The Big Win - What are the pros and cons?

The Big Win - What are the pros and cons
I know that this has probably been a thread in the past, but I can't find it.

If you win a big one (6 figures), how do you take it to most profit you and not the government or casino?

If you decide to take it as a lump sum do you have them take the taxes (govt and state) out first and take what's left or do you just let your accountant figure it out or do you just go to the IRS and State Treasury and say "this is what I won, what do I owe you?

Is there a minimum amount that you win that you don't have to take the yearly installments - and how many years are the installments? Do you get some of it right away or do you have to wait a year for the installment?

I know that if you win Powerball or MegaBucks and take the lump sum, you lose 40% right off the top because of the "projected interest" it could accrue over the years and then comes the taxes due.

What scenario would you chose?

For all you experts out there; I was just wondering . . .

As far as any grand jackpots on the IGT slots such as Megabucks, etc., I believe you have the option of taking a lump sum but it will be less than the full jackpot amount. Otherwise, you can take the full jackpot amount over 25 or 30 years in installments. In my opinion, (if I were to be lucky enough to win a very high jackpot) I would always take the lump sum (if possible - depending on which State the casino is in) and worry about the taxes on the next tax season. This will give you time to get tax write-offs to put against your winnings (eg: old lottery tickets/scratchers that were losers, etc.).

For wins in excess of $1MM, get yourself a smart lawyer and accountant to objectively discuss your options and what is best for your situation -- do you have kids, how old are you, do you have anybody that you owe (a lot) of money to, were you part of an office pool, are there good reasons to stay anonymous, etc. In most cases, you are better off taking the lump sum because it's the present value of a conservatively-priced annuity over the term of the payout -- 20, 25 years usually, and you can do better yourself with a mid-grade mutual fund. Your lawyer/accountant will usually help you set up an entity to protect your new wealth (and for God's sake, don't go cheap on this one -- get yourself someone in a big firm that has done this before -- a highly regarded trusts and estates lawyer is a good starting point), which is why you see some Powerball winners as "Smith Family Partnership."

You mean don't go to the jackson Hewitt tax guy seasonal worker at Walmart? Lol

Noleman is right on target if the rules of the win allow you time to consult an attorney/CPA. From my perspective, concealing my personal information would be most important. Not always possible depending on rules/state law. Second consideration would be getting all of the money. The only advantage I see to receiving payments over 20 years is providing an income stream for a period of time and spreading the tax burden over time. One would need to be sure that if they died before receiving 20 years of payments that the payments would continue to their estate until fully paid. All that said, I'm a lump sum man. Pay me now. I pay the government and I invest/distribute the rest.

From my experience there is no cons. A win is a win, just dont be a douche canoe with it. Granted my biggest win was only $40,000 on a slot but even after taxes I had quite the stash for some fun trips and gambling for quite a while.

The one con I guess you have is $500-$1000 wins seem small the rest of your trip after a big win, and you end up higher rolling and sorta kill your fun at $2-$5 bets.