LANSING (WKZO-AM) — The Powerball jackpot may have reached $1.5 billion, larger than the gross national product of nearly two dozen countries, and enough to put a person on the Forbes 500 list — but that’s just the hype.
The cold, hard truth is that a lot of it is bait-and-switch — what some call a sucker’s bet.
What you really get if you win are choices. If you take the yearly payouts, you will have to wait a long time before you see most of your money.
That’s why most take the lump sum.
In this case, that amounts to about $930 million.
The federal government will want $368 million and the state another $40 million to cover income taxes.
That leaves you with $522 million, which is nothing to sneeze at, and still larger than most jackpots ever get, but it’s only a third of the advertised price.
Don’t worry though — chances are infinitesimal that you will actually win.
– John McNeill
