Your guide to living the Mega Millions dream

It’s always a little harder to focus on Fridays with the
weekend mere hours away, but today is a little more
difficult if you’re holding a Mega Millions ticket…or
20.

The jackpot has set a record at $640 million, which means
a single winner could walk away with a lump sum of about
$347 million after federal taxes.

You still have until the 8:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) drawing
to get out and throw in a $1 for a ticket. Or should you
buy
$100 worth of tickets?

Mike Catalano, chairman of the mathematics department at
Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., concedes the
math is clear: The more tickets you buy, the better
chances you have of winning.

But even buying 10 tickets filled out 10 different ways
only increasing odds of winning the jackpot to 10 in 176
million.

With the jackpot odds at 1 in 176 million, it would cost
$176 million to buy up every combination. Under that
scenario, the strategy would win $171 million _ less if
your state also withholds taxes.

“You are about 50 times as likely to get struck by
lightning as to win the lottery, based on the 90 people a
year getting struck by lightning,” Catalano said. “Of
course, if you buy 50 tickets, you’ve equalized your
chances of winning the jackpot with getting struck by
lightning.”

Based on other U.S. averages, you’re about 8,000 times
more likely to be murdered than to win the lottery, and
about 20,000 times more likely to die in a car crash than
hit the lucky numbers, Catalano said.

Some more fun odds:

Giving birth to conjoined twins: One in 200,000
Dying of a bee, wasp or hornet sting: One in
6.1 million
You making a hole in one on a par-3 hole: One in
12,500
Drowning in your bathtub: One in 850,000

“You might get some psychological enjoyment from playing
the lottery, but from a financial standpoint … you’d be
much better off going to Las Vegas and playing blackjack
or the slot machines,” he said.

Shut up, Catalano. We’re going to buy a casino if we win.

What if you win the Mega Millions jackpot?

Before anything else, sign the back of the ticket. That
will stop anyone else from claiming your riches if you
happen to drop it while you’re jumping up and down. Then
make a photocopy and lock it in a safe. At the very least,
keep it where you know it’s protected. A Rhode Island
woman who won a $336 million Powerball jackpot in February
hid the ticket in her Bible before going out to breakfast.

Read more to
find out what to do post-win.

Get a leg up on picking your winning numbers

Dave Ross, host of 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ross and Burbank Show,
says the odds are astronomically high, but someone has to
win the money, right? It might as well be you.

Dave has a few ideas to consider before picking your
winning combo. Read more
from Dave.

How to spend your money?

There’s some serious debate about how to spend all that
cash just burning a hole in your new jeans. And honestly,
spending $1 or whatever your limit is on a ticket is worth
a few minutes of daydreaming today. Can’t you picture that
brand new boat sitting in your brand new driveway? The
dreams vary from paying off debt (boring) to
buying a whole town in the French Alps, but whatever your
aspirations may be, financial managers say it’s a lot of
work spending wisely.

There is evidence that large amount of cash could ruin
your life. The Wall Street
Journal cites the example of
Jack Whittaker, a West Virginian who won $315 million ten
years ago. He told reporters he wished he would have
ripped the ticket up after his daughter died under strange
circumstances and he was robbed at a strip club. He was
near broke after five years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.