Powerball

[Neil D]

Ok, the powerball lottery is up to 340 million Dollars....Asuming that taxes take 1/2, what would you do with 170 million dollars?

Oh, and for the naysayers who want to speak to the evils of gambling, we know that it is a vice.....So please make another thread if you are going to tell us the evils of gambling...THIS THREAD IS NOT FOR YOU.

For the rest of us who like to dream, what would you like to do with the money? And if you are brave enough to tell us, have you bought a lotto ticket yet?

[cricket]

Neil! We play this game a lot in our home; we always end with, "Of course, we'd actually have to play [Powerball] to win!"

First thing we'd do is hire a professional marriage counselor! My husband and I disagree on how to spend this much money.

Second, when we went to collect the money, we'd have it split 7 ways amongst our family (this way we'd not have to pay 'gift tax' to those we'd be giving money to).

That leaves us with 24 million. My husband would get 12 to spend his way; I'd get 12 to spend my way.

My way:

• Retire mortgage
• Retire car payments
• Retire credit card debt
• Repair bathrooms
• Invest 1 million for children's education, marriage expenses and downpayment on houses
• Invest 1 million for retirement
• One million would be spent on "random acts of kindness" (e.g., leaving $100 tips for wait staff)
• The rest (approximately 8 million) would go to local schools and charities

[Neil D]

Quote:

---

Of course, we'd actually have to play [Powerball] to win!

---

Well, I am playing...I have a principle that I am going by....If powerball reaches 100 million, I purchase a ticket. I figure, if I am gonna win, I might as well win big!

What would I do with 100 million dollars.....? Well, what would I do with 70 million?

The first 1 million would go for the purchase of 5 Prius toyotas....One for each of my family members...I would also set aside $500,000 for my kids retirement fund, and my wife and I would only need 2 million in our retirement funds. I would also purchase 5 others prius', to be given away to various needy and deserving church family members that I am aware of, along with 500 dollars for one year insurance.

-2 million would be given to the conference for thier budget.

-20 million would be set aside for 20 SDA schools for trust to supply the 'worthy school' funds.

-5 million would go to Andrews University for experimentation of evangelical methods

-100,000k would be set aside for a trust for ClubAdventist

-500,000k would be given to 5 local churches for evagelical purposes.

The bulk of the money would then be used to purchase propertys, and the brains of 5 MIT indivuduals who would devise ways to produce and distribute hydrogen fuel and encourage hydrogen vehicles distribution.

At least, that is what I was thinking.....

[cricket]

Quote:

---

-2 million would be given to the conference for thier budget.

-20 million would be set aside for 20 SDA schools for trust to supply the 'worthy school' funds.

-5 million would go to Andrews University for experimentation of evangelical methods

-100,000k would be set aside for a trust for ClubAdventist

-500,000k would be given to 5 local churches for evagelical purposes.

---

All worthy things, I think. But, the more and more we talk about this, I have to wonder whether or not the conference, SDA schools and the like would be willing to accept a donation that was "earned" from gambling. Wouldn't this be a violation of standards previously set?

[Neil D]

Quote:

---

All worthy things, I think. But, the more and more we talk about this, I have to wonder whether or not the conference, SDA schools and the like would be willing to accept a donation that was "earned" from gambling. Wouldn't this be a violation of standards previously set?

---

Good question, Christine....

How can one concider it "earned" when the practice is NOT a regular practice? Only when the pot is over $100 million is there >the option< of buying a ticket. And it is only one ticket...If someone is gonna win, why not an SDA who wants to spread some good things around for our own culture?

I suspect that if there was an SDA who won, it would be a test of character as to what he would do withthe moneys...Whether to spend it on himself, [which is the normal reaction] or to use it as a chance winfall and spread it around among others....After all, isn't that what good stewardship is about?

[cricket]

Well, I couldn't quite figure out what word to use other than "earned"...

Anyway, I still have to wonder whether or not the conference would accept it. I, too, would like to give some money to the church--but, I wouldn't want to lose my membership over it.

[Gregory Matthews]

Re: "All worthy things, I think. But, the more and more we talk about this, I have to wonder whether or not the conference, SDA schools and the like would be willing to accept a donation that was "earned" from gambling. Wouldn't this be a violation of standards previously set?"

The above is an excellent question.

1) I believe that there is a General Conferene policy that states that the Church will not accept funds that came from gambling.

2) I also believe that some humans who run the Chruch would be willing to rationalize accepting such.

3) My understanding is that Billy Graham had a policy that he would not accept "tainted" funds. He believed that if his work was of God, God would provide according to the level that God wanted to fund. It therefore would be a lack of trust in God to accept funds that did not come from God.

[Bravus]

Heh - I see this as a real test of convictions for the relevant treasurers... They believe gambling is wrong, but do they believe it is still 'doubling your annual budget' wrong? I would hope so.

I don't buy the tickets: sorry, Neil my bud, but one of my favourite quotes is 'Lotteries are a tax on people who are bad at math'! <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> The difference in your chance of winning with, vs without, a ticket is vanishingly small...

But if I did, some debt relief would definitely be the first priority. Then the ability to buy a house without debt when we move to Queensland. With the kind of money Neil is talking about, there'd probably be some friends and family who'd suddenly find themselves mortgageless... Then some for education and some for AIDS in Africa (this last because I definitely need to do something for someone less privileged, but I can't help everyone, so it makes sense to help some people with whose plight I'm more familiar) and for Aboriginal education in Australia. And then enough invested that working is an option, not a requirement, for both of us for the rest of our lives. Wouldn't stop working because I love my job, but it'd be nice not to be in jeopardy if for some reason I couldn't do it any more...

[Neil D]

Quote:

---

Heh - I see this as a real test of convictions for the relevant treasurers... They believe gambling is wrong, but do they believe it is still 'doubling your annual budget' wrong? I would hope so.

---

I would hope that they would concider this more of a windfall, rather than something that can be budgeted...

concider this....a large amount of money comes to the conference out of the blue...it's an annomoly, not something that is to be counted upon on a regular basis. What could be done with that amount of money that would improve the budget for next year?....It like saying someone pays for your car insurance for the year...what are you going to do with the extra $3000? ...maybe pay off the credit card(s)?....It isn't much, but it definately helps the bottom line in the short run....

Quote:

---

I don't buy the tickets: sorry, Neil my bud, but one of my favourite quotes is 'Lotteries are a tax on people who are bad at math'! The difference in your chance of winning with, vs without, a ticket is vanishingly small...

---

Hmmmmm...I would like to see that math....It is my understanding that your chances of winning are GREATLY improved if you have a ticket as opposed to not having one. The rub comes in realizing that winning the lottery is worse than being hit by lighting....twice.

Nevertheless, for a $1.00, it is cheap entertainment to ponder what one would do with the winnings and decide what truely good works that could come from it. Funding our schools I think would be a truely great enterprise. Creating a business that would suceed, and make a lasting impression upon local society....

What would you NOT do with the lotto winnings?

[Bravus]

The odds of winning Powerball are 1/146,107,962, or 0.00000000683. That number is *awfully* close to 0.00000000, and rounds to give it, hence your chances without a ticket are *awfully* close to your chances with a ticket! <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Of course, there's a whole world of philosophy in the difference between 0 and a very tiny but finite number...

[Amelia]

Bravus, with those odds can you explain why some states have higher numbers of winners than others?

[Dr. Shane]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

for the naysayers who want to speak to the evils of gambling,

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Is "naysayers" another word for saints? [quickly ducking and running]

[Derrell M]

Unless it rolls over again, at least one person will win. As the commercial says, "Somebody's gonna lotto... might as well be you."

LOL to the naysayer saints, and ducking and running.

[Amelia]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

Is "naysayers" another word for saints? [quickly ducking and running]

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Nope, naysayers just have a problem in another area. <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/Nixe_nixe02b.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/mittelgr124.gif" alt="" />

[Bravus]

neigh-sayers are cute, though

[Dr. Shane]

Doesn't the Pope play Bingo? I mean, if the Pope can play Bingo... well Bingo must be the way to go. What are the odds of winning Bingo? Well I guess that would depend on if the Pope is calling out the numbers of someone of lesser characher.

[Doug]

If I won i wouldn't tell anyone at my church I won it. I would just create a foundatiuon and give an anonymous donation.

What I would do with it.

10% = 17 Million anonymous donation for my church.

another 17 Million for the GC.\

$25 million to start a charity foundation for people with vision problems.

$10 million to buy everyone in my apartment building an actual house.

$10 Million split between all the people in my workgroup to buy houses or whatever they want.

Donate $25 million to my High School and elementry schools as an anuity for scholarships for all students. Everyone should be able to attend a christian school for free.

$1 million for Clubadventist.com

$25 to start a foundation to eleminate homelessness, or atleast make a dent.

the rest would be spent with my family. I don't need much, a $500K house in Pasadena, Infiniti G35 coupe and a HDTV and i'm set.

[WayneV]

Neil,

I bought my ticket too. My rule is to by a ticket each time the lotto hits a record dollar amount. And when it comes down to the wire, I hope you're not injured at all when the lightening strikes you each time while I'm on my way to the bank!

Now as to what I would do with the money...

Before I even step forward to collect my winnings, I would hire two attorneys (one business, one personal), a financial consultant, an accountant and a publicist. For the fun stuff, after I paid bills I would want to make some anonymous, discreet donations to my favorite charities. All of my immediate family and my wife's immediate family would probably be treated to new homes. Trust funds for the kids and grand kid. Some seed money for a business start-up. The rest would be invested and left to accumulate and give away strategically over the rest of my life. Or, I might do something different and just blow it on sixteen trips to space, or several hundred H2 Hummers, or some other stupid thing

[Neil D]

Wayne....

It is sooooooo good to see you posting here again....Don't be a stranger, eh?

Quote:

---

And when it comes down to the wire, I hope you're not injured at all when the lightening strikes you each time while I'm on my way to the bank!

---

I think you post this wrong...It was supposed to be YOU struck by lightning twice and ME to the bank....

Quote:

---

My rule is to by a ticket each time the lotto hits a record dollar amount.

---

Yeah, it's not like you are addicted to gambling and pulling a switch all the time for some reward....Like the pigeon pecking so many times before he gets his reward....No, it a discretionary $1 spending spree, in the enterment field of pleasureable wishful thinking...Of course, you can think of it as a tax against thinking pleasently about yourself.

Or you can pleasently think that you are making an investment to your early retirement fund....[ahem] I have always said that my retirement was based upon matching 6 numbers...

[Bravus]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

Bravus, with those odds can you explain why some states have higher numbers of winners than others?

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Two things: the first is that people in some states buy a lot more tickets than in others - and even with the tiny odds, buy enough tickets and they become significant. This also means, of course, that those states spend massively more on tickets than they gain in winnings... And the second is just the nature of random phenomena. Click on this link:

http://writtenpixel.com/flash/blah.html

It's completely random, but if you pretend every column is a state and every black box is a lotto win, you'll see that some states get lots more than others. Random does not mean equally distributed (except over a very, very long time scale).

[Amelia]

Hey that's cool!

[Dr. Shane]

Would anyone be surprised to find out I have never bought a lottery ticket in all my life?

[Gail]

For every time that you buy a ticket and you don't win, doesn't that make you a loser?

Who wants to be a loser on a regular basis?

[cricket]

Guess what!?! I haven't ever purchased one either! Either we are all unbelievable, or we're just another form of normal!

[Gregory Matthews]

I have never purchased a lottery ticket either.