Dominican Republic immigrant claims $338 million Powerball lottery jackpot

We have another happy lottery winner!  The fourth-largest jackpot in the Powerball history was claimed by a 44-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic living in Passaic County, NJ.  Good for dude, your life won't ever be the same.  Snooki will be happy to party with you.

So how much will he take home?  If he decides to take lump sum payout, and who wouldn't, the winnings go down to $221 million.  Don't forget the tax.  The final sum would be around $152 million.  So, pretty much, the lottery and the state take half of his money.  Great.

It's still a lot of money and hopefully it will be used for good.

Eagle Liquor store where ticket was purchased, will receive $10,000 bonus cut.  That's all.  However, Pravin Mankodia who actually sold the ticket, is very happy for the customer.

Some interesting Twitter posts about the jackpot:

Paul R. La Monica ‏@LaMonicaBuzz7h

Okay. I'll 'fess up. I was in Jersey Saturday. I won #Powerball. Donating my winnings to Russian depositors in Cypriot banks. #sarcasm Ciao!

SI Girl Problems ‏@SIgirlproblem9 Mar

If I win #powerball, Dunkin Donuts better be delivering whatever size I want to my bedroom door.

NorthJerseybrk ‏@NorthJerseybrk8h

#POWERBALL WINNER: Congratulations to Pedro Quesada of #Passaic | More: (Photo by Monsy Alvarado / Staff) pic.twitter.com/llpbAknKdl

Powerball lottery jackpot up to $550 million

Here we go again.  Another giant jackpot coming my way, this time it’s Powerball.  The latest estimates put the jackpot at about $550 million.  What will I do with my winnings?  I’ve posted my list here, after the Mega Millions hit its record at the time.

Forbes magazine published the 11 biggest lottery winners list.  The stories are great.

I find Twitter to have the best lines when it comes to a public frenzy over pretty much anything. Check out the hashtags #powerball and #lottery.  My selections are below.

Uber Nibbler ‏@UberNibbler
Building an orphanage in my home town after I collect my #powerball #lottery winnings. Yes, it’s like that.
Hannah Johnson ‏@hannahLjohnson
My dad told me that he hopes I win the lottery so I can pave his driveway.. #hahahah #onlymydad #lottery
Justin Zukowski ‏@JZ_HOVA
Were all gonna wake up and drag our broke asses to school and work tomorrow #lottery #dreams
Amy Freeze ‏@AmyFreeze
Who’s Playing? Or Maybe Who Isn’t? Powerball is selling at an average rate of 105,000 tickets per minute. #Lottery #JackPot
Social Studs ‏@socialstuds
The odds of winning Powerball are 1 in 175,223,510. The odds of being in a history rock band are 1 in 180,243,098. I like my odds. #lottery
John Orosz ‏@iGottaUseDaJOHN
To who ever is playing the lottery tonight…May the odds be ever in your favor!!:) #lottery #TheHungerGames
Judy Baar Topinka ‏@JudyBaarTopinka
In order to pay off its debt, #Illinois would have to win the #powerball 198 times! #SGP #ILisBroke

Stash that cash!

Logo: IL lottery website

So, what will I do with all that money?  Let's see.  First of all, I rather skip the dubious picture ceremony with the fake, commemorative check  from the lottery. The Mega Millions lottery jackpot swelled to $640,000,000 today! Did you get your ticket?  I sure did. Two of them!

No, I don't want to advertise to the world that my pocketbook just got fatter by $462,000,000 (yes, I'll grab the lump sum, you're welcome federal government).

Some online articles suggest a cooling off period (to celebrate, I guess) before claiming the prize.  I suspect it takes couple of months to process all the paperwork for the money.  So, quitting your job is not a good idea.  For now, I'll keep mine.  Boredom is a mood destroyer.

Establishing a trust fund is a great way to conserve and protect your return on $1 investment.  Yes, you want to leave yourself some fun-fund money to get all those toys that you always wanted.

For me, the first order of business would be (drum roll and hand clapping): an Audi Q5.  Sweet ride, check it out.

Now, when you have your ride, it's time to pay off that mortgage and other obligations.  Although, with today's market and prices going down, I would think twice about that option.

Helping your close family?  Absolutely.  What else creates a stronger emotional ties if not couple Gs in your hand for uncle Spendalot.

 

So, all that brings us to some travel times.  Oh yeah, that frequent flyer miles card is already burning my pocket.  Australia (kangaroo boxing match?) and New Zealand are first on the list (watch out Lord of The Ring chopper travel sights seeing service dude!).  Then, Asia (I want to confirm that kids in Japan have really cold classrooms, according to my frequent-visitor friend Angel), Europe (I hear Greece has some good deals now; that's fetalicious) and South America (owning Peruvian bowler hat is a priority).  I'll skip Middle East for now.

And, last of all, I take on those sailing classes.  Taking family on the Carabiean trips between the islands on the 40 footer sounds very Captain Sparrow like.  So, there, that's the plan.