Would you be happy if you won a big lottery like the one in Nebraska? I likely would not.

I'd be surprised since I never buy lottery tickets.

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Life is like a box of chocolates. All of your choices are bad for you.

unh unh

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clear skies

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. CARL SAGAN

Mak: Pass the pepperoni please.
Fazor: "Hail, Bautainia! We pledge our hearts to thee! Science and woo, some babbling too, and astron-oh-meee!"
slang: And it made ash out of yew and tree.

Of course I would. I would give most of it away to charities and organizations.

Would my life be better or worse if I didn't have to worry about money? Better, obviously.

Though the sheer strangeness of winning a lottery when I don't buy tickets might send me insane, I agree.

Obviously I'd be ecstatic. But ask me again after a year.

Frankly, I'd be satisfied with a $500,000 win. Then again, I don't play the lottery.

I would have to deal with a few new stresses, but I think that knowing what some of the big concerns are, I could successfully navigate them and be happy.

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Forming opinions as we speak

I would love it, I am far too busy to work, it gets in the way, about £5 million would set me up lovely to see through a variety of projects I am involved with.

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A really big one? After paying off the bills and hiring a financial advisor with no power of attorney, I'd take a few million and vanish into Las Vegas or some other modern Sodom/Gamorra and do things that would shame the average person into a bush induced stroke till the pocket money ran out.

Then I'd spend a week or ten recovering in a bungalo on Maui, and finally, maybe I'd do something productive with what's left.

This is assuming a final in-pocket payout of at least 15 million.

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The last time I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, I was informed by my doctor that it was just gas.

Only if I could remain anonymous.

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- Learn a lot teaching others.

I think I would still be happy, even if I had millions of dollars.

As I've said before, this is all speculation, because until a person has the opportunity to live something, they can not KNOW what they would do. (To KNOW something is to say it is an established fact that can be known, and until it becomes established fact that a person has won the lottery, they do not KNOW what winning the lottery is like or how they would behave).

That being said, I'll play along. I think I would:

- Set up a trust. With a prize of $20 million, you could take $1 million out to play and have fun for a year, invest the balance, and never ever touch the $19 million. At the end of every year, pull out the dividends, minus inflation, and do what you like with your time. Maybe leave a little extra behind just to be safe. Any investor worth their weight in salt should be able to generate at least $1 million per year, clear and free. I guess I've hit the point in life where time is worth more than money; so I'd use the money to make the most of my time.

- semi-retire. Pretty sure I'd continue working part-time, probably a few months per year. Just do some contracting work for a couple companies I enjoy being around.

- Coach more kids teams. I do this about 8 months per year now. If I didn't have a real job, I'd do it year round.

- Agree with jrkeller; give lots away. Probably give a bunch to Girl Scouts, cancer research for children, set up some endowed scholarships for female athletics in my area, etc.

Course I might spend most of it on fast cars, wild women and top-shelf alcohol; and putz away the rest on less *useless* items. I'll find out if I ever get tempted by say, . . . winning the lottery.

EDITED TO CHANGE USEFUL TO USELESS IN LAST PARAGRAPH.

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Don of Borg - Cool, Calm, Collective.

"Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I don't think I would like to have so much money. I think it would be boring.


Titana

I'd start my long delayed world domination plan

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Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

You're not that long lost world-dominating-turtle-guy are you?

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Don of Borg - Cool, Calm, Collective.

"Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I guess it depends on how quickly I can change my phone number to something unlisted.

Semi-seriously, my tastes are relatively frugal in the grand scheme of things. There's a point after which money has no further use for me. I can't imagine what I'd do with much more than 250K/year. So, I'd set up a pair of trusts, one that is risk-adverse from which I draw my minimal expenses. Another trust which is more aggressive from which I draw my fun money.

A back-of-envelope wild guess suggests 50 mil is enough to cover my most extravagant needs forever. I'd take 100 mil of what's left and spread it around my family (all three branches) and friends.

My "worthwhile" time would be spent doing some philanthropist thing or another. Thinking back to the time I'd been ripped off by a defense contractor, I'd be tempted to set up (and run) some charitable organization that does troubleshooting for the lack of a better term. Something to help whatever "little guy" abused by the system (corporate or government), having fallen through the social safety net, and have no recourse for relief. Perhaps a lawfirm with decent lawyers who would be willing to settle for a comfortable salary so they can concentrate on referred pro-bono work.

One way or another, BAUT would have guaranteed hosting for as long as Phil and Fraser want to run the place. And JREF would be rubbing Sylvia and Uri's noses in a 10M prize rather than just a 1M prize.

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And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling [faces] lyin' to ye' everywhere ye' go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.

I'm an experimentalist, I need to determine the answer experimentally. I am looking for funding for my research; I believe $25 million should be enough. I promise to have a published report on my relative happiness within two years of receiving full funding.

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At night the stars put on a show for free (Carole King)

One Earth, One Sky - IYA 2009
All moderation in purple

I'll risk it!

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The meek will inherit the earth ... the rest of us will go to the stars.

Probably yes. Please forward all unwanted, unused lottery tickets to my P.O. Box !

It would be nice to find out....

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

I would spend the money on hookers and cocaine and I do think I'd be happy.

Not for long.

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Join the Illuminati

for the rest of my life.

That wouldn't be very long though

Naww, just a frustated world dictator

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Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

There is something to be said for ensuring that life after the lottery win is nice and long. Unless you're a clone of Keith Richards.

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The last time I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, I was informed by my doctor that it was just gas.

Sure it would be fun. If it is more money than yuo could think of what to do with - so what? Use as much as you want, and any you don't have a use for - let it sit there, who cares? You can give it away, do philanthropic things, satisfy your hedonisms, whatever. I live on a very modest income, and I could continue to do so, but if I had such unlimited wealth, if I read about some cool thing going on in Paris, I could up and go, and be back for work monday, and continue my mundane existence.

It means teh difference between that would be cool and hey that IS cool.

You could move into a Park Avenue penthouse, or stay where you are. You could remain in society or move off to Montana and tip your hat to HArrison Ford as he flies by. With or without Callista. You could even have him over for dinner. Have your people call his people...

You could send the $24 a month to feed little Dedino. You could add HBO to your cable. Get your wife that second dress she wants. Better yet, you don't have to choose, you can do ALL of those.

I'm all for it. Publishers Clearing House gave up on me though, I guess it's Lotto or nothing.

Boring? Unless you're just bored all the time, how could having tons of extra money make your life more boring? If you're talking about not working and getting bored because of that - don't quit your job. I would quit the second I found out I was rich and never had work again. I don't think I would even go to work to pick up my toolbox, I would just donate it to someone else there.

The first thing I would do after winning that kind of money would be getting a new car - nothing too fancy, just something to get me around, then I would buy a bunch of land in the middle of nowhere, build a house on it, then invest the rest. I would leave out some 'play money' though, how much would depend on how much I won.

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I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate. All those … moments will be lost … in time … like tears … in rain. Time … to die.

$15.5 million, if we are speaking of those lucky Nebraska winners.

Set up an endowment for the small town college I graduated from. The nature of which would be determined by negotiation, but would be generous.

Invest into the company I presently work at. It's a contract lab that could expand into interesting work (for me at least) if it had the cash on hand. I would also work part-time (or even full-time) until they hired someone who could actually be able to adequately replace me (in my case, that would be harder than you might think). I actually like the place I work at so this should not be considered unnatural.

I might pursue an advanced degree in my present field of biology. . .or simply go to classes accumulating various bachelors in sundry fields.

Visiting every continent on Earth would be a given.

That should still leave me with $10M to retire with in 5-10 years. . .

But it has occurred to me that eating cheese and macaroni in a 10,000 square foot mansion is a waste of resources somewhere. . .

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Keeper of the Jabberwock

What is "bush induced stroke"? Is it something you run the risk of when someone's... umm... "bush" is on your face?

Not that I disagree with your priorities. I'd just pick something on the ocean, like Thailand, instead of Vegas.

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Fiction has to be plausible. Reality is under no such constraint.

Reminds me of what Arnold Schwarzenegger once said:

"Money does not buy happiness. I have $50 million, and I am exactly as happy as I was when I had $48 million."

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Fiction has to be plausible. Reality is under no such constraint.