Update

I've been quiet for a while, mostly because I've been away from the office and not really concentrating on our winnings. So, here's the deal: I re-invested the last of our winnings, as you can see below.

I'm not expecting any great returns on these last tickets, but I'll check on them until they're done and re-invest one last time, if necessary. After that, I'm out. I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be working on John Street, and all of this has been a rather thankless task. For those of you who have thanked me, you're welcome. But for the rest of you, who have tended to nag at me about this, well, you can find someone else to do the work from now on. Indeed, if someone else wants to take over, I'd be happy to pass along the reins of this blog, etc.

In sum, for the rest of the duration of this lottery experiment, good luck to us all. After that, well, you're on your own.

Lottery simulator

Some clever folks have come up with a way to see how you would do if you spent money on the lottery:

Incredibly Depressing Mega Millions Lottery Simulator!

While their numbers are chillingly accurate, I think that they're really just a bunch of party- poopers.

Woman Looking for Excuse to Play Mega Millions Wins Mega Millions

Woman Looking for Excuse to Play Mega Millions Wins Mega Millions

It could happen to us...

Your re-investment

A re-investment from long ago. But still, the MegaMillions is over $100M!

Good luck to us all!

And how much did we win?

Here's where it gets a little complicated.

I buy the tickets for what amounts to 90 days out (13 weeks). However, you can check your tickets at a newsagent machine for up to only 45 days. I think of this as sort of a hot dogs vs. hot dog buns dilemma. Since I was doing a lot of travel in April and May, I missed that first 45 day cut off. This meant that I had to wait until the end of 90 days to take them into the lottery office, where I usually redeem them at the end of the cycle. This time, they told me that the only way I could redeem them was to mail them to Schenectady. So, in July I did exactly that. sending off the tickets in two batches. I have received the check for one of the batches, a total of $51. I am still waiting for the next check, which I can only imagine will arrive soon. In the meantime, I will turn this around and re-invest for a few more weeks before we start collecting again. Technically, we have been out of the running for a few weeks, but the jackpot has been really puny for most of the summer, and I haven't felt too bad about this.

Tickets from March

The first one (in black and white) is left over from the previous round.

The others, in vibrant color, are from this round.

Who is entered in this round (the one that started in March?)

Yes, it has been a while since I have updated this blog. But no, I did not run off to Brazil with your money, tempting as that might have been.

For starters, here's the list of everyone who took part, all 49 of you:

From the 10th Floor:

Linda A.

Susan B.

Alan B.

Linda D.

Randi E.

Laura F.

Nancy G.

Deena G

Steve H.

Peter H.

Julie J.

Scott K.

Regina K.

Vivian L.

Steve L.

Mark M.

Len M.

Todd P.

Marilyn P.

Marion P.

Gillian S.

Joan S.

Amy S. /Madelon R.

Michelle S.

Christopher S (me!)

Judith T.

Evonne T.

Neil T.

Susan V.

Marc W.

Dom Y.

And from the 11th Floor:

Susan C.

Sylvia F.

Michelle G.

Janet G.

Effie G.

Elizabeth G.

Martin J.

Jean K.

Regina M.

Andrea P

Felicia R.

Marilyn R.

Susan S.

Ilene S.

Alan S (Ilene's brother)

Irwin S.

Mary V.

and Linda M. from TLC.