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| The Mississippi Lottery already in effect and two men tried to pass off an altered winning ticket. |
Mississippi joins the lottery. In 2018, the Mississippi legislature has made lottery sales legal in the state. The state had passed the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law in 2018. It started officially in December and will introduce Powerball and Mega Million sales in late January.
So far, the state has net almost $2.8 million in sales since its launch. It's expected to get $68 million by the end of 2020.
To purchase tickets in Mississippi, you have to be 21 years old.
We'll get to the rules of the game at the end of this posting.
Okay, two morons who I will not name in this posting were accused of gluing on winning numbers onto a $5 scratch-off ticket.
They were bold enough to present a ticket to the Mississippi Lottery Commission. The folks at the commission office looked at that ticket, went into the backroom, laughed at it, called the law, delayed the two men from leaving and waited for them to be arrested.
They were deliberately tried to alter a ticket to give them the advantage of winning $100,000.
So they were criminally charged with counterfeiting an instrument of the state and conspiracy to commit a felony. They could face up to five years in the iron college.
The suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The two men were from Columbus, Mississippi, a city that is 70 miles from Tupelo and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
They were given a "no get out free card" and are currently in the Rankin County lockup.
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| Two Mississippi men have found themselves in lockup after they ran a fake ticket into the lottery commission. |
So here's the run down of lottery.
Okay, the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots are reaching record amounts. In 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands both games are played.
The Powerball is played on Wednesday and Saturdays before 11pm (EST).
Mega Millions is played on Tuesday and Fridays before 11pm (EST).
For $2 or $3 with the Power Play or the Multiplier, a player could win a huge fortune. Mind you that a huge fortune comes with a huge price. The thrill of being a lottery winner can be exciting. It can be fun and life changing. But if you don't take the steps to be a smart winner, you may end up broke quickly.
Whether you use my advice or not, I want to say thank you again for taking an opportunity to read it.
So you purchased your Powerball or Mega Millions ticket. You payed $2 or more for that chance to win. Cool, ain't it.
Your chances of winning this jackpot is 1:274 million.
Powerball drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The last bet before the drawing is at 9:59pm. All drawings for the Powerball are held at 10:59pm. The taping or live broadcast are done in Orlando at Universal Studios.
Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesdays and Fridays. The last bet before the drawing is at 10:44pm. All drawings for Mega Millions are held at 10:59pm. The taping or live broadcast are done in Atlanta at the WSB-TV studios under the supervision of the Georgia State Lottery commission.
The minimum Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots starts at $40 million.
The Powerball tickets use the 5/69 and 1/26 matrix. Each ticket cost $2.00. You must pick 5 numbers from 1 to 69 white balls and the Powerball from 1 to 26. These numbers can be called out, played again, written down, digitally apped or automatically picked. Make sure you play your numbers correctly.
The Mega Millions tickets use 5/70 and 1/25 matrix. Each ticket cost $2.00. You must pick 5 numbers from 1 to 70 white balls and the Mega Ball from 1 to 25. These numbers can be called out, played again, written down, digitally apped or automatically picked. Make sure you play your numbers correctly.
Anyway, the first thing you want to do whenever you purchase a lottery ticket, is have money on hand. The operator is required to take money before issuing a ticket. Make sure you have your numbers placed on either a betting card, your lottery app or a previous ticket. Most operators will help you plug numbers in through the terminal or place an automatic bet for you. However in the case of long lines or possible errors, it would be best to be prepared for the transaction. Some states do offer debit and credit transactions. Make sure you get your information from your local lottery commission.
You cannot cancel Powerball or Mega Millions tickets. They are property of your state (or territory's) lottery commission. Any alteration, distortion or underage playing will void the games.
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| If you alter a lottery ticket, it's a felony. |
Mind you that lottery operators have a license number. The place that sold the winning ticket does keep records of the transaction. The tickets are time stamped, verified and authorized. If you lose the ticket, make sure you file a police report. Do not get on television saying that you lost the ticket. It could cause a panic and if you're lying about it, you could face charges of misleading or filing a false police report.
If you are the winner of a Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot and the amount is a lot, I would recommend you take a picture of the winning ticket. It will also be insurance if you happen to lose the ticket.
If you have a picture of the ticket and you have a police report, it's likely you have a case against the person who stole your ticket.
In most states, the required age to play the lottery is 18 years or older. Do not let anyone under the playing age purchase a ticket or lottery game. The operator could lose their license or you will forfeit your prize if the regional lottery operator determined that an underage player was the winner.
If you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot, hire a qualified lottery and huge sum lawyer. Make sure that a large sum lawyer is certified in dealing with lottery wins. Don't entrust your winning with a law firm that doesn't know how to deal with lottery winnings, investment or day trade.
Create a will and trust fund. You should have a trustee come forward on your behalf.
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.
If you're bragging about you're winnings, that's fine. But you best believe that you should cancel out your social media immediately. There's too many opportunists willing to swarm your social media with requests.
I don't want to pay the state police to secure my home or my property. I don't want my son, his mother, my family or closest friends getting harassed and death threats.
If you do decide to become public and share your success with the junk food media, expect death threats, harassing calls, scammers and untrustworthy people to meddle. Family members, ex-girlfriends, ex-boyfriends, ex-spouses, fraudulent charity organizations and robbers are expected to exploit your riches.
Keep a calm head and do not treat winning the lottery like its a "normal" thing.
Keep a calm head and do not treat winning the lottery like its a "normal" thing.
If you purchase Powerball and Mega Millions from another state and you won, understand that it not a winner in your home state.
What does that mean?
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| The poorest state in the country added lottery. |
You get upset and ask why you can't cash in a simple winning ticket from another state.
That is the usual comments whenever you try to cash in a ticket from another state is "Why can't you accept this 'winning' ticket? You guys play Mega Millions and Powerball too?"
Well the answer is simple. You have an out of state ticket that's a winner. That ticket must be returned to the state you've purchased it from.
You have to return back to the state you've purchased that ticket. Do not go into lottery retailer with a ticket from another state. Each state has a set of rules, regulations, state taxes and locality rules.
Whenever a lottery retailer handles 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.
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.
If you can't make it to a lottery retailer, that's alright. You can get an app for that. Some state lottery agencies offer apps on your iPhone, Android and smart devices. You can get apps from the state lottery commission or the official Powerball and Mega Million apps. You can make purchases through your credit or debit card.
You can avoid the lines, by going to iTunes or the Google Play store to get a free app for your state's lottery.
Never put your trust in a cashier who doesn't have experience in handling jackpots or validations of high value tickets.
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. 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 your job if you decide to go back into the workforce.
You might as well get those little things out the way. You should pay off debts to college loans, car loans, property, utility billings, spousal support, child support, back taxes and credit cards. Don't let these issues ruin your credit score or chances at buying better things.
Yeah, it's a huge change in your life. And you're going to have major things to accomplish, do it wisely. 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. Some may blow it on sex, food, drugs and alcohol.
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 pay for five chefs, a butler, housekeeper, nanny, and chauffeur?
You going to buy property in Florida! Wow! You are going to pay for the land tax?
How about those nice fancy cars and that private jet? You got insurance for those fancy rides.
With uncertainty in the country due to Donald J. Trump's presidency, will your taxes could be effected by this?
Obviously, you might get a huge tax cut if you won the lottery.
Do whatever you want with your money, but be careful with it.!
You know that money will change you. You might become stingy with the winnings. Cause money comes and goes. You should be humble.
Cause money will change a person when they're rich. Don't expect your life 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 to happen to you.
Also you can enter into voluntary exclusionary programs. In most states, if you sign up for exclusion from gambling, they offer you three choices. You have a one year restriction, five year restriction and lifetime restriction. Once you sign up for a restriction, you are forbidden from purchasing lottery tickets and gambling in casinos. You will not be able to win any prizes and could be criminally charged if you are a VEP member who won the lottery and/or a jackpot at a casino. And this also goes for anyone who tries to claim a jackpot or winning lottery ticket for the VEP.
So in closing, I want to say "Play Responsibility." Do not let the game control you!
The Have-Nots Will Always Try To Make You Feel Guilty About Winning. Ignore Them And Be Happy About Your Success.
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