Since nobody won the Powerball jackpot Saturday, as well as in the previous draws since November 4, lottery officials estimate the prize could swell to a whopping $1.3 billion - the biggest sum ever to be given away anywhere in the world, as noted by The Guardian.
In the wake of this development, a good number of people appear to be casting their lots in the lottery in the hopes of winning the pot. But how can one win the prize?
According to Penn Live, you'll need to buy all of the combinations.
"With five balls ranging from 1 to 69 and the Powerball ranging from 1 to 26, that's a lot of possible outcomes," the publication said. "It would cost a whopping $584 million to buy one ticket for each of the roughly 292 million combinations."
Considering the eye-popping amount to be won, a half-billion dollar investment will still give you good returns, right?
Well, not really. That's because the winner will only get $806 million if it's claimed right away.
"Then 39.6 percent of your winnings will go to federal taxes, leaving just $486 million -- still $98 million short of what you spent to guarantee the winning ticket," Penn Live explained. "You'll get some money in smaller prizes for matching two, three, four and five of the winning numbers, but you still won't come out ahead."
Then there's the possibility that someone else may have the same combinations as you, resulting to a split in the pot winnings.
On the positive side, Pennsylvania considers lottery prizes as income tax exempt. So buying tickets in the state will help the winner reduce losses.
On the other hand, Southern Methodist University's assistant professor of mathematics Scott A. Norris said that you may have a bit more luck if you let a computer pick your numbers for the billion-dollar-draw, NBC News relayed.
This tip was affirmed by some lottery organizers, who observed that most of those who won in the past had let a computer pick their numbers.
"About 70 percent of past winners used Quick Picks, the computer system that spits out numbers," ABC News said.
However, if you're a regular lottery player, it would be better for you to choose your own combination and stick to it every time you cast your lot, lottery expert Richard Lustig recommended. Lustig had previously won seven grand prizes at the lottery.
For those who don't play as regularly, Lustig suggested buying "as many tickets as you can afford."
Also, you may want to include numbers 8, 13, 14, 39, and 54 in your combinations as these are the numbers drawn more frequently. If you want to up your chances, try buying a ticket in Pennsylvania, where 16 jackpot winners in the past 13 years got their tickets.
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