UPDATE: It’s history in the making as the Powerball jackpot grows to an estimated $1.3 billion according to lottery officials.
Obviously, this means no one won Saturday night’s record $949.8 million dollar prize.
It’s time again to buy a ticket and test your luck.
Remember, to win the jackpot all six numbers must be correct. The first five can be in any order but the sixth must be the Powerball number.
Good luck!
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – “Gotta be honest, I’d upgrade my Saints tickets, I would get a new house, and at the end of the day I would hope to be able to invest it, but I can’t promise,” says Eddie Rantz, Jr.
Rantz is one of the many would-be multi-millionaires making their wish lists. Joining a lottery pool is one way to boost your chances of cashing in—but beware!
“Everybody’s a friend until somebody’s actually holding a ticket that can change your life,” says Rantz.
Rantz says the most important rule is to create a friendly contract and put it in writing.
“As silly as it may seem, when you’re talking about investing with a few other folks in your office, the best thing to do is have some type of written agreement beforehand to determine how it’s split,” says Rantz.
Another must: everyone involved should have copies of the digits that could change their destiny.
“So you don’t have a situation where the person involved in the pool buys a 100 tickets for the pool and then buys an extra ticket for themselves and that ticket happens to win and they say, ‘Hey, that wasn’t part of the pool. This money’s all mine.'”
Check those copies and you’ll know for sure!
Rantz says for simplicity’s sake have everyone contribute the same amount, and get the cash from everyone before the drawing.
“If different amounts are invested and there’s nothing in writing and you’re relying on verbal agreements, that could be a big problem if you have 800 million dollars on the line,” says Rantz.
Finally, make sure whoever is in charge is trustworthy, because at the end of the day whoever is holding the original winning ticket—and signs the back—is the person legally entitled to the money.”