Unfortunately, yes.  Present value of a future annuity (taking the lump sum now cuts the jackpot by quite a bit), and taxes.  For ballpark calculations, I assume that each is going to cut the advertised jackpot in half.  So for a $1.5 billion jackpot, your expected return is going to be a around $375 million (plus every single other prize, but that just adds about $20 million to the total), assuming no other winners.<p>Yes, your strategy will work, but not until the jackpot reaches even more ludicrous heights.