Terms of the Lottery Pools

Last updated 5/23/2005

INSTRUCTIONS TO ENTER

Reply to one of my pool announcement emails. Request the number of shares you want. Each announcement email contains a short "request form". Just fill in the blanks (with your real name and address and mail just that portion back to me. The "form" takes about 5 seconds, and it matters. Please use it. I cannot accept requests that don't use the form.

If you haven't received an invitation from me, send me an email asking why. If I know you, I probably just forgot (sorry!)

I NEED real contact info to put you in the pool. Your information is absolutely confidential (unless we win) but I MUST take orders from real people.

I will respond promptly with a confirmation. All requests must be received by the deadline posted on the page for each pool (it can vary, depending on my real-life that day.) From time to time the deadline changes while the pool is open. It has never become earlier, only later, so if you think you're too late, double-check the page for that pool, you might not be. The deadline is set in order to permit me time go go buy the last batch of tickets, enter, verify, and post them online well ahead of the drawing.

The best payment method is PayPal, assuming you have a cash or debit-funded PayPal account (see my FAQ for more details on that. Send the payment to .

If you need to pay by check, make it out to Marc Lippmann, and send it to 311 Goboro Road, Epsom, NH 03234.

If you have any questions, ask them, but read the FAQ first, it's pretty complete. By signing up, you're acknowledging that you understand how the pool works, and that you accept all these terms.

ALL lottery-related email MUST be sent to . I am NOT responsible for mail I don't receive, read, or process in time. I am very attentive when pools are running, I do my best, and I do this for free.

Sorry to be so business-like. We are talking about millions of dollars here, if we win.

HERE'S HOW THE POOL WORKS:

You buy however many shares you want, at $1 per share.
I buy as many quick-pick PowerBall tickets as there are shares sold.
Any winnings from the pool tickets gets divided by the number of shares, and paid out per share. So, the more shares you buy, the more of the winnings you get. Conversely, the more total shares are sold, the less each one is worth, but the better our chances of winning.

Note the dynamics:

You buy more shares = you get more of the payout.
I SELL more shares = we all get a better chance at winning something.

For example: If I sell 250 shares and we win $5000, that's $5000/250=$20 per share that gets paid to you. Again note: If I sell a LOT of shares, we stand a much better chance of winning, but the winnings will be divided up by the number of shares, so the PER-SHARE payout will be less. Make sure you understand that before buying in.

Here's another way to think about it:

While buying more shares gets you a bigger piece of the potential payout, buying FEWER shares means you take more advantage of the odds of winning SOMETHING. The principle of the pool is all about getting more chances to win than you'd get paying $1 per ticket buying them yourself. So, the smaller your total share in the pool, the more you're taking advantage of the odds. Weird, but true. Most people buy between 5 and 20 shares. I've had people buy 50. I think 20 or 25 is a reasonable balance between odds and payout. More than that loses you too much on the odds. But, I'll sell you whatever you request. If you really want 50 shares, you got 'em.

Remember one thing, though: If nobody wins the jackpot, we're probably going run a pool for the very next drawing. And so on. The pools could go on twice a week for weeks on end. So bet an amount you can afford (and will be willing) to keep betting twice a week, in order to stay in. Just imagine the one who says "oh, screw it" and drops out, only to have the next pool win.

I make no extra money on this. I buy shares just like you do. READ THE FAQ!

If the winnings are less than $1/share payout, then they will be reinvested in the next drawing, until all the money is spent or paid out.

Remember the trade-off. The more shares we sell, the better our odds of winning, and the lower the payout per share. In the past, we've had between 250 and 1000 shares each time.

Each pool is completely separate from the others. There *appears* to be overlap, because each one takes several drawings to wind down, (due to re-investing miscellaneous winnings), but in fact, they are separate. New shares are sold for each new drawing. Leftover money from previous pools is played in future drawings until it wins or it's gone.

This is a trust-based process. By signing up you indicate a) You trust me to administer this fairly, and b) that you will abide by any decisions I might have to make. If that's not ok, don't sign up. If you don't trust me, you obviously haven't been paying attention, and you should bite me and go home. Correspondingly, I'm trusting you to pay me for the shares you request.

All ticket numbers will be posted on my website (www.lippmann.com) in advance of the drawing.

If we payout, you must provide certain documentation for tax purposes. Read the "If We Win" section.

IF WE WIN

The New Hampshire Lottery Commission will pay out directly to pool winners, relatively cheerfully cutting as many checks as are required. In order to satisfy IRS reporting requirements they need some documentation from each winner who is to be paid. That must be sent to me snail mail, FAXed, or a decent, printable image (jpg or whatever) emailed to me. This documentation MUST be received by me within 14 days of the drawing or you forfeit your shares, your money is refunded, and the shares go into the pool. That policy leaves me screwed out of whatever money you paid, but what the hell, it's simple, and we're winning money anyway. That policy isn't to be a jerk, it's because last time we paid out, we had some really ridiculous delays, partly my fault, and partly due to people just not producing stuff.

The documentation that is required if there's a payout is: A copy of your drivers license or other picture ID, or lacking either, whatever you can produce that will satisfy the IRS. If you can walk into a bank and cash a check with it, it'll probably be enough to satisfy the Lottery Commission. Sign your signature on that same piece of paper, write your social security number on it, and your full name and address (often they're not legible on the license once it's copied/FAXed, etc.) If your address is a PO Box, include your residential address too. The IRS hates PO Boxes.

1) Picture of your ID
2) Legal signature
3) Social Security Number
4) Full address info

In the case this is all needed, you'll receive an email from me with these instructions and an address to send them to.

Enough of the official stuff already

Good Luck!