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Showing posts from December, 2013

$16 million lottery ticket expires in Florida

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$16 million lottery ticket expires in Florida A $16.6 million cut of a winning Powerball jackpot expired without a claim Thursday night in Florida, the 180-day deadline passing without the lucky ticket holder coming forward. The ticket was purchased at a Carrollwood Market, a convenience store in Tampa, Fla., in May. When 2, 6, 19, 21, 27 and a Powerball of 25 were drawn on May 25, the holder was entitled to a third of a $50 million jackpot. Two other winners claimed their shares in Delaware and Louisiana. In a case where a jackpot ticket is not claimed, “the funds to pay a jackpot that goes unclaimed will be returned to the lottery members in their proportion of sales for the jackpot rollover series,”  according to the site . In Florida, current law requires 80 percent of all unclaimed prizes to be transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, a fund that provides educational benefits to the state such as scholarships and school construction projects. The rest of t

Lottery jackpot: Hundreds of millions unclaimed every year

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Lottery jackpot: Hundreds of millions unclaimed every year More than a half a billion dollars went missing last year — in glove compartments, washing machines, desk drawers and sometimes even literally in the trash. That's because big lottery jackpots that go unclaimed or come close to expiring get plenty of attention, but people fail to cash out on millions in smaller prizes every year — especially casual players who only jump in when the jackpot swells as big as Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, which was hovering around $640 million. NBC News reached out to the 43 states that participate in Mega Millions and Powerball to find out just how much money is left unclaimed at the end of the year. More than 30 states responded, and the results were staggering. In 2013, there was more than $500 million in unclaimed lottery prizes from scratch-off games, Lotto and daily games. While the number fluctuates each year, it can sometimes total more than big Mega Millions and Po

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big:

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Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Scott Adams created a multimillion dollar empire. That empire is more commonly known as”Dilbert.” I mentioned him on this blog before because he gave some of the simplest, most profound advice for getting along with people that I’ve ever heard: Be brief and say something positive. If you’ve read Dilbert, you know Adams understands a great deal about human nature. (Then again I probably relate more to Calvin and Hobbes than most of the western canon.) His new book, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life, has a number of useful insights about life. And what’s really fascinating is they line up with a lot of the research I’ve posted about before. Here are 5 great life lessons he gives and the research I’ve posted that backs them up: Have A System, Not A Goal This is such a powerful distinction. Losing 20lbs is a goal, eating right is a system. Which one do you think provides a better path t