[ExI] What would you do if you won the billion dollar plus MegaMillions Lottery, and are lotteries a bad thing?

[William Flynn Wallace]

On Tue, Oct 23, 2018 at 7:59 PM Adrian Tymes <atymes at gmail.com> wrote:

> I would invest almost all of it.  Part (most, at first) in making sure
> there's enough income to make sure the money's still there and growing year
> after year, part in various projects to make sure I'm still there (in
> some form, not just "remembered") in a few hundred years.
>

What if the banking system crashed?  Nobody says that it can't.  Then the
first people they would be taking away money from would be dead people!
Dead people don't complain.  Of course the lawyers would.

bill w

> On Tue, Oct 23, 2018 at 6:24 AM William Flynn Wallace
> <foozler83 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Lotteries are a way for legislators to avoid raising taxes, and it
> mostly impacts the poor - just the reverse of progressive taxation that I
> prefer.
> >
> > I don't know how I would spend even one million dollars.  Two  people in
> a giant mansion with servants everywhere?  Limousines?  Nah.  So I would
> hire people to investigate charities and give most of it away.
> >
> > In Mississippi we have a new lottery.  The money goes to roads and
> bridges, which the legislators have allowed to fall into severe disrepair.
> Better than nothing, I reckon.
> >
> > bill w
> >
> > On Mon, Oct 22, 2018 at 9:38 PM Adrian Tymes <atymes at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> So what I want to know is, how hackproof are these lotteries?  If you
> >> could rig the win and no one picks up that it's rigged, you've got the
> >> pot, free and clear.  These really big pots seem like they'd be worth
> >> some criminal mastermind's time to rig - just once, so they don't get
> >> caught from repetition (a gamble in itself).
> >>
> >> I am well aware that such a "hack" would involve physical interface to
> >> the machines, making it more like a heist.  But for tens or hundreds
> >> of millions of dollars per participant, one could get some pretty
> >> skilled talent.  Why hasn't any such group cashed in before the pot
> >> got this large?
> >> On Mon, Oct 22, 2018 at 5:45 PM John Grigg <possiblepaths2050 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > The three big discussion points for lotteries seem to be, what would
> you do with the money if you won, what are the odds of winning, and are
> lotteries a bad thing?
> >> >
> >> > Personally, I would like to think that I could enjoy life more than I
> do now, if I won the l.6 plus billion lottery.  I have two huge zeppelins
> built!  And with one, I would take it from city to city, where science
> fiction and fantasy conventions would be held on board my aircraft!  The
> second zeppelin would be loaned to the Doctors without Borders nonprofit
> organization, to aid them in their work with the poor and sick.
> >> >
> >> >
> https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/lottery-tips-from-powerball-winners-4129586
> >> >
> >> > I realize many people have allowed lotto wins to ruin them, and there
> are countless stories about this phenomena.
> >> >
> >> >
> https://abcnews.go.com/US/lottery-jackpot-winners-lost-big/story?id=36313525
> >> >
> >> > I have a friend who likes to say, regarding the odds of winning, "I
> am just giving the universe a chance to be extremely nice to me, if it so
> chooses!"  Lol
> >> >
> >> >
> https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/why-you-shouldnt-buy-lottery-tickets/
> >> >
> >> > The funds for lotteries seem to go towards worthy beneficiaries, like
> the arts.  But certainly, gambling addiction can be a problem for some.
> >> >
> >> > Anyway, let me know what you think...  :  )
> >> >
> >> > "In the middle of the 20th century, when lotteries first started in
> the U.S., they were sold to states as a way to benefit the American public.
> That suggests that bigger and bigger jackpots should mean more tax dollars
> to spend on public services like education. But that isn’t happening. So
> what’s really going on?
> >> >
> >> > First, let’s look at how lottery jackpots got so big. This particular
> jackpot started at $40 million in July, and week after week, no one drew
> the winning numbers, but the tickets keep getting bought.
> >> >
> >> > You too have the chance to win the biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever
> with the simple purchase of a $2 ticket. However, your chances are pretty
> slim. With a 1 in 300 million chance of picking the matching numbers, you
> are three times more likely to be killed by a vending machine. An easier
> way to really wrap your head around your chances: It’s like flipping a coin
> and getting heads 30 times in a row."
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> https://theconversation.com/the-mega-millions-jackpot-is-now-more-than-1-billion-where-does-all-that-lottery-profit-really-go-105279
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