A lucky person who bought a ticket in Arkansas will take home a whopping $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot, which has a cash option of $834.9 million.
The Christmas Eve prize is the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever won and the largest Powerball prize this year, according to a news release from the Multi-State Lottery Association.
The odds of $5 into an index fund turning into $700 million are in fact lower than the odds of winning the Powerball. An occasional gamble in the Powerball is not going to end my retirement plans any more than the occasional latte or avocado toast.