The Record Making 2016 Powerball Jackpot: How Will You Remember It?

Nicholas DiGregory Despite statistical odds of 1 in 292.2 million, three superbly lucky winners picked the correct six-number combination to claim a piece of the record-smashing $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot on January 13, 2016. Each of the three winning ticket holders can claim about $533 million before taxes, or approximately $327 million should they cash in on the lump sum option. The winning tickets were sold in Munford, Tennesee; Melbourne Beach, Florida; and Chino Hills, California. As of January 22, only the Munford winners have stepped forward publicly; John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee, elected to take the cash lump sum of $327 million, paid out over a ten-day period. In addition to the three jackpot tickets, eight tickets for the $2 million prize and seventy-three tickets for the $1 million prize were also sold. One of the $1 million tickets was sold at the Wawa on Urbana Pike in Frederick, Maryland. More than 635 million Powerball tickets were sold across the United States, with approximately 26 million winning tickets for prizes ranging from $4 to $533 million. What It Could Mean to Win Although no one sole winner was able to claim the $1.6 billion jackpot, three winning ticket holders are each entitled to an even cut of the prize money. Each of their shares in the winnings comes to approximately $533 million before tax, or about $327 million in cash. To put into perspective just how massive these winnings are, the jackpot winners could use their pre-tax cash option earnings to:

Buy 177,717,391 gallons of gasoline at the national average price of $1.84 per gallon—or 289,673,913 gallons of gas with the $533 million of the annuity option.
Supply 93,428,571 people in third-world countries with clean drinking water for 20 years—choosing the annuity option could increase that number to 152,285,714 people.
Stay in Switzerland at the Hotel President Wilson’s Royal Penthouse Suite, which is currently the most expensive hotel room in the world at $80,000 per night, for a total of 4,087 nights—or 6,662 nights, with the money from the annuity option.
Buy at least ten private islands in the Caribbean—or double that number with the money from the annuity option.
Build an 86,000-ton cruise ship or a pair of Boeing 787 Dreamliners—while choosing the annuity option would allow a person to do both.
Give every person living in the United States $1.02—or $1.67 per person with the money from the annuity option.
Purchase, at its current value, one of the following nine National Hockey League teams: New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers—choosing the annuity option would allow consideration of the following teams as well: New Jersey Devils, Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers.
Buy 81 Lamborghini Venenos, the most expensive car on the market at almost $4 million—choosing the annuity option would allow the purchase of 133 of the luxury vehicle.

What It Would Actually Mean to Win While the aforementioned options would all be feasible with the gross Powerball jackpot winnings, winning such a large sum through the lottery system imposes a very different reality. While it is common knowledge that taxes must be taken out of the lottery winnings, there is also a slew of other hidden costs that can cut down the jackpot’s net value considerably. Some financial experts estimate that these hidden expenses can cost anywhere from $32 million to $117 million. One such hidden cost is the need to hire a lifetime financial expert. Any FDIC bank is legally required to insure only up to $250,000, making it an insanely risky move to invest in the banks. Professional financial advisors can help with investment decisions and ensure that the money does not disappear, but their services are not cheap. An experienced financial planner can wind up costing millions of dollars over the years. Another hidden cost that the jackpot winners must invest in is a tax attorney. The lottery is taxable income on the state and federal levels, and the burden of figuring them out and paying them in full is dumped almost entirely on the lottery winner. Thus, a tax attorney is vital for navigating through the befuddling world of tax bureaucracy. Luckily enough for the three jackpot winners, none of their states require a state income tax to be paid on their winnings. But one can be sure that all of the winners will need the help of a tax attorney when dealing with the IRS. Beyond these two major hidden costs, the Powerball jackpot winners will probably have to put a small fortune toward umbrella insurance, estate lawyers, begrudging relatives, and many other surprises that come with a big lottery win. While the jackpot win may seem to be the best thing to ever happen to the ticket holders, it will inevitably become a huge hassle for them as well. What If You Had Won? Before the winning tickets were drawn, readers were offered a chance to share on The Catoctin Banner Facebook page how they would use the winnings. Here are some of the things they had to say:

Bryant Hoffman: “First, I’d buy a house. Then, I’d take a trip!”
Donna Houck: “First, I would take care of my family. Then I would buy a lot of homeless homes, and give them a trust to get them started. Have to really think about the rest. Lol.”
Jess Nutley: “I would pay off all my bills, build a house not a crazy size one. Set up a CD for each of my loved ones and their kids. I would pay off all my mother’s, brothers’ and sisters’ bills and my in-laws’ and donate a bunch to so many different places. And go on a huge family vacation for all of them.”
Jo Kerns: “I would help my family first and foremost. Set up college funds for my grandchildren. Then I would build a small cabin by a lake and of course buy me a boat and a new truck to pull it! Love the water and that’s where I would retire. I would also donate funds to cancer research and open a home for children who are abused.”
Wanda Koontz-Myers: “First I would get me a great CPA and lawyer. Then pay all my medical bills. Look into buying a large piece of land to build a rescue to rescue all the fur-babies I could. Hire people to help me take care of the rescue. Then help my family as much as I can out of debt. Then give to 4 Churches that I used to attend. Then help out as many Veterans and Homeless people that want my help and invest the rest and live off the interest!”
Janel Norton: “We decided we would buy the property from Stonewall Acres and Eylers land in Thurmont, build the current allotted amount of small farm houses then donate it all to Wounded Warriors for our Military families who need help healing from protecting our freedoms. The other plus is preserving the charm of Thurmont, we don’t need nearly 200 townhomes here.”
Denny Sweeney: “Hand it over to my wife of course! After that, who knows!”
Ashley Scott-Andrew: “I would like to start a cancer place, something like St. Jude but for adults and children!!! Where the patients would not have to pay a cent for treatment! I would name it after my grandmother, Doris Cullison, who lost her life to breast cancer. I would also start a scholarship up in her name for Mount St. Mary’s University since she worked there and education was so important to her!”
Emily Fry: “With that kind of dough I’d pay off everything I owe and be totally debt free & so would my family & a bunch of my friends! And I’ve always thought I’d take the Catoctin Class of ‘89 and their families on an all-expenses paid for cruise!”