How will you spend your Powerball winnings?
You can't win if you don't play! That's the motto of the lottery people. So that explains why I've never won. Who knew?
It's not as if I've never played. When the lotto first started in Illinois, along with the cash, they had a game where you could win a car. One week, I scratched off some numbers and it showed that I was a finalist to win a Dodge Roadrunner. I was so excited that I called all my friends and family. A week later, my name wasn't drawn. The Roadrunner belonged to someone else. Damn…I loved that car.
Through the years, I occasionally bought a ticket. It’s always when there is a huge jackpot. Tonight is one of those times. The jackpot is one point six billion dollars. That's right, BILLION. Let's see how that looks in numbers. $1,600,000,000!!!!! Man, that's a lot of zeros!
The bigger question is how am I going to spend this money when I win. Yeah, I've been thinking about it, and if you're honest, so have you. I've even looked into the advantages of taking a lump sum instead versus yearly payments.
First off, I have a few charities that could use some help. What if I gave them a million dollars each? Ehhh…I’m more generous than that. Five million to all five of them. Twenty-five mil is a drop in the imaginary bucket. It's time to help out family and friends. I'd pay off houses, set up college funds, and give out some big bucks without any Whammies; basically, I'd make everyone important to me financially secure for generations.
Okay, okay, okay…I've now established myself as the most selfless person you've ever met, right? Not so fast, my soon-to-be very close friends.
I hear investing in real estate is a good thing. My first place is a house somewhere in the Los Angeles area. Why there? Because I'm looking for somewhere that's warm in the winter. If I have $1.6 BILLION, I'm never going to be cold again…NEVER…EVER!!! I'm thinking some mansion at the beach in Santa Monica or Malibu would work, right? That would be good for the 2023 winter. Maybe in 2024, I'll try Hawaii?
All this is a good pipe dream. That's why I bought a two-buck ticket this morning. I know you're about to ask what else are you going to buy? You still have plenty of money. I guess I'll figure that out later. Maybe when I'm sitting on the beach in Malibu this February. C’mon down…there's plenty of room.