jackpot

You can't win if you don't buy a lottery ticket.

A little over a month ago, $1.33 billion, the third-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, was won by someone who purchased their Mega Millions ticket right here in Illinois at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines. When you look at that kind of money, you wonder why the winner has not announced themselves to lottery officials yet.

Here's a question/problem that many of us really, really hope is something we'll have to deal with in the next 24 hours: "What do I do with a billion dollars?"

And if that weren't enough (and it wasn't), he also won a $10,000 Instant Ticket prize. Oh, and did I mention that this was all in the same week?

For someone in Wisconsin, it's a dream come true. One ticket, one winner. However, after the initial celebration--it's time to settle up the tax bill that comes with winning big money.

In the interests of full (and somewhat idiotic) disclosure, I rarely, if ever, play the lottery. However, when I do--I wait for the jackpot to become astronomical. Take last night's Mega-Millions lottery drawing for example. I guess I couldn't be bothered with a paltry $346,000,000. But on Friday, when the jackpot will be just south of $400,000,000, I'll probably grab a ticket.

If you're anything like me, and I know I am--you'd love to win the lottery. However, the problem with my desire to be a lottery winner is the fact that I never buy a ticket. Okay, maybe never is not quite right. I bought a Powerball ticket once, when the jackpot went over a billion dollars. Since you're reading this now, you've probably surmised that I didn't win. I guess I only play when we get i