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Customers wait in line at The Last Stop in White Hills, Ariz, to buy Powerball lottery tickets on Sunday. White Hill is situated near the borders of Nevada and Utah, two of the few states that don't participate in Powerball.(Photo: John Locher/AP)
There has never been lottery fever like it. Anywhere.
As the multi-state Powerball drawings have continued since Nov.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>4, no numbers have come up that have matched a ticket (or tickets). And now the prize, fueled by dreams of almost unimaginable riches, has reached an estimated $1.4<span style="color: Red;">*</span>billion (as of Monday morning), the biggest lottery payout the world has ever seen.
With that in mind, here are a lucky-13 things to know about Powerball. Let’s start with the practical:
How much does it cost to play?
Powerball tickets are $2 each. You might not want to leave it until the last minute – long lines have formed in the past week or so at convenience stores, gas stations and other places where they are sold. According to Powerball officials, sales are cut off at least 59 minutes before the draw, but individual states may halt sales earlier. In other words, you might want to check with your state lottery for its cutoff time.
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What do you have to do to play?
You have to pick five separate numbers between 1 and 69. And then a sixth number – the Powerball – from 1-26. Or you can leave it to the lottery’s computer to pick some at random.
Where can you play? Which states participate in Powerball?
The shortest way to answer this is to say what states are NOT in Powerball. Forty-four states (plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) participate in the game. The ones that do not are Nevada, Utah, Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska and Hawaii.
Do you have to live in one of the participating states to win?
No. You can even be a tourist from Toronto. Or Timbuktu. According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, there is sometimes talk of limiting wins to U.S. citizens, but no laws have been passed so far.
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When and where is the drawing done?
Get ready to check your numbers just after 10.59 p.m. ET on Wednesday. That’s when the dancing balls (hence Powerball) do their thing at lottery central in Tallahassee, Fla. (Sometimes, though, according the lottery folks, the drawings go on the road and are done at special events around the nation.) If, once again, no winner emerges, the next chance is at 10:59 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Who's watching to make sure there aren't any shenanigans?
It could be you. The numbers are drawn in the presence of Multi-State Lottery officials, an independent auditor, a security official and — here's where you come in — members of the public. According to the Powerball people, the draw equipment — that plastic-tube thing — is kept in a double-locked alarmed vault and the balls sets are sealed by the auditors. Meanwhile, all events are audio- and video-recorded when the vault is opened. The equipment, lottery officials assure us, is tested regularly (measurements, X-ray and statistical tests for non-random behavior). You can also watch it: Powerball draws can be seen on hundreds of TV stations nationwide and the draws can be seen on YouTube and the Powerball website.
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What is the jackpot worth now?
Yes, it bears repeating. As of Monday morning, according to lottery officials, the prize is $1.4<span style="color: Red;">*</span>billion. That is paid out over 30 years. If, however, you want all your cash now – and most winners do – you will get a single check for $868 million. Still nothing to sniff at.
How does this prize stack up against previous winning amounts?
If the jackpot reaches the expected $1.4<span style="color: Red;">*</span>billion, it will be more than<span style="color: Red;">*</span>double the biggest-ever lottery prize in U.S. history. The previous record was a $656 million Mega Millions payout in 2012. And, if more folks than expected buy into the frenzy — which could happen given the enormous prize — the pot could go<span style="color: Red;">*</span>even higher.
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How does a $1.4<span style="color: Red;">*</span>billion win measure up?
Well, it's more than the gross domestic product of almost 20 nations. According to 2014 figures from the World Bank, that means you would have more money – before taxes (and maybe after) –<span style="color: Red;">*</span>than:
And if the ticket-buying frenzy is particularly fierce, the winnings could even exceed that of Djibouti ($1.589 billion GDP), The Seychelles ($1.423 billion GDP), Timor-Leste ($1.417 billion GDP) and St. Lucia ($1.404 billion GDP), according to the World Bank data.
What are the odds of winning?<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
According to Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the game, the odds of having the winning Powerball ticket are 1 in 292.2 million. In other words, you might as well wave goodbye to the $2 you hand over for each ticket. Of course, as the New York Lottery says, you must be in it to win it.
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Which way of picking wins the most? "Magic numbers" or random-number computer drawing?
About 75% of tickets are computer picks. And about 75% of winners are computer picks. So a mix of your relatives’ birthdays probably won't make a dime's worth of difference.
What should you do if you win?
Basically, the experts<span style="color: Red;">*</span>say, keep quiet. One of the worst things a lottery winner can do is immediately spread the news, says Andrew Stoltmann, a securities attorney in Chicago who has represented multiple lottery winners. Lottery winners "become one of most heavily targeted marks in the entire world," he says. Instead,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Stoltmann says, assemble your team –<span style="color: Red;">*</span>trusted lawyers, certified public accountants and financial advisers –<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who will be able to help you navigate your tax liability, choose investments and steer clear of scams. And, adds Stoltmann, put this team together before you claim your winnings.
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How much tax you will you have to pay?
That depends on where you live. The federal government will get its cut in all cases (and automatically creams off 25% before you even file your tax return). Needless to say, you will be taxed at the highest rate. If you are lucky enough to live in a state without income taxes, there's nothing more to pay. For the rest, it depends on your local income tax rate.
Good luck!
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