January 12, 2016
$28 million U.S. an hour is the pace that the tickets are being sold at in the U.S.
The treasure at the end of the rainbow? for lotto in the United States. $1.3 billion. That is a pile of treasure. AND all you need is a $2 ticket. The prize money is larger than some budgets in an developing nation. The huge jackpot, drives just how much will be won, jumping over the weekend from $900 million to the $1.3 billion predicated, BUT ticket sales in fact lessens the chance of winning the total amount. Upping smaller payouts.
If the winner takes it in one fell swoop, the total after state and federal taxes will be $868 million. As a citizen of another county I would not be required to pay those taxes, but the pressure would be immense, to do so, I am quite sure from taxation person south of the boarder. Just try to nake a break for it out or back across another time if you did not.
In the US you can in fact send a delegate to pick up the pot. Here in Canada, one has to show up, and get yer picture taken. To beat all, our tickets are more to play. If the prize gets excessively or extremely significant, we complain. Given our socialist nature, we have to share, as a nation, we say “who could spend that insane amount of money.” Yes we do, winnings go over say $60 million and we start giving away a million incentives to purchase a ticket. (which according to bankers who want you to invest so they can use the money, is not enough now to retire on, let me try please) Spain’s El Gordo lottery, was paltry 2.4 billion and called “The Fat One,” paid out in cash prizes last December. (who knew?) But, those socialists winning tickets were capped at about $4.36 million per winning ticket.
Probability of captivating the huge pot, across the boarder, is 1/292 million. Here in the great white north, with the pot a little smaller, a normal say of $7 million, the probability of the triumph is 1/14 million. The odds of winning the jackpot are like flipping a coin 28 times and receiving a heads each time. That doesn’t sound so difficult? I will be spenidng the day giving that a try, while the laundry dries.
The reason for the huge jackpots? The numbers. People on either side of the boarder were not investing in the hope tax. “sales were disappointing.” So are we prepared before the big snow event (up to 25 cm tonight but I digress) to take a drive, to line up, and the people are lunging at the tickets, to invest. In the numbers, 8, 54, 14, 39, 13: (The numbers in Powerball that are most frequently drawn.)
What, my dear and gentle readers ask, has this to do with running a bed and breakfast, nothing nothing, zero, zilch..
BUT, A girl has to have a hallucination or two. My wife said to me: ‘If you won the lottery, would you still love me?’ I said: ‘Of course I would. I’d miss you, but I’d still love you.’ Frank Carson & Moi