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Question: With a jackpot of $800mil and the chances of winning 1 in ~300mil, could you not buy 300mil tickets? (Excepting, of course, the risk that someone else

Question: With a jackpot of $800mil and the chances of winning 1 in ~300mil, could you not buy 300mil tickets? (Excepting, of course, the risk that someone else wins and the cost of taxes).

jbondeson 11y ago
The cash payout is ~$500 million, and after taxes you may end up with $309 million. So, yeah, probably not a winning strategy.
- nandhp 11y ago
  Well, it sounds like you'd be at least $9 million richer than you were before. And gambling losses are tax deductable, up to the amount of your winnings, so if I understand tax deductions correctly wouldn't you be taxed only on about $200 million of the cash payout? https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419.html https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419.html https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Taxes-101/Can-You-Claim-Gambling-Losses-on-Your-Taxes-/INF14370.html https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Taxes-101/Can...
- meric 11y ago
  If you operated it as a business the lottery tickets are tax-deductible, so no taxes.
- bryanlarsen 11y ago
  There's also approximately a 90% chance that you'll have to split the prize. (estimates are that over 400 million tickets will be sold)
acomjean 11y ago
You could. Lamentably I don't have 300 million lying around. I think there is a limit on # tickets purchased. When there are cracks in the lottery games there are people who do find ways to exploit them.
deleted 11y ago
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hallman76 11y ago
also, tickets are $2.
mamon 11y ago
It was attempted before: http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/25/us/group-invests-5-million-to-hedge-bets-in-lottery.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/25/us/group-invests-5-million...
Mtinie 11y ago
Each ticket costs $2. Splitting the pot and paying taxes on the lump sum or taxes + time on the annuity means that you likely take a net loss buying all the possible numbers.
- deleted 11y ago
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Question: With a jackpot of $800mil and the chances of winning 1 in ~300mil, could you not buy 300mil tickets? (Excepting, of course, the risk that someone else wins and the cost of taxes).

jbondeson 11y ago

The cash payout is ~$500 million, and after taxes you may end up with $309 million. So, yeah, probably not a winning strategy.

nandhp 11y ago
Well, it sounds like you'd be at least $9 million richer than you were before. And gambling losses are tax deductable, up to the amount of your winnings, so if I understand tax deductions correctly wouldn't you be taxed only on about $200 million of the cash payout? https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419.html https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419.html https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Taxes-101/Can-You-Claim-Gambling-Losses-on-Your-Taxes-/INF14370.html https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Taxes-101/Can...
meric 11y ago
If you operated it as a business the lottery tickets are tax-deductible, so no taxes.
bryanlarsen 11y ago
There's also approximately a 90% chance that you'll have to split the prize. (estimates are that over 400 million tickets will be sold)

acomjean 11y ago

You could. Lamentably I don't have 300 million lying around. I think there is a limit on # tickets purchased. When there are cracks in the lottery games there are people who do find ways to exploit them.

deleted 11y ago

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hallman76 11y ago

also, tickets are $2.

mamon 11y ago

It was attempted before: http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/25/us/group-invests-5-million-to-hedge-bets-in-lottery.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/25/us/group-invests-5-million...

Mtinie 11y ago

Each ticket costs $2. Splitting the pot and paying taxes on the lump sum or taxes + time on the annuity means that you likely take a net loss buying all the possible numbers.

deleted 11y ago
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