The Cash Fever!

As of 1/7/2016, the jackpot is nearly $1 billion. The drawing is on Saturday.

In the new year, the American public got a dose of the lottery fever. With jackpots totaling over $200 million, many Americans rush to the local lottery retailer in their state to purchase a handful of tickets hoping that they could change their lives forever.

Powerball is up once again. On Wednesday night, the drawing and the possibility of a winning ticket.

Tonight's estimated jackpot is $450 million (as of 1/6/16). It's noted that the jackpot will increase with the rise in ticket sales. So I'll just cut to the chase, it will likely be over $500 million by draw time.

Many folks will be making the decision to play. 

The game uses a 5/69 (white balls) + 1/26 (Powerballs) matrix from which winning numbers are chosen. Each play costs $2, or, with the Power Play option, $3.

The game is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Advice on playing the lottery!

Best advice for all who win the lottery, is keep a cool head. The impact of being a millionaire comes with a price. You could blow money fast in a few years. Believe me there have been many Americans who lavish in luxury only to be broke in less than 10 years.

1) You must be over the age of 18 (or 21 in some states) to play the lottery. You cannot allow any person under the playing age purchase any lottery game. 

2) If you purchase any lottery game in a state that sales Powerball (47), Mega Millions (47), Lucky for Life (17), Monopoly Millionaires' Club (16), Hot Lotto (15), Cash4Life (5), MegaHits (5), Wild Card (4), 2by2 (3), Tri-State Lottery (3) and All or Nothing (2): You must claim the prize in the state that you purchased the ticket. You can't go into a South Carolina Education Lottery retailer saying you've purchased a ticket from the Florida Lottery.

Older and poorer Americans often play the lottery. The lottery makes $5 billion in sales revenue a month.

3) Most of the Multi-State Lottery Association Games cannot be canceled. So be extremely careful in picking games. Powerball plays on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59pm (EST). Powerball draws close at 10pm (EST) on the night of the drawing. Some states have drawings close early. The cost of playing a Powerball ticket is $2. The ticket comes with the Power Play (except in California). The Power Play cost $1 dollar. There is a set prize amount for Power Play addition. You can earn up to $1 million (if you score 5 out of 5 without the Powerball). If you have the Powerplay you can multiply your winnings. I know that your risk is 1:345. So that means the odds of winning is one in 345 million.

4) Make sure you write your name down on the back of the winning ticket. Say if you lose the jackpot ticket! If you have forgotten to sign the ticket and it gets lost, then it's your word against the winner's. I've added this. Make sure you take a picture of the ticket to provide to your state's lottery commission. Say you lose the ticket and you happened to not write your name on it, you're out of luck. If you have a picture of the ticket, you have a police report if it is lost. Make sure that whenever a lottery retailer is to handle a jackpot ticket, ask the cashier to make sure you hear the "winner" sound. Most machines will make a noise if you're a winner. There are also ticket verifying stations located near a lottery terminal. Make sure before you hand a ticket to a cashier, you are sure you won a jackpot. Ask for a claims form and/or a validation claim voucher. Also for tickets that may be over a certain amount (i.e. amounts over $2,500), you might have to go to the lottery's regional offices. The offices are located in metropolitan areas. There are also apps on your iPhone, Android, and smart devices. You can avoid the lines, by going to iTunes or the Google Play store to get a free app for your local state's lottery. Never put your trust in a cashier who doesn't have experience in handling jackpots or validations of high value tickets.

5) If you're bragging about you're winnings, that's fine. But you best believe that you should cancel out your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or any other social networking website you're on. That's the next thing that happens when you're a winner. There's too many opportunists willing to swarm your social media with requests. 

6) You should cancel your phone numbers and limit your email intake. Obviously you'll be swamped with phone numbers and well wishers asking if you're willing to shelve out a little cash. Trial lawyers, charity groups, home security companies, the junk food media and scammers will take advantage of you. Some charity groups will not often bother you, but there are some that pose as legitimate but in reality a scam. 

7) You should hire a qualified lottery attorney. Make sure you have a qualified attorney who specializes in handling large sums of money. Don't assume every attorney is well respected in handling your financial earnings.

Fox's Family Guy. Peter Griffin spends almost everything to win a jackpot.

8) Please, don't quit a job until you are sure you've won the lottery. Don't rush to judgment about being a lottery winner. Sometimes a person who wins the lottery never expects it to happen so don't sit around the house hoping the day will come you'll be the millionaire. Don't burn bridges with your job. You may end up back at it if you decide to go back into the workforce.

9) You might as well get the little things out the way. You should pay off debts to college loans, house, billings, and credit cards. Don't let these issues ruin your credit score or chances at buying better things.

10) Make an investment in your money. Put your money in a trust fund if you have children or family members you can trust if you should die. Make a will or entrust. Make sure you know that you have a family member or a trusted friend who will take care of the winnings once you pass away.

11) Yeah, it's a huge change in your life. And you're going to have major things to accomplish. Go ahead and have fun with your earnings. Don't blow it on things that obviously will attract negative attention. Yeah, the lottery is a gateway to putting in other venues. Some may blow their money at casinos, horsetracks, fantasy football and online poker. Granted that you are given the right to do whatever you want with your earnings, but seriously are going to get a gold statue of your image? Are willing to have five chefs, a butler, housekeeper, nanny, and chauffeur on the payroll? You going to buy a $100,000 vehicle! Wow! Do whatever you want with your money, but be careful with it. 

12) You know that money will change you. You might become stingy with the winnings. You should be humble. Cause money will change a person when they're rich. Don't expect your live to be "normal" when you win the lottery. Cause it's not going to be normal. It could a great experience or the worst thing.

13) The Have-Nots Will Always Try To Make You Feel Guilty About Winning. Ignore Them And Be Happy About Your Success.