The current Powerball, already the largest jackpot for a single winner in history for some time, grew to a towering $1.5 billion ahead of Wednesday’s drawing, according to Texas lottery officials.
It has shot up from $1.3 billion in just three days, and could grow even further before Wednesday.
BREAKING: #Powerball jackpot just increased again to $1.5 BILLION! Cash value is $930 MILLION! #Texas #TexasLottery pic.twitter.com/PTqVtk9u0x
— Texas Lottery (@TexasLottery) January 12, 2016The winner of the Powerball could choose between an immediate payout of $930 million or receive $50 million per year over a 30-year period, according to USA Mega. After federal taxes, the lump sum amount shrinks to $697 million and change.
The chances of winning the Powerball is 1 in 292 million, according to the Powerball.com.
If history provides any lessons, the first thing the Powerball winner should spend their money on is consulting on how to not lose their lottery winnings.
If I win the Powerball, I’m going to spend a lot of money hiding that fact from all of you.
— Michael B Dougherty (@michaelbd) January 10, 2016Many lottery winners squander their winnings within a few years, and studies show that a winners of large jackpots (more than $50,000) file for bankruptcy at the same rate as winners of small sums (less than $10,000) after five years of winning.
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