Confess: Did you buy a Mega Millions ticket today?

[demmiblue]

I did. The only time I buy a ticket is when I cash in my recyclables.

Then I thought about how absolutely daunting it would be to win that kind of money! $1,000,000,000...

Anywho, it is always a little fun to fantasize about the wonderful things one could do for others with that kind of money.

[we can do it]

1. I did buy 1.

[Blue Owl]

2. Mega Billions

n/t

[LisaM]

3. I got a couple yesterday, using the cover of buying a Talking Rain sparking water.

The guy behind me just came in and bought $20 worth of tickets, didn't even bother spending a nickel at the store selling the tickets!

[Yonnie3]

4. No, but I have a subscription so I am in this draw.

When I win I am going to do all those things they say Soros does.

[demmiblue]

5. Heh!

[Olafjoy]

6. Yes

It is a billion dollars. I’m in. That money could do so much good.

[TexasBushwhacker]

22. That's the way Ilook at it

My needs are fairly modest. I could take care of people and causes I care about.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Of course, even though it's only around 500 million cash, and the tax bill...

will be a few hundred million.

(I could live with that)

[SergeStorms]

48. If you put yourself....

on a tight budget you could probably squeak by.

[In_The_Wind]

8. No, cause I bought two yesterday.

[getagrip_already]

9. yup, a billion is real money...

Imagine how much hatred I could inspire on the right if I win.

Ted Styer move over.

Look, someone is gonna win it. The odds will be just as small when they do.

[GemDigger]

10. 3 Mega Millions and 2 Power Balls.

I am not usually lucky enough to even win a free ticket so I don't buy in until the jackpot is big. But I always remember the face and name of the person that sold them to me so I can thank his lucky hands with a vacation.

[JohnnyRingo]

32. Just your rotten luck to win the Power Ball instead.

Imagine your disappointment at missing out.

[GemDigger]

35. I would take PowerBall.

But alas, not even a free ticket.

[JohnnyRingo]

38. Of course you would.

I was just repeating the joke I told the girl I bought my PB & MM tickets from.
Such levity doesn't work as well on the internet.

[GemDigger]

40. My luck is such that if a tsunami hit the west coast it would find ME and only me in the middle of

Montana. Actually, I am very lucky because I am still healthy. Off to buy more tickets

[JohnnyRingo]

43. My luck I'd check the numbers and have a heart attack.

I have grandkids though, but what if they throw the ticket out after the ambulance leaves?

Try some practice before you buy your tickets:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211300401

[GemDigger]

44. That is also a possibility.

As for your link...… killjoy!

[JohnnyRingo]

45. I still play.

I don't go overboard because I know I'm throwing money away and there's little joy in that.
Still, if I'm incredibly lucky...

[dameatball]

11. Many people are saying that Heidi Cruz bought several dozen. So I heard.

[Scarsdale]

55. Poor Mrs. Cruz.

She needs a second home, and fugly Teddy does not make even subsistence wages. Maybe they should get Teddy's daddy to pray harder? I bought tickets. A grocery store in Illinois gave away a lot of single draw tickets, too. The lines were long.

[SKKY]

56. Perhaps she'll be able to afford that 2nd home...

...poor thing. Having to live in just one home.

[SCantiGOP]

12. Nope

While I support the right of adults to gamble if they choose, I am not a big fan of state-sponsored gambling.
An opponent in my state when the lottery was established described it as a "tax on stupidity", since it only pays out about 50% of what it takes in.
My two main objections:
1- It is disproportionately a burden on those least able to afford it, and
2- In the case of SC, it was sold as the "Education Lottery", with a promise that it would be used only for funding scholarships to state universities and community colleges. How long do you think that lasted? Since it was implemented about 25 years ago, funding for K-12 has, adjusted for inflation, been cut by about 1/3 and supplanted with lottery funding.

[janterry]

13. No, I pay enough in taxes already

n/t

[MiniMe]

14. Bought mine yesterday

An extra day of daydreaming. Bought a PowerBall too, they are both pretty sizable now. Powerball is up to $470 million. I don't buy them often, but when they are both this big, you just have to make a small investment. Only 1, but at least you have a chance as infinitesimal a chance as it is

[MANative]

15. Yes, I did buy 5 tickets

Making my mental list of candidates and causes to flood with cash. (Hey, somebody's going to win, right?)

[tazkcmo]

16. I joined a company pool.

I rarely gamble but this time I said what the hell. I can afford to lose 2 dollars at present.

[lapfog_1]

17. $20 for 10 quick picks.

I often think about what I would do with nearly $400M in cash after taxes and "cash value" etc.

[Sedona]

18. No....

I bought ten



Just heard on local news if you invest the cash out balance in 30 day treasury bonds it will generate $2 million in annual income.

[A HERETIC I AM]

41. It would be considerably more than that.

$200 million at 2% yield would be $4 mill a year.

Now that the jackpot is $1.6 Billion, the cash option has grown to $904 million.

904 minus 37% for the federal taxes leaves 569.5 million.

You could expect almost eleven and a half million a year at that level.

But that is taxable income, BTW. Go for Muni bonds and the interest is tax free.

[red dog 1]

19. Yes, I did

I bought 3, and wish I could have afforded to buy more!

[Luciferous]

20. One Mega Millions, one Powerball. I only buy when it gets high.

[jpak]

21. I spent the rent money - and then some

[NNadir]

23. Sure. A fun way to pay taxes, and here in NJ, it goes to schools.

There's no way to lose, only to win.

[meow2u3]

24. I bought 3

You never know if you can win $1B, even if the odds are stacked against you. It's fun to plunk down a couple of bucks once in a while.

[Blue_playwright]

25. I bought one

Can you imagine the good you could do with that kind of money? Insane! We would give most of it away, no one really needs that much ever.

[samplegirl]

26. Oh hell yes

If I would win I would pack it up and move!

[MLAA]

27. Indeed....imagine all the detectives I could hire to uncover all the hypocracy and crimes of

repug politicians!

[vlyons]

28. I thought about it and then reminded myself that

the lottery is a tax on stupid people. So I saved myself $10, $20 or so.

[demmiblue]

33. Awww... feel better now, vylons? n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

42. ...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211297608#post2

[edhopper]

29. Yes

but it is for the fun of thinking about winning. I know my chances are almost nonexistent.
The $2 meant i didn't buy a cup of coffee.

[orleans]

30. all the fuss and no winner

now it's 1.6 billion (which seems obscene to me)

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/no-mega-millions-winner-jackpot-climbs-1-6-billion-n922221

(on edit: one billion felt obscene as well)

[2naSalit]

31. Not yet but I might.

[MontanaMama]

34. Nope

But I might fall victim to all this peer pressure... 😏🤪🎃

[Trailrider1951]

36. Yes, I bought 2

Doubled my chances, I did.

[Midnightwalk]

37. I bought 10

With the same numbers. If I win and someone else does too, I'll be able to say I got 900,000,000 and you only get 100,000,000.

Well I wanted to but my wife said that was stupid so I bought one.

[packman]

39. It's time for all of you to stop buying tickets

I have the winning one.

[LakeArenal]

46. Yes I did; and if I win I'm giving demmiblue one million!!

[demmiblue]

52. Aww... c'mere you!

[LakeArenal]

57. Since no one won either Power or Mega

When I win coming up.......

Make it two million for you Demmi!!!!

[krispos42]

47. I bought 90 of them.

But I run the office pool, so...

[LiberalLovinLug]

49. I've thought of what I could do

Can you imagine having the kind of money that could actually help sway voters? Not by underhanded methods, but simply by contributing to the candidates one likes, providing them with funds to pay for more ads etc...to get out their message.

[LibDemAlways]

50. I bought 2 for my 95 year old mother.

I don't think she has any idea what the odds are of winnng, but she does enjoy fantasizing about what she'd do with a windfall and keeps telling me she'd be content with a million.

[PaulX2]

51. 6 for $12

Talking to wife but where we will move when we win.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

53. "Honey, I won the lottery! Get packed!"

"Great! Where are we going?"

"I don't care where you go. Just get packed and move out of the house."

[MissMillie]

54. One. Only one.

I used to work at a college for an economics professor. His two concentrations were decision theory and risk analysis.

He told me that if a person is going to buy a ticket, they should only buy one. One ticket gives you the excitement of being part of the game. He said that buying 2 tickets doubles your chances but then you're still looking at a 2 in several million of winning.

So, if you have the $2, buy the ticket--but only one.

[keithbvadu2]

58. I bought two for you and me. Mine won. Sorry about yours.

[IrishEyes]

59. Yeah, I bought one.

I don't buy a lottery ticket that often but I thought why not. There is so much good I could do with that money. If I won, I would donate 95% of the money after taxes to charity. That would leave me with way more money than I could ever spend.

[customerserviceguy]

60. Nope

One of my instructors in geek school had a bumper sticker on his office door, saying that the lottery was a tax on people who can't do math. It made an impression on me.