So you want to win $1.6 billion? Don't we all!
You can buy your own lottery ticket (with cash only), or you can chip in with your coworkers in an office lottery pool and get your name attached to more numbers.
Great idea! But just verbally making a promise split the money isn't enough.
"You're going to want it in writing to prove 'Hey, yes I did agree to this, I was part of this agreement and these are the specific terms that we agreed to,'" said attorney Alicia McMurray.
Without a written agreement, things could get tricky. The person in possession of the physical ticket could cash it without telling you, refusing to share the money. If you don't have a written agreement stating exactly how much money will be divvied up to each person involved, you can't hold them to their promise. If you have it written down, you can sue them.
"You want to be able to enforce that against the person who is taking it to the convenience store and claiming the jackpot," said attorney Roger Hyman.
Getting it in writing is important so if you win everyone's on the same page. Plus, it prevents any non-winners from trying to intervene.
"We don't have to ask you [to be in the pool]," said McMurray. "If you decline, you don't get to sue or you don't have that ability to sue."
Written agreements can range from a lawyer-drafted contract, to a piece of paper you write up yourself, to a Facebook post.
The latter is how one Knoxville business grew its office pool to one that spans the internet.
"We bought a lottery ticket and one of my owners thought it would be cool if pretty much we just put it online and had people like and share it," said Chris DiPietro, general manager of Bearden Beer Market.
Bearden Beer Market has now promised to split its winnings with over 700 people.
DiPietro said they can track who shares the post so they have record of who to pay.
"A first I left off you had to do it before the drawing," he said. "We wanted to make sure we covered that because if we won we didn't just want people to be like, hey you just said share and like it."
If you're concerned about the prize money, write down your terms with your friends.
If you're really worried, don't join an office pool.
Or, follow in Hyman's footsteps.
"Don't do it. Save your money. Invest in something else!"
The winning lottery numbers will be drawn at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 23.