What's the Deal: Joining an office or neighborhood lottery pool

PHILADELPHIA -- More than $2 billion dollars is now up for grabs in the Mega Million and Powerball jackpots and many people are joining office or neighborhood pools to increase their chances of winning.

If you and your friends, neighbors, or colleagues have joined forces in hopes of becoming instant billionaires, there are a few things you need to do to ensure that if you do win, there's no fighting over that mountain of money.

We all know the odds of winning the $1.6 billion dollar Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night are really, really, really long - but let's just say your office or neighborhood pool does end up with the winning ticket.

Your money could end up tied up in a lawsuit to settle the winnings.

It's happened before a number of times!

Lottery officials and lawyers say every pool should create its own rules and draw up a written contract.

Each member of the pool should read and sign that contract before throwing money in.

Also, designate a pool leader who will collect contributions and keep track of who's paid in, as well as keep track of the possible winnings.

Collect all money up front before buying tickets, and get only as many tickets as you have cash to buy.

The ticket buyer should make photocopies of the tickets - front and back - and provide copies to each pool member.

And if your pool wins a small amount and then you roll that money forward and buy new tickets, don't add new people to the group. Best to keep the group consistent.

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