WTXF – The Powerball jackpot was raised Tuesday morning to a record $1.5 billion, with a $930 million cash payout and 85.8 percent coverage. The numbers have continued to rise thanks to continued ticket sales.
The number rises from Monday’s $1.4 billion, ahead of Wednesday’s drawing. The total has continued to roll since November 4.
“We encourage players to please play responsibly and remember that you only need one ticket in order to win,” Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko said in a statement. “If you are planning to play, remember that tickets will be sold in Pennsylvania until 9:59 p.m. on Wednesday evening.”
Jackpot! Now what?
The record $1.5 billion jackpot for Wednesday’s multi-state Powerball lottery drawing has millions of Americans shelling out $2 a pop for a ticket — even though the odds of winning now stand at 1 in more than 292 million and are getting worse by the day. What to do in the highly unlikely event that you do win? Conventional wisdom dictates that the first — and smartest — thing to do is meet with financial and legal experts to sort out all your newfound money issues. OK … but once you’ve got cash in hand, what then? Here’s an unconventional list of potential next steps for brand-new billionaires. Have fun … and good luck!
— By CNBC’s Jim Pavia & Kenneth Kiesnoski
Posted 12 January 2016
Ring, ring
1. Get a new phone number … and keep it unlisted. This will help avoid those unwanted calls.
Hide-and-seek
2. Avoid contact with all the friends and relatives coming out of the woodwork whom you have not heard from in years and years.
Lounge lizard
3. Dust off that cabana wear. It’s high time for a vacation or that country club membership.
Parlez-vous francais?
4. Start learning new languages for all that travel you will be doing.
Hasta la vista
5. Prepare a proper way to tell your boss he (or she) was a real pain in the butt and you quit.
Anchors away!
6. Come up with a great name for your new yacht.
Home away from home
7. Decide if now is the time to buy that new villa in Tuscany. Or is it a buyer’s market on the French Riviera?
No free ride
8. Remind your kids they still need to get jobs and support themselves. No free lunch!
His and hers
9. Is buying matching sports cars too bold of a move?
Spread the wealth
10. Finally, give money to charities you believe in. It’s the right thing to do.
