SJSU professor gives tax tips to California lottery hopefuls
OAKLAND, Calif. - An estimated $1 billion jackpot is up for grabs in the next Powerball drawing, and the potential winnings have some Californians catching lotto fever.
"My dream is, I’m not broke," joked John of San Jose. "If I win, I’m moving to Montana!"
The new jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing would be the seventh highest in U.S. history and the third largest for Powerball.
Some people said they are playing just for the fun of it.
"I usually don’t play," said JudyAnna. "Honestly, I never thought I could win, but then again, how can I never win if I don’t play, right?"
The grand prize has an estimated cash value of $516.8 million.
No Powerball winner as jackpot swells to $1 billion
Monday night’s Powerball jackpot grew to an estimated $900 million and people throughout the Bay Area took their chance at winning. The winning numbers are 5-8-9-17-41 and the red Powerball number is 21. Since there was no winning ticket matching all six numbers in Monday's drawing, Lottery officials project a one-billion dollar jackpot for Wednesday.
Here's everything you need to know:
- Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. Drawings are also live-streamed online at Powerball.com.
- Powerball tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Idaho and Montana, Powerball is bundled with Power Play— a feature that allows a winner to multiply the original amount of non-jackpot prizes—for a minimum purchase price of $3 per ticket.
- More than half of all proceeds remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was purchased.
- Players can buy Powerball tickets in person from retailers in authorized participating U.S. states. In certain U.S. states, Powerball tickets can be purchased online through the state lottery agency.
- Players can also take part through the online lottery ticket company Jackpot.com by visiting the website or downloading the mobile app.
As the Powerball jackpot grows, more people are expected to buy tickets, but the odds of winning the big prize stay the same —1 in 292.2 million.
Mathematician David Margolies told KTVU the stats speak for themselves.
"You might as well just hand over your $2 and call it a day," he said.
The lucky winner will have the option of either taking an immediate cash lump sum or 30 annual payments over 29 years. Both advertised prize options do not include federal and jurisdictional taxes.
"The first thing you would want to do is hire a financial advisor or a tax lawyer," said San Jose State University professor and former IRS attorney Caroline Chen.
The next drawing is on Wednesday, and all winning tickets must be redeemed in the jurisdiction in which they are sold.