For $600,000,000 you can buy all of the ticket combinations and deduct the cost.
The last time Powerball got up close to this number, someone ran the calculations and determined that someone would have to have all the ticket machines in a state (I think they used CA as the example) running non-stop for the 4 days between the Sat and Wed drawings in order to play all the numbers and then you would be at risk of 1 more person also winning it which would put you at a loss. More winners, bigger the hole.
That’s what I’ve wondered too: once the jackpot grows above the cost of buying every combination, why doesn’t some investor with the means do that? Write a check for $304 million and give it to the administrators and say “see you after the draw for my guaranteed win”?
I suppose it’s because of the risk of having then to share it 20 ways with an office pool that also hit it. But if some gambler had done so last time he could have doubled his money.
Or maybe the Mega Millions administrators don’t allow that kind of “play” in the first place.