Powerball, March Madness, gambling run amok!

March 23, 2013

The gambling gods are going crazy today.

The men's NCAA basketball tournament is in full swing and tonight's Powerball multistate lottery jackpot is at $320 million (and growing!).

I don't have any money on March Madness results, but I did buy a Powerball ticket.

Yep, that's my 1-in-175-million shot at the jackpot below.

Feel free to play those same numbers, but I must warn you, I never win anything!

Still, when the payout gets huge, I do drop a couple of dollars on a ticket.

As you can see, I've opted for the cash payout of $198.3 million. I would, however, be fine with the paltry total payout of just $1 million. The odds on winning that smaller amount are just 1 in 5 million.

Or I'd take even just enough to pay off my mortgage.

And I promise to give some to charity.

And, oh yeah, pay my taxes.

Taxes aren't an issue when your lottery ticket wins big. Lottery officials take out the taxes upfront.

But if you win a smaller amount, either with your Powerball picks or from your March Madness office pool or any other bets or games of chance, today's Daily Tax Tip reminds you that those less luctrative gambling winnings are taxable income, too.

The Internal Revenue Service thanks you in advance for your tax compliance honesty.

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