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A record-setting $1.6 billion (€1.4 billion) prize in the Mega Millions lottery has Americans dreaming of buying homes, cars, helping financially strapped friends and family and early retirement. But experts caution that with their newfound riches will come many headaches.
“A big mistake people think is this is a lot of money so let me help everyone,” said Laurie Ruckel, a trusts and estates lawyer at Loeb & Loeb law firm in New York, on Tuesday. “There are plenty of people who know how to exploit that ignorance.”
Ms Ruckel said the crush of publicity that falls on a lottery winner is something that most people do not usually experience, even those with a high net worth. She said prize recipients should create a trust and hire a team of lawyers, financial advisers and security.
The draw will be held at 4am Wednesday, Irish time. (11pm Tuesday, Eastern Standard Time).
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Anyone who hits all six numbers to win the jackpot can choose an immediate cash payment of $904 million or receive the $1.6 billion prize over 29 years.
Before the last draw on Friday the jackpot rose by several million dollars. Lottery officials said any increase in the $1.6 billion jackpot would have likely occur around midday on Tuesday.
The Mega Millions jackpot, along with a Powerball lottery prize that stands at $620 million, has caused lotto fever to sweep across the United States over the last few days.
“I’ll never win, but you gotta give it a shot,” said Hank Kattan (75) in Manhattan on Monday. “I’d like to change my way of life.”
Mega Millions set a record for lottery jackpots after nobody won the $1 billion prize on Friday. The previous record was a $1.586 billion jackpot for a Powerball draw in 2016.
Lottery players face odds of 1 in 303 million of winning the Mega Millions draw. In comparison, the odds of getting killed by a shark are 1 in 3.7 million in a lifetime, according to the International Shark Attack File.
Tickets sold for Tuesday’s draw are expected to cover 75 per cent of all possible number combinations, said lottery officials.
Ticket costs $2
Wednesday’s Powerball lottery prize stands at $620 million, making it the fifth-largest jackpot in US history, after no one got all six numbers in Saturday’s draw. The lump sum cash payout is estimated at $354.3 million.
The $1.6 billion jackpot, a jaw-dropping amount to the average person who can afford a $2 ticket, is still less than two weeks of profit for Apple . A $1.5 million investment in Microsoft in 1986 would be worth about $1.6 billion today.
If more than one person wins, the jackpots would be divided proportionately, as happened in 2012 with a Mega Millions jackpot of $656 million, a lottery official said.
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 44 US states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. Several states allow online ticket purchases, but they prohibit out-of-state and foreign purchases.
States receive a percentage of lottery ticket sales and then use the money to support public schools or meet other needs.
Both lottery jackpots have been increased recently by rule changes that have reduced the chances of winning. The odds of winning Mega Millions were raised a year ago from 1 in 259 million to generate larger prizes. – Reuters