Odds Are $1.5 Billion Powerball Winner Will End Up Bankrupt
- 8 years ago
The U.S. Powerball lottery is holding a drawing this week for a jackpot that's already reached $1.5 billion.
That makes it the largest lottery grand prize the world has ever seen, even compared with the " El Gordo " lottery in Spain, which in December awarded a larger cache of prizes but spread it among thousands of winners.
On Wednesday night, however, a winner is actually very likely, since many lottery players are not limiting themselves to a single ticket and the massive prize is luring hordes of Americans to try their luck, along with - reportedly - thousands of Canadians .
Forbes estimates that a single winner in a low-tax state, like Florida, who elects to take all the money in one lump sum instead of in 30 payments will get a check for about a half-billion dollars.
Other studies found that instead of getting people out of financial trouble, winning the lottery got people into more trouble, since bankruptcy rates soared for lottery winners three to five years after winning.
That makes it the largest lottery grand prize the world has ever seen, even compared with the " El Gordo " lottery in Spain, which in December awarded a larger cache of prizes but spread it among thousands of winners.
On Wednesday night, however, a winner is actually very likely, since many lottery players are not limiting themselves to a single ticket and the massive prize is luring hordes of Americans to try their luck, along with - reportedly - thousands of Canadians .
Forbes estimates that a single winner in a low-tax state, like Florida, who elects to take all the money in one lump sum instead of in 30 payments will get a check for about a half-billion dollars.
Other studies found that instead of getting people out of financial trouble, winning the lottery got people into more trouble, since bankruptcy rates soared for lottery winners three to five years after winning.