Great idea LMAO

I honestly wouldn't change that much. I love what I do for a living, I'd just be able to do it more without as much need of others. But at the end of the day, there are people in my profession who essentially HAVE won the lottery. And I still see those people at the gym and the office and the bar. So, professionally, not a ton would change.

But personally, I'd immediately build a house in LA (Toluca Lake, actually, which is like Beverly Hills without bad traffic.) Then I'd buy a farm outside of Lucca, Italy.

I don't really give a shit about cars. I'd buy the highest rated American-made electric or hybrid. Because I care about the environment AND 'merica.

How would I tell my friends? Individually, I think. I wouldn't give people money. I'd give them something they need. A new SUV for my buddy who loves camping. Pay the rent for a year for a starving actor friend. Health insurance for my diabetic buddy.

Then I'd probably go split time between london and italy for a couple years, until all of the family members give up trying to reach me.

My home base would probably still be California, but in the Central Coast (think Sideways). I might even just keep a condo in LA for when I have to come in for meetings, but otherwise I wouldn't "live" anywhere. Just constantly go throughout the world.

If I won anything over 75 bucks I'd quit my job.

beer

Take the cash option.

Give half of it away to friends and family right away if it was a big jackpot. My life isn't going to be dramatically different if I have 100 million v. 200 million. But that 100 million could do a lot of good for a lot of people that I care about. Then throw an "I'm rich, bitch" party and get all sorts of ****ed up.

Move somewhere warm. Hire a personal trainer and a top notch golf instructor. Play golf (hopefully well). Drink beers. Bang wife. Repeat.

You'd spend a large amount in gift taxes that way...

Yeah, didn't think of that really. Not that it's an issue I'll ever need to spend much more time on than in this very thread.

Hiring a financial adviser should help with that somewhat. I'm sure there are ways around it.

Hope you have to worry about it some day. Be a good problem to have... If you do, hire someone expert at keeping every penny possible away from the feds. Those bastards will come after it hard.

Absolutely, hire the best. Gift tax is a bitch if you just give straight cash.

I'd buy a brewery. Drink what I could and sell the rest.

tell no one except family and close friends
financial advisor / money manager
Retain lawyer - ongoing
take care of family
build decent home on some acreage
buy big ass RV/Bus - drive the country while house is being built

1. Hire lawyer / financial advisor
2. Take bulk cash payment
3. Probably quit my job...maybe not right away though
4. Set up some sort of trust for family members (with me not in charge)
5. Give a good portion to church/charity
6. Buy an abandoned missile silo complex and do a bad@ss renovation
7. Buy lots of acreage in various locations (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, etc)
8. Live life...travel, learn new things, take up new hobbies

That's why you pick a family member to split the ticket with before claiming it.

Like you hear how a group of people won together

If it was a big amount won then i would probably say my father and sister won the lottery with me. Save gifting tax issues later by splitting the initial prize.

Then i know my immediate family is taken care of and don't tell anyone else.

The plan is a lot different now that I have young kids versus when I was single.

Hire a financial advisor.
Put a big chunk into an investment where I could live off the interest if I needed to.
Give some money to immediate family and a couple of close friends.
I'd probably quit my current job but find something to invest my time in during the times that the kids are in school. I'd make sure that it was something that would allow me to be able to drop the kids off and pick them up each day.
Summer time would be family vacation time. Take them to different places around the world so that they experience as much as they can.
Put away money so that they are taken care of for college.