Powerball Jackpot: Lump Sum or Annual Payout?

The stakes are high, the prize is big and the odds are definitely not in your favor. The Powerball jackpot has reached $500 million as ticket sales soared ahead of Wednesday night’s drawing.

The jackpot ranks as the sixth largest offered in North America and the biggest prize in nearly a year. The odds of winning it all? One in 292 million! Residents in west Charlotte say they don’t mind those odds.

“I decided, hey might as well give it a shot. You never know, somebody’s gotta win,” said west Charlotte resident Andrew Rountree.

“Well I just play every week and hope to win,” said Branda Conway of west Charlotte. “And if I do win, I’m gonna help lots of people, not just family members, but poor people.”

Since November, there have been 17 drawings with no winner. If there’s no winner this time, the pot will just keep growing.

Before you get too excited, you should know you have a better chance of being struck by lightning, giving birth to quadruplets, becoming President of the United States, or even being killed by an asteroid!

The winner of Wednesday’s jackpot could claim the pre-tax prize of $500 million through an annuity over 29 years, or in a single pre-tax payout of $306 million.

So what would you do? Would you take the lump sum or the annual payment? The Edgitators battle it out…