ON DEATH, VOG AND JACKPOTS

Much of today brings back memories.  Let me start with the possible return of COVID-19, which served as the theme of my Thursday postings for years. 

• According to the CDC, there has a been a spike in COVID-19 cases of 18% this past week, and 24% hike in hospital admissions.
• From Worldometer, 173 Americans died of COVID this past week and 277 in the previous week.  Of course, last year 550/week died from the flu, and this rate tends to jump in the winter, so flu deaths today are considerably higher than from COVID.  And few take the seasonal flu seriously.
• 
  This alarms professionals like Ashish Jha.
• More people tend to die 21 to 28 days after cases begin to increase.
• 60% of Americans did not get boosted.
• And look at how politics can make a difference.

About that New Orleans terrorist attack by 42-year old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, he was inspired by ISIS, but probably acted alone.  Donald Trump was wrong again, blaming Jabbar as an immigrant.  He was born in the USA and lived in Houston after spending 8 years of Army active duty, including a stint in Afghanistan.  The postponed Georgia vs Notre Dame Sugar Bowl will be played in the Super Dome today.

Speaking of Trump, at about the same time as the incident in New Orleans, an Elon Musk Cyber Truck exploded at the Trump International in Las Vegas. Driver died of a gunshot wound and seven bystanders were injured, all stable.  The driver, 37-year old Matthew Livelsberger from Ohio was also an Army soldier who was on leave.  Served 19 years in Special Forces, and was also deployed in Afghanistan.  No motive at this time

While Honolulu recovers from that large fireworks accident yesterday, where three were killed and 19 seriously injured, there are larger and more natural fireworks still ongoing in Halemaumau Crater, for the volcanic eruption continues, and seems to be strengthening, on the Big Island.  Going back in time, I just happened to be golfing at the Volcano Golf Course on 3January1983:

I had recently returned from working in the U.S. Senate for three years.  As we normally did in those days, we spent the New Year period with her family in Hilo.  So on January 3, 1983, I was golfing at the Volcano Golf Course.  The ground shook and there was a strange rumbling sound.  Soon thereafter, only a few thousand yards away, we saw a volcanic fountain.  This was the beginning of the present Kiluaea eruption.  Since then, the outflow of lava has progressively moved downhill towards the Puna area.  However, Halemaumau Crater, located close by that first fountain, has been the source of the most recent activity.  This is the safe viewing spot, for you can stay at the Volcano House and just about see the night activity in the crater from your room.  

That was 42 years ago, and that Pu'u'ō'ō eruption lasted 35 years, the most voluminous outpouring of lava from Kilauea Volcano's East Rift Zone in more than 500 years.  So how long will this one go on?  Hopefully it ends today, for by tomorrow the winds will change to "Kona weather," and this volcanic haze, called VOG OR VAZE, will come to Honolulu.  In the past I couldn't go golfing on some days, for the air pollution was worse than the bad days of the 1950's in Los Angeles.

Sure, you're familiar with that $1.22 billion Mega Millions winner from California on 27December2024, but were you aware that the largest Mega Millions jackpot on a single ticket for for $1.58 billion on 8August2023, won by Saltines Holdings in Florida.  Gaze over these winners and dream.

1. 1  The largest Mega Millions jackpot won on a single ticket was for $1.58 billion for Aug. 8, 2023, drawing. Final sales pushed the grand prize to $1.602 billion. The winning ticket was sold at a Neptune Beach, Florida, Publix. Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami, Florida, claimed the prize.
2. 2  The second-largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018.  Others:

Well, there is also Powerball.  Here are all the billion dollar plus winners.

1. 1  $2.04 billion Powerball prize, Nov. 7, 2022, Edwin Castro of Altadena, California.  What did he with his winnings?  Took a lump sum $997.6 million, and bought several homes, including a $47 million mansion in Bel-Air, California and a $25.5 million Hollywood Hill home.
2. 2  $1.73 billion Powerball prize, Oct. 11, 2023, Theodorus Struyck of California (ticket purchased at Midway Market in California).  Others
3. 
   
4. $1.586 billion Powerball prize, Jan. 13, 2016, Marvin and Mae Acosta of California, Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt of Melbourne Beach, Florida, and John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee
5. $1.58 billion Mega Millions prize, Aug. 8, 2023, Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami, Florida
6. $1.537 billion Mega Millions prize, Oct. 23, 2018, won by an anonymous player in South Carolina
7. $1.348 billion Mega Millions prize, Jan. 13, 2023, LaKoma Island Investments, LLC, with the ticket purchased in Lebanon, Maine
8. $1.337 billion Mega Millions prize, July 29, 2022, won by an anonymous partnership with a ticket purchased in Des Plaines, Illinois
9. $1.326 billion Powerball prize, April 6, 2024, Cheng and Duanpen Saephan and Laiza Chao of Oregon
10. $1.22 billion Mega Millions, Dec. 27, winner TBD
11. $1.128 billion Mega Millions prize, March 26, 2024, won by an anonymous winner in New Jersey with the ticket purchased at ShopRite Liquor No. 781 in Neptune Township, New Jersey
12. $1.08 billion Powerball prize, July 19, 2023, Yanira Alvarez of California
13. $1.050 billion Mega Millions prize, Jan. 22, 2021, won by the Wolverine FLL Club of Oakland County, Michigan

You should know that:

• The odds against winning the jackpot in Mega Millions for a $2 ticket are 302.6 million to one.  
• Your odds against winning $2 are 37 to one by matching one of the 25 gold balls.  Easier in Powerball, for the odds are 292.2 million to one.

• Want to be careful about your life?
• You have a 1 in 2.7 million chance of being attacked by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park.
• You have a 1 in 3.1 million chance of getting killed by an alligator in Florida.
• 
  In 2017 the price of a ticket for Mega Millions rose from $1 to $2.  Beginning April 2025, a ticket  rise to $5.  
• You cannot play Powerball or Mega Millions in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.
• What if you do win the jackpot?
  

If you’re lucky enough to win either jackpot, even if you aren’t the sole winner, experts recommend moving quickly to assemble a team that includes an attorney, a tax advisor, and a financial advisor. They also encourage protecting your ticket and keeping your victory a secret for as long as possible.  That may be easier in some states than others — only a select few let winners of such large jackpots remain anonymous.

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