By Susannah Snider, Kiplinger
1. Winning is a very long shot. Most of us realize that we’re more likely to die in a shark attack than win the lottery. The chances of hitting the Powerball jackpot are about one in 175 million. (You could play Pick 3, which offers odds of one in 1,000 for a perfect match, but you’d have to settle for $500 in prize money.) Still, the fantasy of spending a multimillion-dollar jackpot keeps hope alive.
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2. A tale of two winners. If you are among the lucky winners, your life is guaranteed to get more complicated. “I work more since winning than I ever did before,” says Brad Duke, who won a Powerball jackpot in 2005. His goal is to turn that $125 million lump sum into $2 billion, and, he says, he’s on the way to reaching his goal. But there are many cautionary tales, such as that of Jack Whittaker, who won a $315 million jackpot in 2002. After a series of ill-advised financial moves, he saw his fortune fade and his family fall apart.
3. You are going to be famous. Your state may have you hoist an oversize check over your head at a press conference. That’s great advertising for your state lotto, but it’s terrible for you. You are likely to become a target for scams, requests for handouts from total strangers and nuisance lawsuits. Only five states (Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota and Ohio) allow winners to collect their reward in complete anonymity. Other states let you mask your identity by claiming prizes through entities such as a corporation, limited liability company or trust (also helpful for claiming tickets bought with friends or through an office pool). Some states, such as Florida, will release your name, city and winnings whether you like it or not.
Read the full article by Susannah Snider from Kiplinger.
