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Is The $1.5 Billion Powerball Jackpot Too Much For One Person?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — With the Powerball jackpot soaring into uncharted territory, some are wondering if the $1.5 billion prize is too much.

We're probably all guilty of daydreaming about what winning the lottery would do for us, but experts say for some, it's not all it's cracked up to be. What you can get in great fortune and added comfort has also been known to spell disaster.

"I'm going to disappear as soon as I win," said Kimberly Stewart.

"I don't think anyone should have that much money," said Tom Pack, who bought 20 Powerball tickets. "They go out and buy anything and everything and they forget where they came from."

"I think there's too many ways to spend it," said Janet Brown. "I think you would get known and unrich relatives would definitely find you and I wouldn't want to be in that position."

Psychologist Steve Debenedetti-Emanuel says striking it rich has huge power to change people for the better or the worse.

"Money does buy you happiness to a certain extent, but there's a ceiling and the ceiling is not that high," he said.

He says the lack of long-term financial planning is largely to blame for things going awry. Impulse buys become larger and more lavish, growing unmanageable and out of control. A 2015 study shows 44 percent of lottery winners end up blowing it all within five years.

"It's hard to be a whole heck of a lot happier just because you have nice stuff. As a therapist, I'm thinking what holes are you trying to fill up as you're getting nicer and nicer, nicer and nicer things," he said.

Regular player Phyllis Kidd split a $28,000 jackpot in an office pool a few years ago. She likes to think a billion-dollar blessing for her could bless others.

"I would probably give to some charities. Give back to the neighborhood," she said. "Something for the teens. For the youth."

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