--- title: Powerball Jackpot: Here’s a Guaranteed Way to Win Lottery description: Powerball seekers looking to take home the world’s largest lottery loot can guarantee a win by purchasing every single possible combination. canonical: https://time.com/4175605/powerball-jackpot-guarantee-win/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-11T19:00:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:45.528Z og:title: Here’s a Guaranteed Way to Win the Powerball Jackpot og:description: But you might still lose money og:url: https://time.com/4175605/powerball-jackpot-guarantee-win/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9b450718165c630/6988787c428a9e6616cd0e30/powerball-jackpot-guarantee-win.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-LOTTERY-POWERBALL og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s a Guaranteed Way to Win the Powerball Jackpot twitter:description: But you might still lose money twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9b450718165c630/6988787c428a9e6616cd0e30/powerball-jackpot-guarantee-win.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s a Guaranteed Way to Win the Powerball Jackpot > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: What To Do With Your Piles Of Cash After Winning The Powerball [Watch (HLS stream): What To Do With Your Piles Of Cash After Winning The Powerball](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5KvH2pPv.m3u8) (1:55)  _Published 2016-01-11. Before you make a mattress out of money, take these steps to protect your new fortune._  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 11, 2016 7:00 PM UTC  You can buy all 292.2 million combinations to win the Powerball jackpot, but experts say that may be foolish. You can buy all 292.2 million combinations to win the Powerball jackpot, but experts say that may be foolish. Saul Loeb-AFP/Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 11, 2016 7:00 PM UTC Powerball jackpot seekers looking to take home [the world’s largest lottery loot](http://time.com/4175332/powerball-jackpot-lottery-2/?xid=homepage) can guarantee a win by purchasing every single possible combination of numbers—but it could end up costing you more, experts say. There are [292.2 million combinations to play](http://time.com/4171474/powerball-lottery-more-likely-win/), which means a gambler would have to spend $584.4 million to purchase each $2 ticket. With the world’s largest jackpot surging to $1.4 billion on Monday, there’s potentially an $868 million cash payout up for grabs. “People always think if the jackpot is really large, I should buy a ticket,” said Alan Salzberg, 48, a senior statistician at Salt Hill, a statistical consulting firm based in New York. “At the extreme, people might think, ‘Well, I’m relatively wealthy. I could buy all the combinations and I’m guaranteed to win.’” But after taxes, and the likelihood of having to split the earnings with other winners, the roughly $600 million investment plan is doomed to fail, Salzberg said. “I don’t think it’s a very good strategy,” he told TIME on Monday. “It could backfire and you could lose quite a bit of money.” **Read more:** [What To Do If You Win the Powerball Lottery](http://time.com/4169112/powerball-lottery-winner/) In Michigan, the big jackpot winner taking the lump sum would end up with about $610 million after taxes, according to Jeff Holyfield, a spokesman for the Michigan Lottery. That gambler barely breaks even, even before calculating how much will likely have to go to other winners. “Even the most obsessive multimillionaire would quickly realize there are better places to invest that much money,” he said. Players can buy as many tickets as they want, according to Holyfield, but the project itself would be a huge undertaking. “First you have to have about $600 million just lying around, and then you’d have to have legions of people out there assigned to buy tickets and part of that is that you’d need some kind of spreadsheet that is incredibly long,” he said. “If you’re going to spend $600 million doing this, you’re going to want to make sure you truly buy all the possible combinations.” The [odds changed last October](http://time.com/4170885/powerball-jackpot-lottery/) after lottery officials changed Powerball game metrics to make it harder to win the massive jackpot while increasing players’ chances of winning smaller cash prizes, Holyfield said. It’s unclear if anyone has ever tested out the expensive strategy. The Texas Lottery Commission did not return a request for comment Monday. “Theoretically, it could be done. But theoretically, I could fly to the moon tomorrow,” Holyfield said. ## Transcript Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably aware that the Powerball jackpot had ballooned to a whopping $ 1. 4 billion, the largest lottery prize in world history. And if you haven't gone out and snagged a ticket or two, maybe you should. An estimate made before the jackpot hit 800 million, said it would need to be at least 1. 7 billion for the cost of a ticket to be worth it. So we're getting close. So let's say you do end up hitting all six of those lucky numbers. After you stop screaming, here are some smart steps you should take to ensure you make the most of all that money. First, figure out what your money goals are. A wealth management advisor at Northwestern Mutual suggests carefully considering what you need to save for before blowing your newfound cash. After all, little Bobby's college tuition isn't gonna pay for itself. Next, lawyer up. A securities attorney who's represented several lottery winners in the past told USA Today you should assemble a team of lawyers. Certified Public Accountants and financial advisors even before you claim that big prize. These trusted people will help you navigate your tax liability, choose the right investments, and avoid scams. Once you've got your legal team together, it's, It's time to decide whether you want your wining in a lump sum, or in installments over time. Zack's investment research points out, you'll get much less money if you pick the lump sum, and you'll have to pay income taxes on the entire amount in the year paid. If you invest that sum wisely, you can make that money back. But, if your money management skills aren't too great, or if you're still young, you might consider taking the extended payouts, to ensure a solid financial base for years to come. And finally, after winning such a prize, it's okay to treat yourself a little. After all, you'll win over a billion dollars if you score this PowerBall jackpot. A new car or an awesome vacation probably wouldn't hurt. Now that you're all prepped for your big win, make sure you go out and get some tickets. 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