The next Mega Millions jackpot could reach $ 2 billion

More: Lottery: wait! Read these tips before joining this Mega Millions office pool

At one point, Floridians bought close to 550 tickets per second last weekend, before the stakes nearly doubled, from $ 868 million to the current bonanza. Some convenience store managers ended up billing $ 999 million because they only had room for three digits. Others have improvised handwritten signs to reflect the actual figure.

The lotto fever became so intense on Monday that the Mega Millions website crashed.

That was $ 1.6 billion. Rising up to $ 2 billion would be downright absurd. Consider that the difference of $ 400 million has been paid in a Mega Millions jackpot only seven times since the creation of this multi-state lottery brand under the name Big Game in August 1996.

Suddenly, Wednesday's shot on the Powerball seems derisory at $ 620 million, just like the previous record of $ 656 million recorded by Mega Millions, shared by the winners of the 30 Illinois, Kansas and Maryland on March 30, 2012.

The increase in the amount of the reward was not accidental.

Two years after Powerball increased its chances of winning, but also its potential attractiveness, as the size of jackpots increased in the weeks without victory, Mega Millions followed suit last October. The cost of the tickets doubled to $ 2, the starting price was set at $ 40 million and second – tier payments of $ 1 million were added.

As the potential spin-offs accumulate, strange numbers attract attention and media gossip, which arouses the interest of members of the public who, as a general rule, would not buy it. no tickets.

Carpenter Matt Carlson, 33, entered his neighborhood convenience store on Monday to buy an energy drink. He noted that the $ 1.6 billion figure was Mega Millions.

"I do not even know how it works," he said. "I just know they have a drawing, right?"

Indeed, five of the ten largest US companies have been in the last three years, not counting the one that is imminent and which would be the largest of them all.

But, although colossal in every way, payment figures are not quite what they seem. Anyone claiming tonight's prize should choose the 30-year annuity to raise the entire $ 1.6 billion. Most winners opt for the cash award, which in this case has gone from about $ 904 million to $ 913.7 million, lottery officials said Tuesday.

And according to the states, the taxes payable could absorb nearly half of this total, the maximum rate of 37% provided for the federal government.

Fund managers also advise lottery players to be wary of the common pitfalls that have thrown some of the previous winners into financial ruin. Jay Schechter of Singer Xenos Wealth Management in Miami said some of these pitfalls include:

• Buy expensive luxury items, such as luxury cars and jewelry, which tend to depreciate.

• Make risky investments, such as buying or opening a restaurant, without realizing their failure rate.

• Support financially many relatives and friends without understanding the costs.

• Live generously while neglecting to put money aside.

None of these concerns deterred Gabriel Ortiz, 28, of Oakland, who traveled to San Francisco on Monday for a job interview with the post office and decided to To buy lottery tickets at another place after being emptied of his previous 25 drawings.

Ortiz, who recently quit his job at a bakery, dreams of buying homes for his mother, grandmother and sister, as well as another for him and his younger brother.

But he would not withdraw from the job market if he managed to win the big win, at least not right away.

"If I had won, I would probably work for a few years," he said, "because I would not want anyone to think I'm just a billionaire."

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