Who is gonna play the PowerBall?

[alan_phillips]

The jackpot is up to $425 million! What would you do if you won?

[Scuba]

1. Start a foundation to generate jobs in inner-city Milwaukee and poor rural Wisconsin.

[femmocrat]

2. I play at work, but we are off for the summer, so I won't play this time.

The odds of winning are probably around a trillion to one! LOL

If I did win, I would buy a house on a beach and fund some charities. What would you do?

[alan_phillips]

3. I would pay off all my bills, build a house then

Use some to start a program to help people who lost their jobs that were shipped overseas. I would like to start a company they could work for making whatever they had been making plus $2 more per hour. I would make sure they were out of debt when they start by paying off any debt they had on their start date. This way they would be in a good position to start and have a good job to provide for their families and prosper.

[femmocrat]

4. You have really given this a lot of thought!

That sounds like a very worthwhile use for the money. Hope you get a big chunk of it!

And.... Welcome to DU!

[alan_phillips]

5. Thanks

and yeah, I have thought about how I would spend that kind of money a lot. I believe in giving back to those who really need it, and lets face it, $425 million is quite a bit of money for most people. I could work my whole life and not come close to that kinda money.

[woodsprite]

10. We do the same, but the 'organizer' is on vac and couldn't get takers to do the collecting this week

plus he didn't leave a list of whom he usually asks, so we're all buying our own this week. I'll probably go out, spend $8 and get a 'family' ticket this afternoon.

If I won, I'd give a decent-sized chunks to

- my MIL/FIL (to enjoy life while they can -- 76yrs and 81yrs -- and to help pay for Alzheimer's care when dad needs it)
- my brother and his wife,
- my BIL and his new wife,
- and my SIL (who's working as many hours as she can to support 5 kids since her hubby lost his job in Feb).

All donations would be as anonymous as possible or through a 3rd party. I'd give some to our church to help fund the youth program, their music program, and their medical benevolence fund. I'd give to the DE Humane Society (where we adopted our dog) and to the Chorale group hubby and I sing with. I'd also donate to the daycare that's been such a help to our family since 1995 (set up something to help fund their summer camp activities, their infant program and after-school club programs - we'll be ending our stint with them in 2 yrs but want to do something for them). I'd definitely do more house repairs, pay for someone to do some heavy yard/tree work and rebuild a few retaining walls. I'd pay to rent one of those 16br houses down at Hatteras for a week for my 'moms' internet group I've belonged, then I'd send them tickets to get there. Hubby said he'd buy a new truck to tow our camper and probably buy a small hybrid for our daughter. Beyond that, I don't know.

It's nice to dream....

[NewJeffCT]

6. First, I'd retire and make sure my family is taken care of

by that I mean my parents, brother, cousins and in-laws, in addition to my daughter and wife.

Second, I'd try to build as green a home as realistically possible (solar power, geothermal heating, etc) and close to a major city in the Northeast (Boston, NY, Washington DC, Philly)

Third, I'd set up some sort of charity to help local children in need.

[Chan790]

7. I always play when the prize gets this big.

If I win, I'm not doing anything grand and fun. Yet. I have a big plan.

I'm buying real estate, corporations that make products I believe in and other commodities as investment vehicles and riding the recovery to being a multibillionaire or a trillionaire. My dream has never been of being rich and frivolous. I'm already frivolous. I've dreamed of immense dynastic wealth, the kind of wealth where the money creates more money and more money and every living relative is a millionaire and nobody in my lineage ever works again. The kind of wealth that in medieval times automatically made you a king and bought small countries like Lichtenstein.

Then I intend to use it to be an actual king, I'm young and I have time. Someplace small and Mediterranean. King Channing I. It has a nice ring to it. My domains will be a democratic-socialist paradise with a constitutional monarchy and only the military it needs to defend itself which doubles as a domestic gendarmerie. We'll have national siesta and a 4-day work-week and a national religion of atheism and progressive values and living wages and national healthcare and we'll join the EU.

[Agschmid]

8. Me!

FWIW I would not "work" anymore...

I would volunteer for an animal shelter and go back to school to get a degree as a veterinarian.

[Alisha-Bunny-12]

9. If I did win I would

Get the things I need for my family and then I would invested.Also give to charities.

[Bertha Venation]

11. I pay a small idiot tax for each drawing. I enjoy the dream.

Pay off the houses of everyone in both our families and some friends. Give tons to Feeding America and other like charities. To Best Friends, Alley Cat Allies, a horse rescue that Mrs. V. loves, the humane society, and other animal charities. Other charities too. Over time, open a no-kill cat sanctuary and a horse sanctuary.

And other things.

[KamaAina]

13. It might not be an idiot tax for this one

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerball#Payout_and_odds

5 numbers plus PB Jackpot Power Play does not apply to jackpot 1 in 175,223,510.00

The $425 million jackpot is actually more than twice that figure (because a play is $2). Of course, there is a chance of multiple winners, which might push the odds back under water, but that's above my pay grade.

P.S. I've been covered since Sunday.

[In_The_Wind]

14. Me

Enjoy it!

[newcriminal]

15. I have mine.

[Mr. David]

16. Buy DU and run it my way :P

Nah... I'll just buy a house (since we've just started househunting, and everything in our price range mostly suck)

And a private jet. And a foundation to set up public policy on marijuana.

[olddots]

17. I'd buy a one way ticket to Palookaville

[HeiressofBickworth]

18. I'd spread it around pretty thick

A few million to immediate family
Pay for granddaughter's education to the extent she would like (currently she wants to be a doctor)
Lots to the food bank at the church 2 blocks away (I gave my Bush tax check to them)
A million to each of my closest friends
I'd become a corporation so I could give money to political candidates of my choice without limits

and not one red cent to my relatives who have caused me such anguish in the past.

And then I'd travel..............

[BarbaRosa]

19. First, I would be drinking better beer,

second, anything I wanted to do.

In reality, be glad that part of my 6 bucks is going towards NM education.