World’s largest lottery jackpot has folks dreaming big

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

From San Diego all the way up to Bangor, Maine, people are seeing green.

The possibility of winning $1.6 billion is sending folks flocking to convenience stores and other outlets across the country in an attempt to pick the six winning numbers and stake claim to the world’s biggest lottery prize that will be announced at 10 p.m. today.

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot today in the 10 p.m. drawing are roughly 1 in 302.5 million, but that hasn’t stopped Charles City residents from joining the crowd thinking about become rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Joan Dunn of Charles City didn’t hesitate when asked what would be the first purchase she would make after winning the top prize.

“I’m going to buy a new car — a red convertible,” said Dunn, who bought one ticket for the upcoming Mega Million drawing, minus the Megaplier option that increases the payout on smaller jackpots.

Dunn said she would buy a new house and give some of the money to charity. She’d also make sure her four kids, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren got to share in the wealth as well. Then she remembered one more person in her life who would probably want some cash, too.

“I suppose my husband would have to have some,” Dunn laughed. “I want that red convertible first.”

Julie Endelman, a cashier at Buy Low North in Charles City, said she has sold many lottery tickets over the last week, but she has yet to purchase one herself.

“When it gets that big, it’s crazy. It’s craziness,” said Endelman. “It’s way too much money for one person to have. It’s dangerous for somebody, I think. That’s my take on it.”

If one lucky winner decides on a one-time cash-option payout, he or she will net in the ballpark of $904 million. There is also an annuity option that offers the total jackpot amount, but that is paid out over the course of 29 years.

And, of course, income taxes will likely be due on either option — 37 percent federal and about 9 percent if the winner is an Iowan.

Leeana Leslie, a cashier at Casey’s in Charles City, said lotto sales are brisk, to say the least.

“They’ve been going crazy,” said Leslie. “It’s going like hotcakes.”

Rosemary Meyer, from Charles City, stopped into the local Casey’s to make sure she upped her odds by purchasing several Mega Million plays in an effort to reel in the big money. Meyer said most of the money, should she win, would go to charity. Just what specific charity, she didn’t know.

“Help out whoever needs it — give some to the church,” Meyer said.

Meyer would also help her extended family out with things like paying bills and helping her many grandchildren through college. Like Dunn, there’s plenty of people in her family to dole out the money to. She said she has five daughters, five sons-in-law, 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

All but six states — Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, Alabama, and Mississippi — participate in the Mega Millions lottery and offer a chance of becoming mega-rich.

Colwell’s Maureen Ruane said she would be satisfied with just a seven-figure payout.

“I’d be happy with just a million,” said Ruane.

Ruane bought one Mega Million ticket with the megaplier, plus two PowerBall tickets.

“I’m not going to forget that. You can’t rule any of them out,” said Ruane. “It’s worth a shot. You can’t win if you don’t try.”

The PowerBall jackpot has also ballooned to the gargantuan sum of $620 million, already cracking the top five of the biggest U.S. jackpots in lottery history.

It sounded like Ruane would get the most satisfaction in finding ways to give away the cash and help people out with the lottery winnings.

She is chairwoman of the Floyd County Veterans Affairs Commission and just got back from a meeting there on Monday when she picked up a couple lotto tickets at Buy Low North. Veterans would be the beneficiary of some of the money Ruane would win should she pick all the winning numbers. 

“I’d have a heyday giving most of it away,” Ruane added.

“What’s one person going to do with that much money?” said Ruane about the jackpot figures.

She’d still pull the trigger on a few expensive luxuries for herself, though.

“I’d probably just buy a little ranch somewhere. I’m not too fancy,” Ruane said, smiling.