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The Powerball grew to nearly $2 billion after no winning tickets were sold in Saturday night’s drawing – but the lucky winner could lose a whopping $700 million from the jackpot.
The $1.9 billion jackpot is the world’s largest lottery prize ever offered, with an estimated cash value of $929.1 million, according to Powerball, but the odds of winning are only 1 in 292.2 million.
It comes after Saturday’s $1.6 billion Powerball, which had a flat-rate option estimated at $782.4 million, “broke the world record for the largest national lottery jackpot in the Guinness World Records,” according to the California Lottery. .
The Guinness World Records’ Biggest Jackpot in a National Lottery was previously set by the Powerball in January 2016, when three tickets won a $1.586 billion jackpot.
Powerball tickets cost $2 each and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The next draw for the $1.9 billion jackpot is Monday at 10:59 PM EST.
DailyMail.com is here to resolve any questions you may have about the lottery.
A huge amount of the record-breaking $1.9 billion jackpot will be gobbled up by federal taxes
Monday’s Powerball Lottery Hit a World Record-Breaking Jackpot of $1.9 Billion
How many tickets have already been sold?
It’s unclear how many tickets were sold for the $1.9 billion lottery, but nearly 11 million tickets in Saturday’s $1.6 billion jackpot won cash prizes.
The record-breaking lottery sparked a frenzy of people trying their luck at the $1.6 billion prize with Idaho counties of Franklin and Oneida — which draws gamblers from nearby Utah — ticket sales jumped 597 percent this week, according to the New York Times.
Some 280 million tickets were sold for Saturday’s draw.
How much of the jackpot would go to taxes?
Federal tax can gobble up as much as 37 percent of the jackpot — and that’s before further taxes in some states.
The total federal annuity tax of $1.9 billion would exceed $700 million over the 30-year period.
Federal tax on the $929 million lump sum would be nearly $345 million, according to usamega.com.
Then there are state taxes to consider.
How much a lottery winner would pay in taxes would vary widely depending on the state they live in, as some states have state taxes and others do not.
For example, someone living in New York state who has income taxes would have to pay an additional 8.82 percent to the state. There are also additional taxes for those who live in New York City.
That would work out to about $100 million for the state government.
But if a lottery winner lives in Florida, where there is no state tax, they only have to pay federal taxes.
What would happen if I share the prize with my colleagues or friends?
Joining an office lottery pool can increase your chances of winning as more tickets can be bought when more people join.
However, the jackpot would then have to be split among all participants – and better people would want to make sure their peers are fair.
Lawyers propose that anyone who comes into an office pool or buys tickets with a group of friends make a written agreement specifying how much each person would invest to buy the tickets and how much each person will receive if they win.
Without such an agreement, attorney Alicia McMurray told: 10 Newsthe person in possession of the physical ticket can cash it without telling you and refuse to share the money.
But if you have a written agreement, you can file a lawsuit.
It’s unclear how many tickets were sold for the $1.9 billion lottery
How can I maximize my chances of winning the Powerball?
There are many theories on how best to increase your chances of winning the lottery.
Some people will say it’s best to buy lottery tickets more often, while others suggest using “lucky numbers” like your kids’ birthdays and others, but still say it’s better to use the QuickPick feature, where numbers are randomly selected.
But the only surefire way to maximize your chances is to buy more tickets per game, Dr. Mark Glickman, Harvard statistics professor, earlier. CNBC.
At the same time, however, buying more tickets means that “the investment you make by playing multiple games also goes up, and the payouts in a real lottery vary,” says Dr. Lew Lefton, a faculty member at Georgia Tech’s School of Mathematics.
In other words, investing more money into a larger number of tickets may not always be worth the cost.
“My advice is not to enter the lottery and expect to win,” he told CNBC. That said, it can be fun to play the lottery and imagine yourself winning.
“That’s a different approach, and it’s just like any other gambling: you just have to be willing to spend what you can afford to lose.”
Certain numbers have been drawn more often than others – but they all have an equal chance of being drawn
What are the most common and rarest numbers ever drawn?
All combinations of numbers have the same chance of winning, but certain numbers have been drawn more often than others.
In the past seven years, CBS 8 reports, the 10 most common numbers drawn on the five white balls for the Powerball are:
- 61 — 78 signed
- signed 32 — 77 times
- 63 — 73 signed
- 21 — 73 signed
- 69 — drawn 71 times
- drawn 36 — 70 times
- 23 — 70 drawn
- 39 — 69 signed
- 63 — 69 signed
- 59 — 68 times signed
And the 10 most common numbers drawn for the red Powerball in the past seven years are:
- drawn 24 — 45 times
- 18 — 42 times signed
- 4 — drawn 36 times
- 13 — 34 signed
- 21 — 34 signed
- 10 — 33 signed
- 6 — drawn 33 times
- 26 — 33 signed
- 19 — drawn 32 times
- 3 — drawn 32 times
According to CBS 8:34 and 26, two numbers equal the least drawn main numbers in the past seven years, both drawn only 44 times.
How would I claim my money?
Powerball suggests that if you’re the lucky winner, sign the back of your ticket to prove you’re the rightful owner in the event it’s lost or stolen.
To collect prizes of $600 and above, winners must visit a local district office or lottery headquarters. The claim period for Powerball prizes varies by state and can range from 90 days to a year.
Winners can then choose to pay out the prize in one lump sum or in 30 tiered payments over 29 years.
States oversee lottery activities and have different rules about how winnings are taxed and whether winners’ names must be made public.