Powerball

[Finster101]

OH yeah baby, I'm in! :happy dance:

[imashooter2]

LOL! A tax on the mathematically challenged.

Good luck with it though. It'd make one heck of a part time job. :)

[Finster101]

LOL! A tax on the mathematically challenged.

Good luck with it though. It'd make one heck of a part time job. :)

Only if you consider it your retirement plan. The only guaranty is if you don't play you can't win. For the couple of buck I spent I won't lose any sleep over it. I figure on going to work on Monday but wouldn't it be nice if I could pick up the phone and say "I won't be in today....or any other day."

[dragon813gt]

Gotta be in it to win it ;)

[imashooter2]

Agreed on that Finster! I have plenty of hobbies to keep me busy. Work just pays for it and takes away valuable time…

[bedbugbilly]

My Dad was always quoting "A fool and his money are soon departed!"

Well call me a FOOL then . . . we don't usually buy lottery tickets . . .but what the heck . . . for this I'm willing to gamble on a couple of tickets. You go in to it knowing full well that you aren't going to win . . . but then again . . . there's always that one chance! LOL Like's been said . . . you can't win if you don't play!

Now . .. . tomorrow . . . instead of calling me a FOOL . . . you can call me a FOOLISH LOSER! :-)

Everybody fantasies about what they'd do if they won . . . I just think about all the good a person could do with those winnings . . . establish scholarships for kids who can't afford to go to school, donations to food pantries, giving a helping hand to some that really work hard but are having a hard time making it, etc.

[Finster101]

I've heard the lottery called a tax on the stupid. It's like anything else if you don't have the money don't do it. I play once in a blue moon but there are folks who spend money they shouldn't trying to win a fortune. Heck I started this thread for fun not to get philosophical!

[swamp]

I'm in. I would like to win just to see if I could live on a budget.:-)
swamp

[fast ronnie]

I actually broke even. Never played, never lost.

[runfiverun]

even if you won you couldn't afford the Obama care payments and you'd still have to go to work.

[Finster101]

If I win I'll probably die in some other country likely with no extradition treaty.

[dragon813gt]

Lottery winners do not usually turn out well. Gift and a curse usually rules the day.

[slim1836]

Lottery winners do not usually turn out well. Gift and a curse usually rules the day.

I WOULD GIVE IT MY BEST SHOT THOUGH.

Slim

[Hickory]

If you don't gamble, you won't loose, and that's a sure bet.

[Love Life]

If I won, I'd buy a 3rd world country.

[freebullet]

What would you name it?

[Artful]

If I won, I'd buy a 3rd world country.

Would you invite you friends to visit on Taco Night?

[Duckiller]

At 1.3 billion dollars over the next 30 years I could afford a tax attorney and an accountant to keep me from going bankrupt in the next 3-5 years. It is part of my investment for retirement strategy. Not a large part, just a part.

[rondog]

Dang, I knew I forgot to do something today. And I was out and about too. I hope nobody wins, it'll go over $1B for sure.

[tommag]

Spent $2 on it, got 2 numbers. Same as always. My luck is so bad, I could spend $100 on it and get a $3 winner and think I won!

[gandydancer]

My Dad was always quoting "A fool and his money are soon departed!"

Well call me a FOOL then . . . we don't usually buy lottery tickets . . .but what the heck . . . for this I'm willing to gamble on a couple of tickets. You go in to it knowing full well that you aren't going to win . . . but then again . . . there's always that one chance! LOL Like's been said . . . you can't win if you don't play!

Now . .. . tomorrow . . . instead of calling me a FOOL . . . you can call me a FOOLISH LOSER! :-)

Everybody fantasies about what they'd do if they won . . . I just think about all the good a person could do with those winnings . . . establish scholarships for kids who can't afford to go to school, donations to food pantries, giving a helping hand to some that really work hard but are having a hard time making it, etc.

departed? I've heard a fool and his money are soon parted. makes one wonder how they ever got together in the 1st place.

[RogerDat]

Just buying a daydream for a couple of bucks. You will be able to tell I won pretty easily. I'll be the guy coming into work in the chaps and a thong, this should make kissing my butt much easier for those few people at work I figure are going to hear that suggested if I win.

Honestly it is a self imposed tax, one which provides even less value to those paying it than most taxes do. I too have heard it described as a tax on the math challenged but what the heck a couple of bucks for a day or two of daydreams is cheaper than a movie ticket.

[762 shooter]

Two dollars for 24 hours of fantasy is cheap fun.

If you really think about it your life would not be the same at all.

Would you really spend the time to cast bullets when you could afford to pay the most accomplished caster on this site $50,000 a year to cast for you?

762

[labradigger1]

If I won, I'd buy a 3rd world country.
USA in 15 years?

[LuckyDog]

To be honest, I don't know what I'd do. But, buy a ticket and just dream for a little. :)

Then go back too work. :)

[fryboy]

some things one just has to do themselves lolz like homegrown tomatoes , it umm enhances the value considerably ;)

i rarely play , a huge jackpot i may buy ONE ticket , a really bad bad day meh i'll buy a ticket lolz if a buddy is having a really bad day i'll give them the cash to buy a ticket , after all if everything is at the bottom there's only one way to go and that's up ;)
i go in with the thought that that ticket i bought is THE winner ! i usually ask the girl behind the counter to look at the machine for a second and pause above the button and say " daddy needs the dough" , i usually have to bribe them with offering to set them up big time if i win big ( which with this jackpot would be easy enough to do ! ) if there's a dude behind the counter i'll wait or go someplace where there's a woman ( cant have lady luck without a lady :P )
the bad side ? if i won i'd have friends i never knew .... :/ and obscure iffy relatives coming out of the woodwork <_<

[LuckyDog]

They must have changed the game again since last time I played it.
Odds of winning the jack pot are now 292,201,338 to 1. :holysheep
I thought it was 84 million to one.

Why would ANYONE play if the jackpot was less than 300 million?

157732

Roulette has better odds.

[Elkins45]

Lottery winners do not usually turn out well. Gift and a curse usually rules the day.

Of the last 107 Powerball winners, 106 have taken the cash option. You only get the full 1.3 billion if you take the 29 year annuity.

I'm 52. I may not live 29 more years, but if I won I would take the annuity. You can't blow it all if you don't have it all.

[Lloyd Smale]

if I would have won last night I would have just passed on it. Now its up over a billion and I think I would settle for that:kidding: I don't see anything wrong with throwing 20 bucks or so at it. When I was younger I spent that much in first 10 minutes in the local watering hole buying a round and what did I get for that other then a headache.

[randyrat]

Annuity= Self imposed budget, providing one can't sell the annuity off to some Quick cash business for $.010 on the dollar

That much money would ruin your life as you know it and could possibly make your life worse than it was. You would worry 24/7 about loosing it, it would be a full time job just trying to keep your pot O money. You can never trust anyone one ever a gain, possibly your closest proven friends..
You would have to worry about kidnappers/ransom, scammers, extortionist, trust. Always watching your back, everywhere and everything you do, can you imagine.
Your kids would want money all the time, why keep a job when Dad has Millions. Dad is being mean, he won't give us money. Why not give us our inheritance right now, we're gonna get it anyway right Dad?

Now if I could win just enough to put me in the comfort zone, my comfort zone as I know it now.

[high standard 40]

The annuity option is the only way I'd go if I won. Partly for the reason Elkins stated. Also I'd want to make the government wait 29 years to get all their taxes from me. Most financial planners will tell you to take the cash option and then let "them" invest the money for you because "they" can earn much more in the long run. What "they" don't tell you is that "they" don't make a cent if you don't let "them" invest it. If you were to take the cash option you might possibly be able to invest wisely and make more in the long run but you are starting with a much smaller amount of cash because of the tax hit up front. And you would have to refrain from spending any of it to keep the principal amount high. It has been stated that 106 out of 107 past winners take the cash option. I think many of those do so because they think that if they were to die, that the government would keep any unpaid funds. Not true. Initial greed is another reason for opting for the one time payment.

Oh well, this is all just daydreaming. I'm not likely to win it anyway.

[FISH4BUGS]

• The odds of becoming a lightning victim in the U.S. in any one year is 1 in 700,000. The odds of being struck in your lifetime is 1 in 3,000.
The odds of hitting this Powerball are one in 285 MILLION.
I rest my case.

[mcdaniel.mac]

I'd take the cash up front for three simple reasons:

1. Compounding interest alone would mean I'd never have to work anywhere or for anyone I didn't want to.

2. I could spend most of the up front and still live on the interest comfortably for the rest of my life. No idea what I'd do with the annuity.

3. Most importantly, the annuity only pays so long as they've got money to pay it. Like social security it's not in a lockbox or a trust somewhere. If I have the money up front, I don't have to worry about the annuity getting slashed or drying up down the line.

Besides, I'd collect degrees and skills like Pokemon cards if I had even half that. Spend a couple years paying Gary Reeder to teach me to tune guns, hire Jerry Miculek as my shooting coach, and get a few degrees in plant biology, various period histories, and maybe one in engineering if I could hack the physics.

And then I'd invest money in everything Joss Whedon planned to film. Ever.

[bdicki]

That much money would ruin your life as you know it and could possibly make your life worse than it was.
You would have to worry about kidnappers/ransom. Always watching your back, everywhere and everything you do, can you imagine.
now.
Not only you but your whole family. This would change your kids, grand kids, nieces, nephews, all of your relatives life as well. How would you protect them all from kidnappers.

[castalott]

[QUOTE. I figure on going to work on Monday but wouldn't it be nice if I could pick up the phone and say "I won't be in today....or any other day."[/QUOTE]

I told my boss " If I win I'm going to hire someone to come in and quit for me...."

[SeabeeMan]

While I fully agree that any lottery is basically a stupidity tax, we play when it gets this big, usually with a group of some sort from work. At that point I don't even consider it a gamble, it's just spending $2 on entertainment. That's cheaper than a single beer down after work and my wife gets days of entertainment leading up to the drawing looking at houses we would buy if we won.

Kidnappers and ransom? This isn't Juarez...but that sounds like a great reason to buy more guns with the winnings! Maybe that M240 I've been missing for a decade now...

My plan is always have it invested and out of easy reach before anybody is the wiser.

[bedbugbilly]

gandydancer . . . . "departed" or "parted" . . . LOL . . . probably a "regional thing"? My Dad always said "departed" but then he had some strange sayings anyway . . . always had something to "fit the circumstances at the moment" . . :-)

We've got friends from Idaho . . . she can't figure out why we say "crick" and she says "creek" or why we call the roadway edge a "ditch" but then we can't get used to some of our Canuck friends calling a sofa a "Chesterfield" either! It makes for a lot of laughter anyway and we have a lot of fun laughing at ourselves!

And now I can be called a "Foolish Loser" too! :-)

[tim338]

• The odds of becoming a lightning victim in the U.S. in any one year is 1 in 700,000. The odds of being struck in your lifetime is 1 in 3,000.
The odds of hitting this Powerball are one in 285 MILLION.
I rest my case.

I figure I have already been struck by lightning so now I have that out of the way why not spend $2? I always look at it as cheap entertainment.

[marlin39a]

I never play. But, now over a billion so I'll pay 2 bucks to get in just for fun.

[375supermag]

I am in for about $10-20 every time the Powerball goes over $100 million. Same with Mega-Millions. Cheap entertainment. I spend much more than that each week on shooting/reloading supplies, books, satellite TV, movie tickets and dining out.

Fun to dream what to do if lightning should strike and I won...but I ain't planning on it.

[bnelson06]

I figure I have already been struck by lightning so now I have that out of the way why not spend $2? I always look at it as cheap entertainment.

Same here so our chances should be better now right!

[lightman]

I bought tickets. It just seemed like spending such a small amount that had no effect on me for a chance at something so large was the thing to do. If I won, I would probably set some trust up for a few close friends and family. The kids and Grandkids would get a much larger trust. Probably set up something for the Church and a few charities, maybe Children's Hospital and the NRA. Then I would invest the ballance and probably do a few things that I want to do. I think one would have to be very careful not to let it change his life for the worst.

[jmorris]

That is why they changed the way it works last fall. Odds went from an already unlikely 1:175 million all the way to 1:292 million chance. However, the big pots make many that are otherwise smart say "what the heck". So the last two drawings alone (remember this one started November 4th) they have sold more than $677 million dollars worth of tickets.

I don't mind, if people were not giving them money, they would just want to take it from me. I have now problem with a voluntary tax. Sure would have been nice if it were actually for Schools like they said it was going to be when they started it....

[jmorris]

I wonder what the odds of me finding the winning ticket in a parking lot because someone dropped it would be?

[dragon813gt]

Kidnapping and ransom? If you truly think that way than you should not be be playing. Cash payout would have been about 250 million. There are lots and lots of people worth 250 million in this country. If you live in a severely depressed area you would have to move. But no one would blink an eye here. I've worked in many houses owned by billionaires. No one even looks twice.

1.3 billion and growing. I'm sure the office pools will be huge this week.

[dragon813gt]

I wonder what the odds of me finding the winning ticket in a parking lot because someone dropped it would be?
There was no winning ticket. They know if the numbers were drawn. They know which state and which store it was sold in.

[buggybuilder]

I usually don't play but the fantacy of winnings was enjoyable. The only reason for playing was to give "O-jerko" in chief about $25,000,000 to leave the country by tomorrow!!!!

[Elkins45]

I'd take the cash up front for three simple reasons:

1. Compounding interest alone would mean I'd never have to work anywhere or for anyone I didn't want to.

2. I could spend most of the up front and still live on the interest comfortably for the rest of my life. No idea what I'd do with the annuity.

3. Most importantly, the annuity only pays so long as they've got money to pay it. Like social security it's not in a lockbox or a trust somewhere. If I have the money up front, I don't have to worry about the annuity getting slashed or drying up down the line.

Besides, I'd collect degrees and skills like Pokemon cards if I had even half that. Spend a couple years paying Gary Reeder to teach me to tune guns, hire Jerry Miculek as my shooting coach, and get a few degrees in plant biology, various period histories, and maybe one in engineering if I could hack the physics.

And then I'd invest money in everything Joss Whedon planned to film. Ever.

I could do practically all of that stuff with the check for the first year's payoff---and then I would have 28 more of them on the way. And if the Powerball multi-state lottery defaults on their payouts then we're in a place where green money is worthless anyway. Besides, unless that happened in the first few years I would still have all the riches a human could ever reasonably want.

The comments about kidnappers and ransom seem odd to me---hasn't happened to any other Powerball winner I'm aware of, nor Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, etc... I have learned how to attend to the hardships of having not enough money; I welcome the opportunity to attend to the hardships imposed by having too much.

[fryboy]

there was that one feller down in florida iirc , he ended up dead , i cant remember all the details ( not very important in my book ) where some woman ended up offing him trying to get his winnings , funny thing that i remember was that a. it wasnt that big of a winning ( 10 mil or so ) and b. he'd already spent most of his cash payout

[snowwolfe]

There could be worse things in life than hunting and fishing all year or experiencing the satisfaction of taking care of deserving family members or friends.
My life will not change if I spend a couple of bucks on some tickets. Cost me more than that to fire off a box or two of ammo at my gong across the pond:)

[mcdaniel.mac]

Bill Whittaker's daughter died under very suspicious circumstances, but most of his problems would have been solved by not assuming he could still live in the same town and eat at the same diner and be the same Bill as always. Also he got sued every time be looked at someone wrong.

For me, the lump sum is plenty, and if I can scatter enough of it to trusts I can minimize how much I'm actually worth.

I don't think there's a wrong answer, just the way I'd plan it.

[Love Life]

I'd move to Nevada, buy a huge plot of land backed up to BLM, and only come out into the world when I felt like it. Oh, and I'd buy a mansion on the Nevada side of Tahoe as well. Friends are invited to taco Tuesdays, but you have to wear sombreros and bring Mexican beer...and tequila. If I were single, I'd buy the Bunny Ranch too, lol.

[Artful]

I like it - put me down for taco, Tequila and 1 mile shooting at your place if you win

Yep, got to be careful - I looked up this Whittaker
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/28/500-million-powerball-jackpot-the-tragic-stories-of-the-lotterys-unluckiest-winners/slide/andrew-jack-whittaker/

[Love Life]

Dang, that dude had issues.

I'd hire all my old usmuck buddies to hold me down so I wouldn't get robbed while at the strip club. It amazes me that a man with that much money wouldn't consider hiring some people to hold him down.

[Love Life]

Oh, and I'd buy Colt and jerk a knot into the backsides of the place and turn them around.

[Beagle333]

Our state doesn't have enough sense to have a lottery, so I'm headin' to GA today!!! :grin: (well....it's only 23 miles.)

[fryboy]

the sad part ? even if you managed to buy every possible combination of ticket numbers you'd be in the hole if you took the cash now option ( estimated at 800 mil before taxes = 400-ish mil after ) and that would only be if you didnt have to split the jackpot with one person ( more makes it even worse )

[pretzelxx]

At that point I would find some good charity and drop half of the amount a year I would receive for 29 years. And the nra a few million. I would build a range and still buy lead and reload! That's half the fun. I obviously wouldn't have a career, but a fun job doing something easy to waste some time so I don't go crazy at home 24/7.

Buy parents a better house and let them live comfortably. A new car or two, probably a decent truck for moving stuff back and forth. Probably help out others with shooting and what not. You know, keep the money outgoing instead of buying more stuff for me, get it to help others!

Then again the wife would technically own half of it... Idk what she would do!

[rockrat]

I would take the yearly checks. Heck, the first payment would be more than enough for me. One of the first things I would do, would be go to the fire and police departments and see if they needed any equipment. I would move and build a house and buy some land to hunt on, none of this public land stuff. Buy some land for our gun club so we could have a 1 mile range!! New car, nah, my 120K truck is fine. Would love to learn to fly a helicopter. Might have to splurge on lessons in my own heli. Probably travel around the country looking for worthy causes/people/places and just give the rest of it away.

I like the idea of buying Colt. Move it probably to Tennesse. Wonder if I could buy a part interest in the Red Sox? Been 50+ years since I have been to a game at Fenway

[Love Life]

I would not move Colt. I like seeing the Hartford stamp. A Tennessee Colt just would not have the same allure to me for some odd reason. I'd dang sure hire some extremely nit picky QC people and pay them very well!! I'd also dock pay for verified QC issues that came in. If the union didn't like how I did bidness, then I'd pull a Hostess.

[str8shot426]

Oh, and I'd buy Colt and jerk a knot into the backsides of the place and turn them around.

Will you bring back DA revolvers?

[Love Life]

As long as they make me money. I'd also up production of SAA pistols...and fire the thumb safety fitter guy lol.

[castalott]

My buddy Jeff says , " The first thing I would do is buy a better set of friends...."

[tommag]

I used to play at casinos in Nevada, until I figured it out that I wasn't getting ahead that way. Sure, sometimes I'd win a few hundred bucks, but then I'd give it back. Now, I satisfy my gambling urges by buying lottery tickets. $2 for the powerball. Same numbers every time. I don't figure I'll ever get ahead, but at $208 per year, it isn't a major expenditure. The big jackpots don't get me excited. Any winnig ticket would be nice, but I don't count on it.

[Plate plinker]

Well I would do one charitable type thing. Buy a Huge Ole gravel pit and setup a first class shooting facility capable of holding national level matches. Complete with a campground and other family friendly stuff.

[JWT]

Well I would do one charitable type thing. Buy a Huge Ole gravel pit and setup a first class shooting facility capable of holding national level matches. Complete with a campground and other family friendly stuff.

Great idea. How about one in each state with a nationwide membership.

[Plate plinker]

Lets not get carried away. But I do know where there are several large pits that are about played out that would do just fine here. Probably would have to buy several homes out to put staff into.

[slim1836]

I am already a lottery winner, having won the lottery for the draft. I got Number 1 back in 71 or 72.

With that kind of luck, if I did hit the lottery jackpot, I would have a heart attack and die, leaving my wife rich.

If I survived, it's payback time to those who have helped me through my times of need.

Slim

[randyrat]

I'd give it all away




When I die:kidding:

[Lloyd Smale]

id want my money now. I probably wont be around in 25 years and I cant see letting the government sitting on my money for that long. My luck theyd go broke and find a way to screw me out of it.

[starmac]

I always got a kick out of folks thinking when the lottery got up to 100 million or so.
We lived in New Mexico and was the closest place to the Texas panhandle to buy power ball tickets. There was always some who would drive over for them every week, quite a few would pick up 100 tickets or so at a time for group buys. When the lottery would hit 100 million, my wife would go help the business sell tickets, they would dedicate one cash register just for ticket sales and the line would be anywhere from 20 to 100 people long around the clock, many buying 1000 or more tickets at a time.
What I found crazy to my thinking is the lottery starts out at 10 million, and many would not spend a buck for a chance at the 10 million, but would stand in line with hundred dollar bills as soon as it hit the 100 million mark. lol I guess 10 million was just chump change to most folks. lol

[Artful]

As long as they make me money. I'd also up production of SAA pistols...and fire the thumb safety fitter guy lol.

Dick, did you see this?
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/01/07/breaking-sciens-default-loan-colt-rocks-bankruptcy-exit/


BREAKING: Sciens Default on Loan to Colt, Rocks Bankruptcy Exit

Posted 3 days ago
Colt’s exit from bankruptcy (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/12/21/colt-finally-ready-exit-bankruptcy/) has hit a snag: The owners of the company, Sciens Capital Management have defaulted on a $15 million funding commitment to Colt Defense LLC, as part of the company’s exit from bankruptcy. The private equity company agreed to pay the money to help Colt meet its commitments to its lenders, but failed to actually provide the money within the deadline. Nasdaq.com reports: (http://www.nasdaq.com/article/colts-bankruptcy-exit-roiled-by-sciens-default-20160106-00982)


Gun maker Colt Defense LLC’s emergence from bankruptcy has been thrown into turmoil by a default on a $15 million funding commitment by private-equity owner Sciens Capital Management.

After Sciens missed a December deadline to come up with the money bondholders scrambled to find more cash to cover most of the shortfall and ensure the deals designed to usher Colt out of bankruptcy stay in place. The Connecticut firearms manufacturer said in court papers that it is on track to emerge from chapter 11, but the role of its long-time owner remains to be seen.

A Colt spokesman and a lawyer for the official committee of unsecured creditors declined to comment on the funding miss, which surfaced after Colt’s chapter 11 emergence plan was confirmed in mid-December.

Sciens principal Daniel J. Standen, who is also chairman of the governing board of the Colt parent company, said in a court filing Wednesday that the delay in funding was due to the need to document the new Colt investment as part of Sciens’s effort to enlist its investors in the deal. The firm raises money separately for each new investment, Mr. Standen said, and in order not to hold Colt in bankruptcy, it negotiated a delayed timeline for participating in the capital raise.

“Sciens strongly believes that the debtors’ business is worth saving and has therefore agreed to help fund the Debtors’ exit from chapter 11 by participating in the offering,” Mr. Standen wrote.

Sciens was supposed to participate in the new investment along with bondholders. According to documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., it didn’t meet the December deadline for the funding.

Court papers say Sciens has days to cure the default and to start paying up if it wants to stay involved with the storied company, maker of the “gun that won the West.” The private-equity firm has until Friday to come up with at least $1 million to hang on to a piece of Colt. If Sciens funds $2.6 million Friday, it gets another month to find more money and perhaps make good on its full commitment.

Court papers describe a fluid situation in which lenders, creditors and Sciens remain committed to getting Colt out of bankruptcy, but Sciens’s future participation hangs on whether it meets the new deadlines for funding. For most of the bankruptcy case, bondholders and Sciens were at odds, with bondholders accusing the private-equity firm of draining Colt of cash needed for research and development to keep it competitive.

Sciens denied the allegations and said it was committed to Colt’s success.


What this means is that if Sciens does not come up with at least part of the money by tomorrow, then it could be stripped of its involvement with the famous firearms manufacturer. It may be editorializing for me to say this, but perhaps that would be in Colt’s best interests, in the long run. Sciens’ management of the company has brought very little but trouble for the company.

We have been covering Colt’s financial struggle since November of last year, beginning with initial signs of Colt’s default, (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/11/15/colt-defense-danger-default/) and continuing with the withdrawal of Blackstone Funds’ equity, (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/11/27/colt-defense-financial-problems/) the Cortland Capital loan, (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/02/11/colt-defense-secures-loan-eases-financial-pressures/)debt restructuring, (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/04/21/ny-times-on-the-colt-bankrupcy/) the news that Colt had mortgaged some of its patents, (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/05/26/colt-mortgaged-patents-to-finance-loans-has-won-contract-for-36-million/) Colt filing Chapter 11, (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/06/14/breaking-news-colt-to-file-chapter-11-bankruptcy/)the possibility of a Native American tribe coming to Colt’s rescue, (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/07/02/native-american-tribe-seeks-to-aid-colt-in-bankruptcy/) and Colt’s new joint contract with FN, (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/09/25/colt-defense-granted-212m-m4-contract-good-until-2020/) over which Remington subsequently sued them both, and the Army (http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/12/09/breaking-remington-sues-govt-colt-fn-carbine-contract/)

[labradigger1]

I would never take the annuity. No telling how long the dollar will stand. Get the lump sum, buy every gun made, buy gold and silver, houses all over the world, one leer jet to get there and enjoy your short time left on this rock.

[mikeyjones]

I always got a kick out of folks thinking when the lottery got up to 100 million or so.
We lived in New Mexico and was the closest place to the Texas panhandle to buy power ball tickets. There was always some who would drive over for them every week, quite a few would pick up 100 tickets or so at a time for group buys. When the lottery would hit 100 million, my wife would go help the business sell tickets, they would dedicate one cash register just for ticket sales and the line would be anywhere from 20 to 100 people long around the clock, many buying 1000 or more tickets at a time.
What I found crazy to my thinking is the lottery starts out at 10 million, and many would not spend a buck for a chance at the 10 million, but would stand in line with hundred dollar bills as soon as it hit the 100 million mark. lol I guess 10 million was just chump change to most folks. lol
Your odds stay the same regardless if it's 10 or 100 mill. So the expected value does change on that same dollar spent towards a ticket.

[Riverpigusmc]

What makes me laugh is those who won't buy a ticket until it's 500 million or so :)

[Beagle333]

I didn't buy a ticket till it hit a billion. ;-):coffeecom


'Drove over to GA today and bought 10! http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/images/smilies/new/viking.gif
I know my odds aren't any better than if it was 10 grand, but I wanted to have my card in the hat when somebody drew for a billion bucks. 'Might never see that again.

[fast ronnie]

I see you just joined. Welcome to the forum.


I'd take the cash up front for three simple reasons:

1. Compounding interest alone would mean I'd never have to work anywhere or for anyone I didn't want to.

2. I could spend most of the up front and still live on the interest comfortably for the rest of my life. No idea what I'd do with the annuity.

3. Most importantly, the annuity only pays so long as they've got money to pay it. Like social security it's not in a lockbox or a trust somewhere. If I have the money up front, I don't have to worry about the annuity getting slashed or drying up down the line.

Besides, I'd collect degrees and skills like Pokemon cards if I had even half that. Spend a couple years paying Gary Reeder to teach me to tune guns, hire Jerry Miculek as my shooting coach, and get a few degrees in plant biology, various period histories, and maybe one in engineering if I could hack the physics.

And then I'd invest money in everything Joss Whedon planned to film. Ever.

[mcdaniel.mac]

I see you just joined. Welcome to the forum.
Thanks! Been a lurker for a few years, I actually remember watching the powder coating threads from oh, I guess it was about three years back, right about the time when .300 Blackout was picking up hype and people were just starting to perfect the Harbor Freight sprayer-and-bake technique.

Man, imagine the reloading station and test range you could build with that lottery money. I'd finally be able to do enough load development to contribute something of value to this forum!

[Elkins45]

I would never take the annuity. No telling how long the dollar will stand. Get the lump sum, buy every gun made, buy gold and silver, houses all over the world, one leer jet to get there and enjoy your short time left on this rock.

1.3 billion divided by 29 = 44.8 million dollars. As long as the dollar stands long enough to cash the first check I figure I'm good.

[rockrat]

Need to buy enough land to start a town, populated by cast boolit people. All gas stations and tire stores have to use nothing but lead wheelweights. Shotgun and rifle and pistol ranges. If you live there , you have membership. Also, like the warehouse experiment, have an underground range for the cold weather!!:)

[triggerhappy243]

Someone asked me what i would do if I won this. I told them I would donate 25 % to kids who suffer hearing ailments like the one I have. Meneires disease. and the bouts of vertigo that go along with it.

[rondog]

With that kind of money I could become one happy hermit! Split it with the wife, go our separate ways, and do my damnedest to disappear.

BTW - is there any law that says you have to let yourself be identified publicly? I'd prefer to just be known as "anonymous winner #x". Why does the world need to know who won? So everybody knows who to hound, pester, stalk and scam?

[mcdaniel.mac]

If I were to guess, even a professional tax-dodger with a team of shell corporations wouldn't be able to keep the tabloids from finding you out. It's just a matter of bribes, and for a 1.3 Billion dollar lotto win, they'd be guaranteed to get their money's worth.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

After 33 years I have yet to buy a single lottery ticket or any those scratch offs. I will work for my money. I don't want it given to me.

[rondog]

After 33 years I have yet to buy a single lottery ticket or any those scratch offs. I will work for my money. I don't want it given to me.
I've been working for mine since I was 10, with too many people cheating me out of it. I'd be thrilled to have some given to me! There's a few people I'd like to sic some lawyers on.

[Gator 45/70]

My wife went to buy ticket's and I went to the deer camp
Someone won on that deal....

[tommag]

Reminds me of that joke where the guy asks his wife what she'd do if he won the lottery. She says I'd take half and leave. He says "Well, here's six bucks, I won twelve"

With that kind of money I could become one happy hermit! Split it with the wife, go our separate ways, and do my damnedest to disappear.

BTW - is there any law that says you have to let yourself be identified publicly? I'd prefer to just be known as "anonymous winner #x".







Why does the world need to know who won? So everybody knows who to hound, pester, stalk and scam?

[Col4570]

Heck,somebody has to win it could be you.

[kentuckyshooter]

Have to say im not much of a gambler but if i bought a ticket and won no one would ever know. I would pay off my debts. By me and my wife a nice little house on a good plot of land. Get us new vehicles. A few toys like me an harly her a 4 wheeler ect. I would keep right on working cause i like my job. Me and the wife would probably help out local churches and things like that. I would like to think that it wouldnt change us much except that we wouldnt have to worry about if a vehicle goes down or doctor bill if we got sick. I honestly would like to give back and knowing my wife she would be all for it. 1ce a year we might disapear on vacation but it wouldnt be anything extravagant. Just the 2 of us geting away for us time.

[gandydancer]

In some states its mandatory to identify big winners. And Virginia is one one of them. If there is just one winner in this power ball they will be hounded to death. The scum will come out of the wood work. and relatives you never knew you had. Not for me on this one, I'll pass.

[starmac]

Well if I won, I would just take a chance on folks hounding me for it, they may have to get into some remote country to do it though. lol
I seriously doubt I win, since I didn't buy a ticket though. lol

[Lloyd Smale]

heres hoping someone hear wins!

[Smoke4320]

What would you name it?

Itsmineastan

[rockrat]

I think in most states the winners name is public record. In OK, I believe, an attorney can represent you and go do the paperwork and you can remain unknown.
Relatives is don't know about, maybe, but there are few of us and I know most of them and have dealings with few.
I think I will just take my chances. Think the first thing I would do is hire a private security firm to keep people away from my house!!!

[mold maker]

Well I did win the lottery once.
I invested $5. and won $50. Hasn't changed me in the least. That was when NC first introduced the "Education Lottery".
Oh Yeah, and I found a five leaf clover that morning. Haven't seen one since.
Haven't bought a ticket since either, but I will for this drawing.

[gwpercle]

I never, well hardly ever , waste money on lottery tickets, I never win nothing.
But the wife says, honey , you don't have any chance to win if you don't buy a ticket....so I bought THREE ! Who knows...Last October I had a Ruger Blackhawk recovered by the police and returned to me after it was stolen in 1995, 20 years it was gone ! Maybe I'll get lucky again .
Gary

[FISH4BUGS]

A few years ago, someone hit Powerball in Strafford, NH. They set up a trust, had lawyers and accountants, and no one every found out who they were. They STILL don't know who it was. It IS possible to do.

[FISH4BUGS]

If i won i would assemble the foremost and finest collection of automatic weapons, tanks and cannons known to mankind. And i would shoot them ALL!
Then there would be the collection of American made field grade side-by-side shotguns with case colored receivers.
Then the Colts....and Smith & Wessons......all pre-war and new in the box.
Oh? You have a new in the box Hand Ejector Target? PLUS a NIB Colt New Service? Let me get on the plane and I'll come take a look. How about tomorrow? Will you take a personal check?
I guess I would have to build a museum to keep it all in.
Who cares? With 800+ million after taxes, that would be fun!

[waksupi]

If I won, the Shriner's Hospitals, Salvation Army, and the local schools would be very happy. As far as relatives and friends, I would determine if they have been in the habit of pissing their money away, or if they are in debt from foolish spending. If either of those, not a cent.

[fryboy]

They guesstimate that the lump sum if taken now would be appox 800 million - you then get to pay taxes on the whole shebang which would leave you perhaps a lil over 400 million . It's in part why i stated that IF you bought every single possible ticket ( $2 x 292 million - lets just round it up to three for ease = 600 million bucks ) AND no one else hit it you'd still not break even [sigh]

Pretty sure that would let me buy some remote real estate and a lil more for a buffer zone , Assuredly my friends would be decently set up and a few worthy causes would receive an anonymous donation

[PB234]

A friend of a friend won a part of a large Powerball lottery. He shared it with his sons who thereafter joked about the girls who were never interested in them as they had no money.

[slim1836]

I'd get a 900 number and everyone that tried to contact me would have to pay up front. That should stop most of them, and the rest I would make money off of.

Slim

[dragon813gt]

Change your phone number. Get a PO Box and have all mail forwarded there. That will buy you enough time until you move :)

[abunaitoo]

We don't have a lottery here. Government says it a form of gambling, so it's illegal.
But if I did somehow win, they will demand their share.
If we win big in Vegas, government demands their cut. If we lose, we cannot deduct from taxes. I don't get it.

[Blackwater]

I've only ever bought one ticket. I object to the morality and ethics of the lottery, but thought maybe I ought to buy at least one just to see if God wanted me to be rich. Apparently, he doesn't, so I took the hint and have never bought another ticket, and don't see any real need to buy another. What would I do with a billion $$$$ anyhow? I certainly wouldn't turn it down, but I don't see much use in pursuing it through the lottery, either. That's just me, and maybe it increases the odds for some of the rest of you.

[fryboy]

Every ticket sold is supposed to help raise the pot ..... I rarely play,in this case I dug enough change out of the crevices to buy a single ticket ( if I win I'll refund your single purchase :kidding: )

[JSnover]

Well, I certainly wouldn't buy any rare/antique/historically significant guns… 'cause that would be downright foolish!

[Tenbender]

I would buy Barry a oneway ticket back to Kenya on Malaysia Airlines !

[starmac]

Geesh, I would buy a plane and hire a kamikaze pilot to take him half way at least, if I thought he would get on it.

[shaner]

If everyone here that says, if you spend 2bucks for a chance at a billion bucks is stupid? Think about when you buy a 5dollar beer in a bar. And pi$$ it down the urinal 20 mins later???

[Lloyd Smale]

all fun to talk about guys but seriously save your money because I WILL BE THE WINNER and its high enough that I don't need your money!

[JSnover]

I think I'll spend Thursday shopping for a mountain. I always wanted to own one of those...

[fryboy]

One ? A mere mountain when you could have a small range of them ? Lolz

My state is already stating how they hope someone here wins it as it'd wipe out their budget deficit ...[sigh] sadly it wouldn't quite be enough to buy my state ( or kali ) and kick all the cretins out ...bummer that lolz

[JSnover]

Think of it as an investment. In the right location my little mole hill today would be a pretty impressive range a few hundred million years from now.

[flyer1]

I bought a ticket. After the taxes and all, the jackpot will not be a billion. I will be happy to take what ever is left.

[ak_milsurp]

Alas, no lottery in Alaska.

[RPRNY]

Listen up. That lottery malarkey is a scam. Over the years, I bought 5, maybe 6 tickets and never won!

[rancher1913]

you guys are just sore loser's ;-) I bought a ticket on the last drawing and won -------------- 12 dollars.

[mgread]

$1,500,000,000.00
30 year = $50,000,000.00
Fed Taxes - 36.9% = $19,800,000.00
Year take home after taxes = $30,200,000.00
Per Month - $2,516,666.67
Per Week - $580,769.23
Per Day - $82,739.73
Per Hour - $3,447.49
Per Min - $57.46

To be broke by the end of the year. Because as of January 1 it starts over

If you put the $30,200,000.00 in a 2% saving
$604,000 in interest per year. After taxes
$364,816 after fed taxes.

[TenTea]

We'll go back 2 generations (remaining parents / grandparents) and forward 2 generations (bro & sis / 1st cousins / nieces & nephews) and give each individual $1 million (if they choose to accept).
In our case, that would be roughly $30 million, so that covers year two, as per mgread's calculations above.
We'll have to muddle through year one getting everything set up and see if it is possible to live on $365,000 interest.

[opos]

I looked on the internet (home of the truth) to find out what the professional internet talking heads think I should do when I win..they all agree to just not tell anyone at all until you get things set up...I told my Wife that if I win I'd let her know I'd won in about a month after I get things squared away...she told me that I'd need the money to find a new place to live and someone to cater to me....so maybe I'll tell her anyway.

[user55645]

I don't mind donating a $1, every now and then, with the hopes of telling my boss to......

I think you know the rest :D

[Tenbender]

There's so many out of work . If I could just win the lottery tonight I would give my job to someone. Guess I'm just too big hearted. :coffeecom

[pmer]

I'd hold the ticket hostage for a lower tax hit LOL. Wouldn't that start a storm!

Ah who am I kidding

[possom813]

I've actually got a running list in my head of if I ever do hit the lottery for a multiple-life-changing amount.

1) 10% of net winnings gifted, almost equally, among my coworkers on shift.

2) 10% of net winnings donated to Scottish Rite Hospital

3) 25% invested in precious metals

4) 5% to blow right of the bat, and get that out of my system

5) 20% divided into trust funds for the kids

6) The remaining 30% to be put into interest bearing accounts spread over several different institutions to live off of.

[Plate plinker]

Possum813 Quick send me a application so I can get a cut.

[shooterg]

Forget putting it in the banks. Everybody will want money from ya, so just start your own bank !

[opos]

I heard the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles is for sale for an asking price (probably negotiable) of 90 million....that includes several left over bunnies and Hefner get's to stay as a live in docent or host. (sort of like a ghost in the hallway)...Sounds reasonable...that and a Lear Jet and 100# of W231 would about fill my needs.

[possom813]

Possum813 Quick send me a application so I can get a cut.

I didn't win, not even a buck...Oh well, 10 bucks not well spent, but the hype got me.(the last drawing we spent 6 bucks and won 4 back, so it didn't suck as bad)

[Artful]

unless you live in FL, TN or CA you didn't get the jackpot but you still might have won something.

[Plate plinker]

Well back to work boys.

[762 shooter]

Yup. Back do doing things I enjoy to save money.

I did win $7. I'm going to deposit it and use the interest.

762

[Lloyd Smale]

I have to call the chev dealer this morning. they had a brand new black z06 vette in the showroom and I told them to hold it for me till today:violin:

[Hickory]

I heard the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles is for sale for an asking price (probably negotiable) of 90 million.
I heard that too, but I also heard you have to furnish your own girls.

[Hickory]

How many losers here played the Power Ball?
How much money did you lose?

[JSnover]

How many losers here played the Power Ball?
How much money did you lose?
I think I've played three times in my life. Lost a helluva lot less than I do whenever the markets tank, but maybe that doesn't count because I've always made it back and then some. [smilie=1:

[DerekP Houston]

Eh couldn't help my self, wasted 10 and won 4 back. Lost more in my 401k from the turmoil.

[375supermag]

Hi...

Spent $30 on Powerball tickets and didn't win a cent.

Oh.well!

Cheap entertainment and a little dreaming from a small amount of discretionary income.

[rockrat]

If you had won the powerball, probably wouldn't be that hard to find some girls willing to stay at the mansion with you. Actually, probably have to fight them off!!

[flyer1]

Lost 2 bucks.

[wills]

Spent $2 for the ticket and won $4.

[Finster101]

I lost 8 bucks, not a big deal. I do occasionally play the Florida lotto if I'm at the register and get a couple of ones in change. I never go out of my way to get tickets and most of the time don't play. It's the only gambling I do. We have casinos, dog tracks and horse tracks and I don't go to any of those.

[abunaitoo]

I won it!!!!!I won it!!!!!!
Then my cat jumped on me and I woke up.
Darn cat.

[LuckyDog]

Lost $50 over the last three draws. Wife and I agreed to play since it was so high and we like the chance to dream and talk about finances.

Won't play again until it is over 3 or 4 hundred million.

Oh, and still haven't checked this ticket. Maybe over the weekend.

[TheDoctor]

How to win the lottery.



https://youtu.be/BF5lKNm6tU0

[obssd1958]

Wow Doc, that was pretty good!
Somebody speaking some good old common sense!

[TXGunNut]

Spent $20, won $4. Stuck it in my pocket. The way my stock market investments are going I might just need it.

[GaryN]

Spent $0 won $0. Hey, I broke even.