Powerball at 1.5 billion.

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jakeman

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I believe we are currently at a level where you could purchase every possible combination and be ahead, unless someone else also pulls a winning ticket. Then you’d be toast.

Seems like I read about this happening once upon a time. Not only did the syndicate hit the jackpot, but they had a ton of other winning tickets for various amounts of money. I can’t remember the specifics, but I either read about it or saw it on TV.
 

Okie4570

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Anyone know exactly how many numeric combinations there are?
It's a math permutation problem. The five white balls have possible numbers between 1 and 70 and can repeat, the Mega Ball is between 1 and 25. That's 302,575,350 combinations. Since the jackpot is that high now, yes it would pay for someone to buy a ticket with every combination lol.
 

yukonjack

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I believe we are currently at a level where you could purchase every possible combination and be ahead, unless someone else also pulls a winning ticket. Then you’d be toast.

Seems like I read about this happening once upon a time. Not only did the syndicate hit the jackpot, but they had a ton of other winning tickets for various amounts of money. I can’t remember the specifics, but I either read about it or saw it on TV.

There‘s the story you were thinking about.

https://local21news.com/news/local/a-look-back-at-the-pa-lottery-scandal
 

jakeman

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Nah, different story. The story I was thinking of involved no cheating, just buying all the possible combinations.

As the story went, certain teams were to buy certain numbers so they could find the winning tickets easier after the drawing. Seems like some of them got shut out and not all the possible combinations got bought, but they bought enough that it was profitable anyway. I don’t remember all the details, just bits & pieces. Might have been in Europe. Don’t remember.
 

trekrok

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One of the reasons I have never bothered winning the lottery is that, at least in the past, I couldn't take the prize anonymously. Is that still the case here?
 

wawazat

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I "believe" you are correct, but I ain't 100% sure.

I've never needed to do that, so.................................
In Oklahoma, a trust can accept the prize. You also have quite a bit of time to claim the prize, so it would be of benefit to lock the ticket in the gun safe without filling it out and reach out to some lawyer and financial planners before contacting the Lottery Commission. The lawyer, acting on behalf of the trust could then claim the prize without being able to divulge any of your information.

That is why I said my wife and I have agreed we would continue on with our current career path for at least 5 more years. We both really enjoy what we do and could possibly be even more effective if the frustration of budgeting for bills and car repairs and whatnot didnt add frustration.
 

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