Lottery already seeing payday from Powerball pot

As for Sadi? He bought his ticket from a nearby gas station, and if he wins the jackpot, he plans on disappearing.

Winners in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming really hit the jackpot, because they have no state personal income tax. “I don’t even know how to describe it. This has never happened before”, California State Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told The Los Angeles Times Thursday.

The winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing were 2, 11, 47, 62 and 63, and the Powerball number was 17.

After rolling over 18 times without a victor, the Powerball top prize soared to $800 million by noon Friday, further fueling the already big rush to buy one or more $2 tickets with the hopes of instant riches.

The lottery estimates that if a victor is drawn Saturday night, the cash option would be $496 million.

The draw will be held at 10:59 p.m. ET on Saturday.

While the odds of winning the record jackpot stand at one in 292.2m, one thing is certain: a large chunk of the winnings will likely be claimed by the IRS.

Jim Hazelwood’s plan for when he wins the $800 million Powerball lottery?

To save on taxes, a victor could take the annuity payment instead of the lump sum and spread the tax burden over 29 years. How about cashing it all in for a chance to win $700 million?

The previous lottery record was a $656 million Mega Millions payout in 2012, according to CNN Money.

Trying to process that much money can be mind boggling, so to put that into perspective, you’d have to make more than $200,000 an hour working a full-time job to make that much in a year. The retailer selling a single winning ticket would receive a $1 million bonus.

“I looked at the numbers and they all lined up perfectly”, he said.

There’s no secret formula to winning the lottery, but past winners have provided some tips to perhaps increase your chances.

The next prize is expected to surpass billion. Powerball is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.