Lottery office pools increase odds - and possibly headaches

A group of New Jersey construction workers noticed that the sixth member of their lottery pool had abruptly left work. Turns out, he had a lottery ticket worth $38.5 million and claimed he bought the winning ticket separately with his own money.

With the record Mega Millions jackpot now at a record $1.6 billion, it may seem like perfect sense to pool money with co-workers or friends to increase the chance of winning a giant payday. But "with this many zeros attached to it, it is a recipe for disaster," said Rubin Sinins, the attorney for the five jilted construction workers in that 2009 case.

Sinins said such plans can turn into a protracted legal fight, hard feelings and court orders — like in the case of his clients, who eventually won a jury verdict and split the lottery winnings . But if you do venture down that road, he and other experts have some advice: draw up an agreement.

Bob Hugin, right, the Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate race in New Jersey, purchases a Mega Millions lottery ticket at Sabor Latino, a restaurant where he held a news conference announcing Essex County Freeholder Rolando Bobadilla's endorsement, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Newark, N.J. Lottery players will have a chance at winning an estimated $1.6 billion jackpot in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing. (AP PhotoJulio Cortez)

"Document precisely who is part of the lottery pool so that there's no misunderstanding later," he said.

Other attorneys and lottery officials agree, though they acknowledge it can seem silly to draw up agreements and copy ticket stubs given the dismal odds of actually winning . The odds for Tuesday night's Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million, while there's a slightly better chance — 1 in 292.2 million — of winning the $620 million Powerball prize Wednesday night.

If there's no winner Tuesday night, lottery officials said the estimated jackpot would jump again for Friday night's drawing, to $2 billion.

A cashier, left, hands a Mega Millions lottery ticket to Bob Hugin, the Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate race in New Jersey, after he purchased one at Sabor Latino, a restaurant where he held a news conference announcing Essex County Freeholder Rolando Bobadilla's endorsement, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Newark, N.J. Lottery players will have a chance at winning an estimated $1.6 billion jackpot in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing. (AP PhotoJulio Cortez)

Mary Neubauer, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, said the key is to put a few rules into writing. That includes details about how any prize would be divvied up, members of the group, and what should happen if a regular player is away and didn't chip in for a specific drawing.

And always make copies of group tickets — including identifying numbers on the back of tickets — before the drawing so everyone is aware of the potential winnings numbers.

"You're thinking about a best case scenario of winning, but you're taking precautions about a worst case of fighting over the winnings," Neubauer said.

Jeffery Perry, of Jackson, Miss., fills out Mega Millions lottery tickets, in The World Bar and Grill in Delta, La., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. "It is for my children. So I can give them a good life." Perry is one of many Mississippi residents that crossed the Mississippi-Louisiana state line, for a chance at winning an estimated $1.6 billion jackpot in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)

The Missouri Lottery recommends people also have a plan for notifying group members if they win, figuring out who would be the group spokesperson and maybe even decide what outsider would serve as financial planner.

Despite its importance, it's understandable that such planning can seem unnecessary, acknowledged Christopher Burns, a tax and estate attorney in Minneapolis.

"Laying the groundwork is important, but most people would not bother to fully lay the groundwork because the odds are so small," Burns said. "People aren't going to typically expend the time or the effort to have anything in writing or take other steps because the odds are so remote."

A lottery player counts her money at The World Bar and Grill, as she waits in line to purchase Mega Millions lottery tickets, in Delta, La., a few miles from the Mississippi-Louisiana state line, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. Mississippi residents have crossed over state lines for a chance at winning an estimated $1.6 billion jackpot in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)

Jennifer Volpert is among those going with the pool idea, but noted she and her co-workers in the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration would be prepared if they won the record jackpot .

Volpert bought seven Mega Millions tickets during her lunchtime Tuesday at a Little Rock convenience store. She planned to draw up a contract and have everyone sign when she returned, specifying the prize would be split seven ways.

"We all said we'd turn in our resignation at the same time," she said, laughing.

Lottery players line up to purchase Mega Millions lottery tickets, at The World Bar and Grill, in Delta, La., a few miles from the Mississippi-Louisiana state line, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. Although the Mississippi Legislature passed a lottery bill, the state still does not have an established lottery, so players from the Magnolia state have crossed over state lines for a chance at winning an estimated $1.6 billion jackpot in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)

About 20 people at Todd Murphy's media monitoring company his Omaha, Nebraska, also formed an office pool to buy Mega Millions tickets, but first they had to sign a contract that included a stipulation: "If we win, you'll work 60 days after winning so we can replace you." Murphy, the company's CEO, said no one objected.

Of course, group lottery purchases aren't for everyone. Mark Maddy, who works in a machine shop in Champlain, New York, said the nine people who work at the company love betting: "We'll bet on anything," he said, "even the first snow flake."

But not lottery jackpots.

"We're all too greedy," Maddy said. "We buy our own tickets."

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.

In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.

Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.

In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.

“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.

It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.

“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.

It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.

While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.

“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.

Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)