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Hope to win Vax-a-Million? Here are your odds, what to expect, and what to do first if you win

You might not want to quit your job if you win. After federal, state, and local taxes, the winner could take home around $560,000.

CLEVELAND — The winners of Ohio's first Vax-a-Million drawing will be announced Wednesday at 7:29 p.m. and the broadcast will be carried live on WKYC Channel 3. The winners of the $1 million prize and the full four-year scholarship to any state university in Ohio were actually drawn on Monday and kept secret until Wednesday's announcement.

If you're lucky enough to be a winner of this or any of the four other upcoming weekly drawings, what should you do first with all that cash?

"Move slowly," sad Darrell Claytor, certified financial planner at Securities America, Inc., adding he estimates that the winner could take home approximately $560,000, after federal, state, and local taxes.

ENTER NOW: Ohio's COVID vaccine lottery registration: How to enter the $1 million Vax-a-Million drawings

Claytor advises that winners should begin with paying off all their debts, like a home mortgage, car loan, or credit cards. Then, invest the rest of the money.

"If they invest at least a portion of it, over time, they have a chance to get it back to a million dollars," he said. 

Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Monday that 2,758,470 of the 5.17 million Ohioans who have begun the process of receiving the vaccine have opted into the lottery for this week's drawing. That means the odds of winning are relatively much better than the Mega Millions lottery, which carries winning odds of 1-in-302-million.

Still, you'd have a better chance at getting struck by lightning, with 1-in-15,300 odds, according to the National Weather Service. Your odds of winning the Vax-a-Million prize are more on par with getting dealt a specific royal flush in poker, with odds of 1-in-2.6-million hands according to Bicycle Cards.

Meanwhile, 104,386 Ohioans between the ages of 12 and 17 registered for the scholarship. Those odds sound great, but you're just about as likely to go to the hospital emergency room for a pogo stick injury, which carries 1-in-115,300 odds according to Deseret News.

While it might sound enticing, you probably don't want to quit your job.

"Not at a million dollars," Claytor chuckled. "That'd have to be at least $5 million before I think people would consider that."

After all, he noted, you'd still have to cover health care expenses, and you'll want to maximize your employee 401K contributions with your new winnings.

"Make a dollar, but save a quarter," Claytor said. "If you do that for a long period of time, financially, you will not have any worries. I had a grandfather with a fifth-grade education, and that was his motto: Not a dime. But a quarter."

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