Don't buy a Mega Millions ticket!

Standard answer...What ever I want!

I wouldn't buy the ticket if that was the stipulation, lol. Why would I waste my money on a ticket if I can't use the money to improve mine and my family's lives?

Because that was the question, dell diva. If you don't want to answer the hypothetical he's asking, you don't have to comment in the thread he started.

Ok, then to answer the question - I'd raze the whole downtown area and build my family a compound. How's that for an aswer to this stupid "Toledo-centric" question?

I think I'd buy the Marina District and build a state-of-the-art soup kitchen and animal shelter.

I'd buy the Erie Street Market and turn it back into what it was at the end of the 20th Century (an actual indoor market with all kinds of local food vendors).

Then I'd clean up the area around Swan Creek, where TetraTech had been looking to convert it into a riverwalk. It's such an underutilized stretch of space.

Then, who knows. We're talking about half a billion dollars. Maybe to address the criticisms of downtown's business pool, I'd just buy up a nice little portfolio of companies and move them into downtown.

I'd rehab the Berdan building, and make a real artists' facility with all the tools, plumbing, fixtures any artist would want on the top several floors, rent area on the first floor to a grocer who could make it work. Then I'd build a dog park in front of the Blade building where the United Way Bldg used to be. Then I'd put a couple blocks of decent manufactured cottages in the marina district and hire a dock master to bring in the boats.

I would donate most of the money to specific organizations and agencies that already perform useful, charitable, educational, and cultural work:

• TMA
• Universities (tying the funding to support the humanities, like with endowed chairs, and also to scholarships)
• Habitat for Humanity
• Toledo Botanical Garden
• Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank
• Cherry Street Mission
• Toledo Symphony
• ISOH/IMPACT
• Planned Pethood
• Ronald McDonald House

I would also spend money purchasing vacant/abandoned homes and refurbish them with the goal of improving a few local neighborhoods.

After all that I would probably retire my 1995 Hyundai and splurge on a new car, though I would probably stay under $35K because I am frugal by nature. :-)

I would also stay in the same house, though we could afford some extras like new siding and a new fence. Travel would be the one area of extravagance to which I would be guilty: I can see us visiting a lot of places we have dreamed of seeing, like the Great Wall and the Pyramids and Big Ben and all that touristy stuff.

But in all seriousness: I have mostly everything I could want already, and I would give most of the jackpot away to people and groups that could benefit. OK: I would buy a new acoustic guitar, and a new mandolin, and maybe a 24-track digital recorder and some new studio gear (since I would have lots of time to record music) but otherwise the idea of being ridiculously wealthy does not do much for me.

In regard to Mary's comment, whether you were intending it this way or not, I think there's a good point to be had there: when you're winning half a billion dollars, you really don't feel obligated to treat it like an investment. It's not like a business loan that you're striving to make good on.

You could literally buy the Berdan Building, rehab it, and GIVE the space away for an artist community, and the interested you'd be earning on the rest of your winnings would completely offset that within a year or two.

Short answer: I would do something meaningful to create jobs.

(There's a longer answer behind how I would approach some of that, but the gist of it is that I would try to use a chunk of money to get people working.)

Like History Mike, I'd help local non-profits. Some on my list that he didn't mention:

• Mobile Meals of Toledo
• Salvation Army
• MLK Kitchen for the Poor

I'd also do some challenge donations: matching whatever the local organization raised for a specific need or purchase.

I'd look into the scholarship promise - where you pay for secondary education (college, trade school, etc...) for kids graduating high school with a certain GPA.

I'd redo my kitchen and add an outdoor living area to better enjoy the lake. That would also include updating our garage and putting on a new roof. And I'd hire the local landscaper who helped us design our landscaping (Nil Gallagher - she also put in the bigger items) to finish up the plan as we are implementing it piecemeal due to costs.

But I'm not sure how much economic development can be done. The jackpot is now up to $540 million, but the cash payout is only $389.8 million and by the time you pay roughly 40% off the top for taxes, you're down to just under $234 million. When you're looking at developing things like the Marina District, that may not be enough.

A bigger question is - where do you put it? Banks are insured for $100,000 maybe $250,000 - I can't remember if they bumped it up...

I would finish cleaning the Ottawa river all the way to Lake Erie.

Added to list by historymike and Maggie

Seagate Food Bank
Feed Your Neighbor
District Office UM Church

I have lots of wants but none are needs. There are way too many families hurting now not to help them.

I would also like to give money for the arts and music. I feel a well rounded education includes both of these.

I have never purchased a lottery ticket so I'm just a dreaming.......

"I have never purchased a lottery ticket so I'm just a dreaming.......
posted by jackie on Mar 29, 2012 at 07:03:13 pm"

You are a very smart lady, Jackie.

“Monorail, Monorail, Monorail…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEZjzsnPhnw

To complex of a question to give an honest answer. Probably a lot of local charities.

Funny side story though. When I moved to Houston, TX for fun I bought my first and only ticket. That night I had matched the first 4 out of 5 numbers and my fifth was only off by a digits. Not knowing and frustrated I tossed it only to find out later I would have qualified for a partial win for being so close. Definitely not millions but could have walked away with several 100k (supposedly).

Haven't played since.

I'd buy all of our public schools new text books, and pick 20 random hard working families in need and pay off / buy them a sustainable home and furnish it.

I would offer 500 million to solyndra to move to Toledo after they come out of bankruptcy

Why all this charity, nonprofit stuff? What is wrong with profit? People come on! We are Capitalist - please do not think profit is evil for God's sake! I love my fellow man too much to give him noney without allowing him to render a service to me in exchange.

Strange coincidence - An article in the Detroit Free Press today uses that same exact figure - $500,000,000.00 request for a loan. You can see all the good building an economy around the government dolling out money to help the poor has worked there.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120329/NEWS15/120329050/Rep-Hansen-Clarke-seeks-500-million-federal-government-loans-Detroit

To honor my mother and father, I would fund their small church to the extent that it never had to worry about paying the electric or gas bill, nor run out of supplies for women and children who come for aid.

I would find as many small charities as I could to give donations anonymously. I want to help the charities that people run out of love and service--not "corporate" charities (they get enough funding). Any "charity" with tons of overhead costs--you're out (this means you, United Way).

I'd buy a local AM signal and recreate the old CKLW 'Big 8' Drake Top 40 format, circa 1971 --complete with heavy reverb and an insane newsguy doing "20/20" news. Just for my personal amusement--I wouldn't even care if anybody listened!

(go ahead...click on the link. At the 3:38 mark, listen to "EJ the DJ"--otherwise known as Elton John!--on the Big 8!)

Finally, I would dangle money in front of every sleazy politician in this town and watch them dance, debase, and soil themselves in a vain effort to cater to my whims. BWAA HHAAAAHHAAHHHAAAAA BWAAA HAAAA HHAAAAA HAAAAA

Why all this charity, nonprofit stuff? What is wrong with profit? People come on! We are Capitalist - please do not think profit is evil for God's sake! I love my fellow man too much to give him noney without allowing him to render a service to me in exchange.

I said I would do something to create jobs.

If the ticket is sold in Ohio, the state will get a $23 million tax windfall.

$540-million Mega Millions lottery has states anticipating tax jackpot

I can't resist. Okay...

No kill animal shelter for dogs, cats, horses, birds and exotics.
Shelter for battered women - one that accepts dogs, cats, birds and kids.
Groups homes for the mentally ill.
Gun Owners of America and similar organizations.
Church gets 10%
Missionaries in third world countries get 10%
Salvation Army, for certain sure.

Like OHT said, United Way is OUT!

After taking care of my family and close friends I'd likely start traveling, and given the fact that money isn't an object or obstacle I'd invite a bunch of people from TT to go along with me. Hey, it's no fun if I can't have a good mud slinging argument with OldHomeTown, Mom2, INeedCoffee, AnonymousCoward, PaulHem, Pink_Slip, MaggieThurber... okay, maybe not Maggie, but what about HistoryMike? He's pretty far to the left. And who could forget McCaskey? I could... but then I eat something that disagrees with me and he surfaces like a WWII U-boat off the Carolina coast.

And I could probably afford to track down Darkseid and get him to send a few messages to McCaskey for old time's sake.

MaryCooksalot for Mayor!!!!

I would build the perfect Mexican restaurant for Foodie, and I would promise to never change any recipes once the place got popular. And if I had any money left over, I would buy as much land as possible in the Oak Openings Region to save it from development.

AnonymousCoward's "If I Win A Huge Lottery Jackpot" List:

1) Call Warren Buffett, ask him how to hell to invest it so I can turn it into multiple billions.

2) Leverage stock ownership from those investments to reform Corporate America to rein in executive compensation and all the other excesses that benefit the 1%.

3) Every time I double or redouble my investment, cash out a large chunk and chaotically dole it out to random charities that aren't huge bureaucracies. Like, I dunno, taking it out in solid gold coins and shoving them under the doors of random really poor churches, while leaving burning sacks of poo and appropriate Bible quotes outside the mega-churches whose A/V/sound/lighting systems put most theatres to shame.

4) Hostile takeover of News Corp.

5) Bring Back Crystal Pepsi.

6) This line intentionally left blank.

7) Create a movie studio that doesn't just re-hash old shit or make crappy "let's ignore the book entirely" movies from books.

8) Generally fuck with people's perceptions.

After I win it, I'm gonna tell the "occupy" crowd, "yeah, I'm now the 1%, fuck you". :-)

Own more than 1 tv!

I would buy one of the many surface parking lots downtown and build a world class disco from the ground up, saving some spots for customers, of course. Toledo has a ton of bars but hardly any dance clubs.

I would also re-build one of the old downtown theaters, like the Paramount, from original blueprints.

I'd do everything Johio mentioned, adding the removal of the stupid, I'll-conceived Tarta bus loop that has cut off the central core downtown. Also, I'd like to see a light-rail as well to bring more people downtown daily.

^ ill-conceived (damn you auto correct!)

AC:
5) Bring Back Crystal Pepsi.

:)

madjack:
After taking care of my family and close friends I'd likely start traveling, and given the fact that money isn't an object or obstacle I'd invite a bunch of people from TT to go along with me. Hey, it's no fun if I can't have a good mud slinging argument with OldHomeTown, Mom2, INeedCoffee, AnonymousCoward, PaulHem, Pink_Slip, MaggieThurber... okay, maybe not Maggie, but what about HistoryMike? He's pretty far to the left. And who could forget McCaskey? I could... but then I eat something that disagrees with me and he surfaces like a WWII U-boat off the Carolina coast.

And I could probably afford to track down Darkseid and get him to send a few messages to McCaskey for old time's sake.

A TT cruise! (Who would be the first one thrown overboard?) ;)

Danneskjold:

No one in this thread said anything about profit being evil (except A/C, but he was yanking chains). I selected mostly non-profits because: 1) they have the experience and infrastructure needed to make wise uses of the cash; 2) they always need money, because they are always allocating what little cash they have; and 3) they have accountability mechanisms in place.

I would not throw money around to a bunch of individuals and hope it cures problems. In my experience people value more the things that they had to work for and for which there was delayed gratification. That being said, food banks provide emergency supplies to people in dire need, and I don't think delayed gratification should be a requirement for a basic meal to a hungry person - heck, they have already gone through the delayed gratification if they have empty pantries and stomachs.

One of the reasons I like Habitat for Humanity is that the house recipient is expected to put sweat equity into the home being built. Yeah, I know Jimmy Carter has been involved and stuff, but have you ever been on a HFH build? Pretty inspirational.

On a more general note: I find it puzzling that you wanted to make this a political debate. I thought this would be a fun thread about what-ifs, but in two posts you tried to steer the conversation away from "what good could you do if you won Mega-Millions" into "My God, what is wrong with you folks for promoting laziness?"

I would think that a thread about voluntary individual charity - even hypothetical - would be something even the most diehard free market ideologue would warm up to.

Maggie:

I like the challenge donations idea - lots of leverage to help motivate others to give to a cause.

JR:

Good point about expanding nature conservancies - I completely forgot about how such comparatively little money can have a profound effect on local ecosystems. Imagine being able to purchase and set aside another 10,000 acres of land or more!

Oldhometown:

"More music - CKLW!!! The Motor Cityyyyyyyyy."

Ah, I grew up in Detroit listening to the likes of Ted "the Bear" Richards, Charlie O'Brien, and Byron McGregor. Little did I know as a kid what a powerhouse the Big 8 really was.

madjack:

Great idea about group homes; this is a segment of the population that has really been underfunded for a long time.

Hold on to your hats people, I agree with annonymous coward:

though I would have used different language...LOL

I'm with Dannjeshgudiuhnold...

Instead of all this charitable talk (what a load of crap) I would start for-profit businesses that could better accomplish the same goals. For instance, an ALL-kill animal shelter/restaurant. All the hippies want to know where their food is coming from; this way, they could pick from a specific neighborhood. And, instead of a Monorail boondoggle like in Detroit, we could borrow from another forward-thinker and start a homeless powered rickshaw company. I would, however, build the group homes MJ suggested, as there are a number of folks on this board who would benefit from a bit more supervision :-)

Profit isn't inherently good or evil. Now, if someone decides that they need to line their pockets for greed's sake, because it's a big game of how high can you go on the Forbes Richest People list, or some other prick-waving dick fight over who is the biggest baddest fish in the ocean, that's evil.

when do they release the winning numbers?

Drawings are on Tuesday and Friday evenings - 11 pm, I think. The winning numbers are usually scrolled on the botton of the screen some time during the 11 pm news.

ohiolottery.com posts the numbers as well.

I think I'd focus a lot of my efforts on making Toledo a more attractive place for college grads. Everyone knows the situation now, and while lots of jobs have been added in the last year or two, our city is still pretty heavy blue collar. It would be nice to spread things around a bit more.

I can think of two ways I'd do this: one would be more of a shot in the dark. Google sets up data centers across the country. One of their biggest criteria for locale is energy costs, as they use a TON of it. So, let's kill two birds with one stone here, and instead of just offering low-cost energy, let's give them free energy - courtesy of a large grant to a local solar company. This way, we would 1) persuade Google to establish a data center that would be providing 250-300 high-paying jobs, and 2) a local solar company would get a high-profile project to work on.

The other thing I'd do is work with incubators like the one at the University of Toledo. Helping local startups get off the ground would be a very good way to keep local college grads interested in the city. Especially if you could find similarly-minded startups and help them to work together. Synergy among startups is always a good thing. Look at Silicon Valley / Palo Alto. Put a bunch of college kids working with computers all day in the same city, and all of the sudden, you become the hot spot for that industry.

So yeah, those are some things I'd do.

Winston Zeddemore: Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!

I really do miss Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd on screen together.

Oh crap...now I'll have to figure out what to do with $640 million...

Mega Millions jackpot increases to $640 million

I'd pay ninjas to go around and still Christmas lights…

Okay at $640 million, unless you're young, wouldn't you take the cash payout? Even if you are young, wouldn't it be more financially advantageous to take the cash and invest it yourself rather than have it doled out over 20 years? Would the interest you could earn on the payout be more than the actual total?

I don't know, which is why I'm asking.

The cash payout is $462 million and once you pay roughly 40% taxes on that you're down to only $277.2 million.

But still....

I suppose it depends on whether you are confident that you (or a family member) wouldn't do something stupid with the money and/or get scammed/robbed/bilked by someone.

If you take the installment payments, then you have that guaranteed stream of payments (which I saw was estimated at $19.2 million per year, or something ridiculous like that).

So, if someone robs you blind one year, you'll get that $19.2 million check next year and be OK.

(It is almost impossible for me to imagine a person blowing a cash payout of $277.2 million, but lottery winners have burned through mind-boggling amounts of money before!)

Buy a new butt.

The old one has a crack in it.

I would say that you 'used' to be guaranteed payments. With the way government has been handling money lately, I would not trust them to send me more than the first check - regardless of whether they promise the money is placed in trust. At well over $200 million, I can't imagine any halfway intelligent person not being able to do better, all the past lottery winners notwithstanding.

I would hope everyone would take the cash option.

In terms of taxes, you'll be paying the same amount either way, because even the payouts will put you into the max bracket. So you either pay all 40% now, or you pay 40% over the next 30 years or however long it is. So when it's all said and done, you've lost the same amount to taxes.

As far as the cash payout of $462 being less than the $640 advertised, that's because $462 is the real number. If you choose to take the payments over time, they buy government bonds, and the $640 is what they estimate those to be worth at the end of the payment plan.

Moving here and then buy a minor league baseball team.

I'd take the lump sum. Then invest some and donate some. Of course my immediate family would come first and I would make sure they were set and wouldn't have to worry about anything any longer.

If someone wins tonight, I'll be interested to see if they bought only a few tickets (less than 10) or stacks of tickets.

At this point, with this much buying frenzy, I would be amazed if only one person won. I have a feeling that when it becomes public, we'll find out there are multiple winners. Hey, $50 or $75 million is nothing to sneeze at either. It's not $300 million (after taxes), but I'd take it...

If someone wins tonight, I'll be interested to see if they bought only a few tickets (less than 10) or stacks of tickets.

C'mon...you know how this is going to go:

The winner (if singular) is gonna be someone who's 83 years old and playing $1 for fun every time they go to the grocery store.

OR

The winners (plural) will be a group of workers who play a lottery pool every week and promise to split the jackpot.

What it won't be is an idiot spending $1,000 for a stack of tickets.

In terms of taxes, you'll be paying the same amount either way, because even the payouts will put you into the max bracket. So you either pay all 40% now, or you pay 40% over the next 30 years or however long it is. So when it's all said and done, you've lost the same amount to taxes.

Only if the tax brackets remain the same for 20 years would you pay the same amount--unlikely. However, since I would favor certainty over variability in this case, I'd get the cash lump too...

I know many lottery winners blow through their entire winnings quickly, but if you took the payout and just earned a simple 3% interest on it each year, you'd be earning $8.32 Million - every year.

Most people smart enough to hire someone to help manage that much money will probably earn more than 3%.

But $8.32 million a year in simple interest?

I'd be happy with just the interest alone. LOL

I know many lottery winners blow through their entire winnings quickly, but if you took the payout and just earned a simple 3% interest on it each year, you'd be earning $8.32 Million - every year.

Most people smart enough to hire someone to help manage that much money will probably earn more than 3%.

But $8.32 million a year in simple interest?

I'd be happy with just the interest alone. LOL

sorry about the double post...wind is wreaking havoc with my internet today

Yeah, it will more than likely play out one of those ways. I should have qualified "stacks of tickets" as an office pool. The person who just dropped the equivalent of their car payment on lottery tickets isn't winning.

Speaking of an office pool, anyone setting an over/under on how long before the first lawsuit is filed if an office pool wins tonight?

Speaking of an office pool, anyone setting an over/under on how long before the first lawsuit is filed if an office pool wins tonight?

My office pool will probably win, because I forgot to put in my dollar this week.

Just in case a TT'er wins tonight (Ohio gets a few mentions).

What To Do After You Hit The Mega Millions Jackpot

I would donate my money to youth programs

i would create an endowment for the old west end association, the museum, arts commission and the toledo school for the arts

i would pay off and fix up my house, and give a small chunk to my close friends

and i would take the longest vacation of my life

I would buy the closed Northtowne mall, and have it converted into an enclosed, secure condo village. Key cards would be needed to enter the "neighborhood". I'd have several areas available to open pubs, restaurants, bar/grill type places.
People from the outside could get into those areas, but couldn't enter the condo neighborhood. Imagine, being able to go take a walk at 3am if you feel like it and be secure doing so.

Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacestation....

I'd have my own wing installed.

Invite my friends and family up to hang out.

History Mike,

I’m actually devoting less time to the political aspects of most of the TT threads. If I were a better Catholic I could claim a Lenten fast. If I were to really drag this into a serious discussion I would have expressed my disrespect for the lottery and the affects that it has on people with the least amount of disposable income that should be using funds for necessities but I am “not trying to go there” realizing, as you said, it’s more of a fun thread and I recognize that. Despite my seemingly non-charitable character even I in good conscience don’t feel comfortable running the numbers racket (aka the Lottery) on people who are making minimum wage or are on public assistance. I am in contact with people in the community in these states and it’s really sad when they talk about playing the pick 3 or other lottery games on a regular basis.

I do become curious as noted above on why there is immediate support toward non-profit or charity even in a fun thread such as this. You seem to have a better knowledge or familiarity then I do with non-profits. Part of my curiosity stems from my “perceptions” of non-profits. Accountability is respectable in my book, especially knowing that money that one believes is being spent to provide such and such service is being used wisely and not on providing paying jobs for a few who set up the nonprofit while enlisting the unpaid help of volunteers donating their time to what they believe is a good cause.

I have always had a conflict of conscience of “when to give” since pain is often the ultimate motivator to changing behavior. Whether it is losing weight, curbing an addiction or improving ones lot in life people often have to hit that peripheral bottom before that desperate climb upward. As sad as it is comfort, though well intentioned can often be an enabling mechanism which allows a person who is engaged in a destructive path or unproductive cycle to stay where they are without making changes. In my opinion more times than not charity, though well intentioned is a sword that ultimately strikes down the person we wish to help. Therefore charity or even simple comfort must be used with extreme caution. I have been both the recipient of charity in this regard and extended charity in this vain as well but always in drops, never buckets.

If I were actually given ½ a Billion dollars that HAD to be spent on NW Ohio I would recognize that I would require business people with greater knowledge then myself and request their assistance. The first step in that process would be to identify the businesses in the area that have been the most responsible at maintaining profitability and employing local workers. The Anderson’s comes to mind – Owens Corning comes to mind. In that regard I would probably seek guidance from these and similar companies to see how that money could be used or invested to ultimately grow or expand those existing successful businesses that are already rooted in the community and have proven they are responsible. I would not be of a mind to spread that money to the Food Banks and missions, in fact literally the thought of that is frightening even in jest because I know how damaging that would be to the community (IMO).

I rarely learn with my lips and as “when to give” is often one of the things that vex me most topics where I shake my head in confusion are the ones I need input such as the one you wrote describing your experience with non-respectable non-profits. Maybe my perceptions on the non-profit arena is off base and I should research the benefits of well-run organizations.

MonoRail!

I look at non-profits with the lowest overhead going to its directors. I worked in the non-profit arena and there are quite a large number of variables in this area.

Low overhead of local projects include some of these.

Habitat for Humanity
Cherry Street Mission
Feed Your Neighbor
Salvation Army
Seagate Food Bank
Mobile Meals

Most charities run by different religious groups are funded by their national churches. When you give to them there is no extra overhead on the money you are giving

Helping and feeding hungry and needy people is what I feel is my obligation in this world. I have been needy and hungry and I relate to their miseries. It is not where I am in the world today but the road I traveled that influences me.

I would buy Mike Bell a one way ticket to China on the condition that he had to take Lloyd Jacobs with him.

Amen to that.

Winning tickets sold in Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland.

Guess we'll just have to make do with an "ordinary" $20 million dream for the next drawing...

One of the winners bought tickets for an office pool, but is claiming the winning ticket was a separate purchase and won't share. Office pool is challenging it. Looks like they trusted the wrong person to buy the tickets.

That's why copies of the numbers should be distributed to the rest of the pool before the drawing ever takes place!

One of the winners bought tickets for an office pool, but is claiming the winning ticket was a separate purchase and won't share. Office pool is challenging it.

Sounds similar to this case:

Yahoo: $38.5 Million Lotto Winner Cheated Co-Workers Out of Jackpot, Court Rules

For most people, sharing a $38.5 million lottery jackpot with five co-workers is a deal they could live with. But it was apparently too much for Americo Lopes, who a jury found guilty of cheating his colleagues out of their rightful share of winnings.

Lopes and his co-workers at a New Jersey construction company took part in a lottery pool going back to 2007. But in 2009, when Lopes discovered he had the winning Mega Millions ticket, he claimed to have purchased the winning numbers on his own, rather than as part of the company pool.

After a unanimous jury decision on Wednesday, Lopes must now pay each co-worker a pretax $2 million from the jackpot, according to a spokeswoman for the Superior Court in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

The Star-Ledger reports that Lopes left the courtroom saying in Portuguese, "they robbed me."