Tonight's the Night
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (109487)
United States
August 30, 2025 6:47pm CST
Tonight, in all likelihood, someone's life will forever be altered by the multi-state, United States Powerball drawing. When jackpot numbers reach $1 billion or more, the anticipation and excitement over that alone drives people to flock to buy tickets, and that makes the possibility of winning even greater.
If something like 86% of the possible winning combinations are in someone's hands, the odds someone will win becomes astronomically higher, and you can bet at these current Powerball numbers, that percentage of number combinations is probably out there.
Somewhere.
Most likely the Powerball will be won tonight and not roll. But that 14% might cause it to continue into much higher numbers. We just don't know.
The cash option is $453.1 million, and it's most likely whoever wins will take that option over the annuity. That means a likely take-home payment, after taxes, of approximately $271.86 million.
If you conservatively invested that amount of money, you'd get an annual payday of around $16.3 million. More than enough to sustain yourself forever and then some. The numbers actually boggle the mind.
So, what are the odds you will win this? 1 in 292.2 million. Even with 13 tickets, my odds are about 1 in 22.4 million. A real longshot if there ever was one.
Either way, the drawing will be held at 10:59 Eastern, 9:59 central. Do you have a ticket? What would you do with the money if you won it?
10 people like this
11 responses
,
Do you usually choose a number? May I suggest 16? Congratulations in advance. 
@YuleimaVzla (1869)
• Maracaibo, Venezuela
31 Aug
That number catches my attention, it's my Kabbalah number 16, it's my date of birth, 16 is my ID number, the beginning and the end also end in 16, the number 16 has marked many things in my life
2 people like this
@YuleimaVzla (1869)
• Maracaibo, Venezuela
8 Sep
@porwest We are all planning so much with the money you are going to earn 
Now all you need to do is earn it and the whole community will be a piece of cake.
Now all you need to do is earn it and the whole community will be a piece of cake.2 people like this
@YuleimaVzla (1869)
• Maracaibo, Venezuela
31 Aug
@porwest Well, why not? If it's in my path and my destiny and life wants it, it could be one of us who buys a ticket and wins and has our life changed.
1 person likes this
@Traceyjayne (5858)
• United Kingdom
31 Aug
Oh, if only I could win the lottery ….what a happy bunny I would be …..
1 person likes this
@Traceyjayne (5858)
• United Kingdom
1 Sep
@porwest I think there are lots of people who would win the lottery and still be miserable. Also people would waste the money and blow it all ….
1 person likes this
@porwest (109487)
• United States
1 Sep
@Traceyjayne That's the case for many of them. The problem is that if people aren't good with money when they have little of it, they won't be good with it when they have a lot of it. As I always say, money problems are never an issue of how much. It's an issue of what one does with whatever they have.
@YuleimaVzla (1869)
• Maracaibo, Venezuela
31 Aug
What would I really do with all that money? I've always had the idea that the day I have a lot of money I can put it to work through a business venture, I'd like to leave a legacy.For my children and not to waste all my money on trivialities
1 person likes this
@YuleimaVzla (1869)
• Maracaibo, Venezuela
6 Sep
@porwest Anyway, as my mother says, we don't do it for seed and whether we like it or not, everything we own will pass into the hands of someone else who will remain alive.
1 person likes this
@porwest (109487)
• United States
6 Sep
@YuleimaVzla A very real truth. It is inevitable that something will always be left behind and someone will get it.
@LindaOHio (203601)
• United States
31 Aug
No one won as you know. I would make some repairs/improvements to my house and then start to hand out money to the cousins, St. Jude, the local Humane Society, Dog Shelter, library.....so many options. It would feel so good....I love the picture, by the way.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (203601)
• United States
2 Sep
@porwest It would be FUN to have that much; and I wouldn't be one of these winners that goes broke.
1 person likes this
@porwest (109487)
• United States
4 Sep
@LindaOHio Me either. I have often said, if I won, would I even bother to hire a lawyer? I know what I am doing with money, and so...I'm not sure I would need anyone's help to figure out the particulars.
1 person likes this
@porwest (109487)
• United States
1 Sep
Most of it would be invested. But of course. I figure based on current money I'd get around $17 million a year from dividends, and that's after taking $10 million of the winnings off the top just to go nuts with. Life would definitely be different.
1 person likes this
@porwest (109487)
• United States
31 Aug
Yep. I saw that too when I checked this morning. It rolled after all. $1.1 billion as I write this. I'll have to get a couple more tickets as well. The odds are terrible, but I can't just not play. You just never know, and it only costs $2, so...
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (160026)
• United States
31 Aug
My odds of winning are 0 because I won't waste money playing Powerball.
1 person likes this
@porwest (109487)
• United States
31 Aug
@DaddyEvil Hey, someone HAS to win. Granted, odds are that someone will not be me. But still... lol
@JESSY3236 (21153)
• United States
2 Sep
My best friend plays the lottery here. Not sure if she plays the powerball though.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (115142)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
31 Aug
I used to play the Powerball lottery many years ago in hoping to win enough money to pay my bills ranging from home to autos, If I did win the huge prize, I would use the bulk of the money to pay my bills and give my relatives a share of the money.
1 person likes this
@ogbenishyna44 (899)
•
31 Aug
wheeew! I ish I can just hit the jackpot once. A million bucks is a lot of money.
1 person likes this
