First of all, let's briefly popularize the information about the US Powerball after the rules were revised in 2015: each lottery adopts a 5+1 model, with 5 out of 69 white balls and 1 out of 26 red balls as Powerball. All 6 numbers are the jackpot, the probability is 1/292201338, which is much more difficult than being struck by lightning, and the jackpot prize is set according to the floating funds in the prize pool; The second prize is 5 white balls all win, red balls are missed, the probability is 1 11688054, and the prize is a fixed value of 1 million; The third prize is to guess 4 white balls and red balls, with a probability of 1 in 913129 and a fixed prize of 50,000 yuan; There are two kinds of fourth prizes, respectively, you have to guess 4 white balls or 3 white and 1 red, the odds are 1/36525 and 1/14494 respectively, and the fixed prize is 100 dollars; There are also two kinds of fifth prizes, 3 white or 2 white and 1 red, with odds of 1/580 and 1/701, and the prize money is 7 US dollars; Finally, there is the sixth prize, where you guess 1 white, 1 red or only 1 red with odds of 1 in 92 and 1 in 38 respectively, with a prize of $4. The total probability of winning is about 1/25, that is, buying 25 different combinations of numbers at the same time will theoretically have a bet to win, but the chance of being able to return is less than 1 in 10,000, which is much smaller than any other form of gambling The probability of winning.

Raul on the other side of the phone was still very excited about the lottery, what was the day before the lottery single-day ticket sales broke the record, the live TV ratings of the lottery process were the highest ever, and the amount of the single-bet jackpot was the largest ever won by all the gambling classes in the world......

Li Mudi slowed down for a while before he came out of his unwillingness, disappointment, and regret, and watched more than 500 million slip in front of his eyes, only one number missing! No one can easily accept this cruel reality.

Fortunately, Raul also recovered from the excitement at the beginning, but still said happily: "Li, your luck has not been ordinarily good recently, will you continue to buy it in the next period?" It's that the jackpot may not be big. ”

Li Mudi, who had calmed down, was noncommittal about whether to continue to buy, but was very curious about his friend's previous state, "I said man, why were you so excited just now?" More than a million is a print advertisement for you, are you so excited? ”

"Hehe" There was an embarrassed laugh over there, "The main thing is that the atmosphere just now is too warm, the TV station and the Internet here are crazy, more than 500 million grand prizes, you can get so much money with just a small piece of paper for two yuan, who can hold your normal heart?" And...... I want to thank you, man. ”

What kind of meme is this? Thank yourself? Shouldn't you thank him yourself for helping to buy lottery tickets? Li Mudi felt that the two of them were not in the same dimension again.

Without waiting for detailed questioning, Raul gave the answer: "You have won the lottery twice before, and we all feel that good luck is indeed on you, so we also want to participate in this grand prize, you must know that our family has never bought a lottery ticket before." Each of the children picks one of your numbers and picks one for themselves, two bets per person. You know what? Jorge and Mateo both won 10,000, and Maria even picked your second prize number and got 1 million, my God! It's amazing! ”

There are a hundred different number combinations, only one of which can win the second prize, and the little princess actually chose it, and this luck is no worse than herself! At this moment, Li Mudi completely forgot the regret of passing by the super jackpot, but felt that this world is really wonderful, and there will be all kinds of unexpected things happening anytime and anywhere, whether it is good or bad, enriching everyone's life experience, so that they have something to remember before they die.

Hearing that her friend's children also got their luck, Li Mudi was still very happy, especially the very cute little angel, who took the phone after getting her father's permission, personally thanked her Uncle Li, and took Li Muddy to Disneyland to play all day, she paid the bill, which made everyone laugh.

After talking and laughing, Li Mudi said to Raul: "After taking out my bonus, buy a gift for each of the four children, the unit price is less than two hundred dollars, you go and buy it directly, I won't order it online, it's too troublesome." ”

The relationship between the two is very good, so naturally they will not engage in that set of hypocritical push-off games, Raul agreed with a smile, and asked each child to thank Li Mudi on the phone in turn, and their Uncle Li focused on comforting the two young men who did not win the lottery, promising to take them to the Celestial Empire dinner next time they met.

Because they won a big prize, especially the children also got this luck, the two friends seemed very excited, and chatted on the phone for a long time, and finally Raul asked: "The question I asked you just now has not been answered, will you still buy the next Powerball?" ”

"Don't buy it, we Orientals pay attention to moderation, don't overindulge and don't force too much, now this result is just right, so let's go here!"

Raul also gave a sigh of relief and responded: "Great, I'm afraid that after you win the second prize but miss the jackpot, you may lose your balance and become addicted to gambling." This thing is an alternative kind of gambling, and it's okay to buy a few tickets once in a while, but once you get into it, it's dangerous. It seems that compared with us Westerners, you Easterners are indeed more intelligent, and they are also greater in terms of culture and thought, and they are so philosophical in any behavior or even a sentence. ”

This touting is a bit brainless, and regional discrimination can be resolutely not engaged, so Xiao Li did not echo it and exercised the right to silence.

Fortunately, there was no other meaning over there, and I was worried that my good friend would go astray, so this "West-American Dialogue" came to the last topic: "Which account did you transfer the winning money to?" ”

"Yes, the same account I sent you money from. A million smaller, haha, it's almost catching up with all my previous net worth. As soon as he mentioned this windfall, Li Mudi couldn't help but crack his mouth and laugh, otherwise how could there be such an old saying in the Celestial Empire: People are not rich without windfall, and horses are not fat without night grass, what a wise saying!

Just when he was still stupidly happy here, Raul gave a critical hit again: "What a million? You've got a million and four hundred dollars, but you've got to pay taxes, my man. ”

"I'm rubbing! I forgot about the tax! Li Mudi was stunned, the good mood that had just come out of the regret of missing the super prize went down again, this big ups and downs were too fast, and my heart couldn't stand it.

It's not that he doesn't have the consciousness of paying taxes, but that his salary before crossing has not reached the starting point of personal income tax, and he doesn't need to pay additional taxes for consumption in the Celestial Empire, so he has not had anything to do with taxes since he was born. After crossing over, all I got was the salary after the club helped pay the tax, and I usually stayed at home and the training base, even if I bought things outside, it was some food and daily necessities, and I didn't have to pay taxes separately, so I still didn't deal with taxes.

Now after Raul's reminder, it is necessary to react to the fact that it is taxable to buy lottery tickets and win more than $5,000. After deducting 20%, there are still 800,000 left, which is also a big number, only a little less than the one in the passbook, Li Mudi comforted himself.

But hitting others must be a very pleasant thing, especially to his friend, Raul on the other side of the phone gloated a little and said, "Hey! What 20%? Where did you get this number, you were deceived? The United States has clear regulations on the taxation of lotteries, first of all, you have to pay about 25% of the federal income tax, don't think expensive, the federal income tax of the jackpot is the highest 39.6%, in addition to the state tax of the state, county tax and other local taxes. This state tax varies from place to place, and guess what's the highest? ”

"New York!" Li Mudi has started the mode of self-defeat.

“Bingo！ Congratulations, you answered correctly! "This guy is "possessed by Uncle Benshan", but there is the following, "New York's state and county taxes combined are the highest in the United States at 11.22%. But there is a more tragic thing, you know that the American ZF does not allow people who are not in the United States to buy lottery tickets, so your lottery tickets are purchased in my name. I'm now a long-term resident of New York City, and ......"

Without waiting for his friend to finish speaking, Li Mudi took over the conversation: "New York City also has to collect a tax." ”

"Congratulations, you're ready to answer now! Add in the city tax of 3.87%, which adds up to about 40% of the tax. I don't know the exact number yet, but I'll find a financial planner to consult in detail, so the bonus you can get is only about 600,000, man. ”

Capitalism of all evils! Li Mudi, who was formerly in the Celestial Empire, thinks that Western countries should be better in terms of ZF government transparency and protection of the interests of ordinary people, and always complains that every time a special event occurs, it is the people who have no power and no money who suffer in the end, and even the proportion of lottery prizes is the lowest among major countries in the world. But after living in Spain for a while, I realized that the so-called freedom and equality in Western countries were just a play on words between politicians and the wealthy class, and the laws here were only to protect the umbrella of those with vested interests.

Let's just say that this lottery, the return rate is really high, but the actual amount in your hand is far from being as objective as it seems. In addition to the ultra-high taxes, if the winner wants to get the full amount of the prize, he must withdraw it over several decades, and if he wants to withdraw the cash at once, he will lose about 38% of the total prize, which is equivalent to 40% less out of thin air. Taking this jackpot as an example, a winner's theoretical prize is 528.8 million, and if it is withdrawn at one time according to the current ratio, it will become 328 million, and then subtract up to 39.6% of the federal income tax and 15% of the local tax (taking New York as an example), and in the end there is about 149 million left, only less than three of the original 528.8 million, how bad do you say!

Comparatively speaking, the Celestial Empire's tax on lottery wins is only 20%, leaving the winners with eighty percent of the money, which can be said to be not a conscience. Of course, in terms of the specific amount of money, the lottery prize amount of the Celestial Empire has different caps, and compared with those super jackpots in Europe and the United States, it is completely insufficient.

After ending the call, Li Mudi sat on the bed and hummed a short piece of "Singing the Motherland", wanting to continue to supplement his sleep but found that it was nearly half past six, and the phone call had been made for more than an hour! The power of the mobile phone has begun to alarm, this foreign product is really not very carried, and I wonder if I want to change to the domestic product of "charging for a few minutes and talking for a few hours"? Brother is a millionaire now, and the food must match his identity. For breakfast, it's a chicken sandwich, add an extra egg, and don't want cilantro.