 million dollars in cash. Winnings went to Maryland, Kansas and Illinois. What do you think, you can hit such a jackpot? Just buy a ticket and try your luck!
New Megamillions format
In October 2017 the year the lottery format has been changed, it was made as close as possible to the Powerball matrix: Powerball format - 5 of 69 and 1 of 26, chance to win - 1: 292 201 338,00 New Megamillions format - 5 of 70 and 1 of 25, chance to win - 1: 302 575 350,00.
The lower chance of winning the jackpot allowed to increase the number of accumulations and accumulate impressive amounts in the prize pool. It took the organizers almost a year to unwind the new format, although the results 2018 the year one could judge its success. For example, Powerball played for 2018 year 8 jackpots, of them 4 - below 300 million dollars. Megamillions in the same period played 5 jackpots, of them 1 - below 400 million dollars:
- 5.01.2018 — 451 000 000$ - winner from Florida
- 30.03.2018 — 533 000 000$ - winner Richard Wall of New Jersey
- 4.05.2018 — 142 000 000$ - winner anonymous from Ohio
- 24.07.2018 — 543 000 000$ - winner of a syndicate from California
- 23.10.2018 — 1 537 000 000$ - winner from South Carolina.
Max Jackpot Megamillions on 1,537 billion. dollars was accumulated for 25 accumulations. In circulation from 23 October 2018 of the year, the organizers announced the main prize 1 600 000 000 dollars, but could not collect the required amount, so we reduced it to 1,537 billion. If successful, the main Powerball record would be broken at 1,587 billion, but, Alas, this did not happen. But Megamillions has in its history the biggest super prize in one hand.
$533 million - 30 Martha 2018
Richard Wall of New Jersey played the lottery for only the second time in his life. Pay for gas, he bought tickets for Mega Millions with the remaining change in his pockets. He didn't plan it in advance, and I almost forgot, what did he do. After checking the results of the draw, he, to my amazement, discovered, that all numbers matched, and that spontaneous decision turned him into a multimillionaire.
“We cried for a long time with happiness, and hugged each other ", told Mr. Wall. “This money will not only change my life. I want to, so that they can change the lives of others ", he added.
He was going to share the winnings with his mother and his wife's family., who lived in Mexico.
Mr. Wall received his prize in one payment, and told the press, that I hired a team of financial advisors, to wisely invest the winnings and secure the future of your family for many years to come.
What is the Megaplier?
The Megaplier is an option that is currently offered in all states that sell Mega Millions tickets except California. For an extra $1.00 per ticket you can increase your non-jackpot prize winnings by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times.
The Megaplier is not available in California because of state law that requires all lottery prizes to be paid out on a pari-mutuel basis.
The Megaplier multiplier number is chosen at random by computerized drawing in Texas at around the same time the Mega Millions numbers are drawn in Georgia. The Megaplier was invented by the Texas Lottery as an add-on available only in that state, but was later available in all of the Mega Millions states except California starting in 2010. The Megaplier continues to be drawn in Texas.
A player must choose the Megaplier option when they buy their Mega Millions ticket, and then the ticket must match one of the 9 Ways to Win (except the jackpot) before the multiplier takes effect. Megaplier costs an extra $1 per play. See How to Play Mega Millions for more information.
