Jaunted - Tag: Money

Where Would You Travel With $252 Million Dollars?

JetSetCD — 2009-08-26T09:29:41-05:00

Update: the lottery jumps to $325 million this Friday with no winner found for the $252 million.

Yesterday evening, the winning numbers (3, 12, 19, 22 and 40; Mega Ball 2) were announced for one of the biggest MegaMillions lotteries ever: $252 Million Dollars. And it's about to get even larger with no winner this time around. The new jackpot will be $325 million, with numbers picked this Friday.

Megamillions is played in twelve states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington, and hopefuls who purchase a tickets stand a 1-in-175-million chance of winning the big payoff.

Whether it's $252 million or $325 million, imagine for a moment that the winner is you. Where would you take your first blow-out trip? Would you hop around five-star resorts in the Indian Ocean or opt for a year of private jet sharing? How about both? How about taking us along?

Let your imagination run wild and tell us your super-millionaire travel dreams in the comments!

Related Stories:
· Cha-Ching! Tonight's Mega Millions Jackpot $252 Million [19ActionNews]
· MegaMillions Numbers Revealed [Cincinnati.com]
· Jaunted Open Threads [Jaunted]

[Photo: Rpbert S. Donovan]

Paris: Harry Winston, Site Of The $108 Million Jewelry Heist

pbb — 2008-12-05T11:31:42-05:00

The Paris shop of Harry Winston was knocked off by four thieves--some dressed in drag--just before it had closed for the day Thursday. They made out with €85 million ($108 million) in rings, necklaces and watches, making it one of the biggest jewelry heists ever. While the thugs pistol whipped some employees, no one was killed.

The boutique has been robbed before: In 2007, three bandits took more than €10 million ($13 million) worth of jewels from the Avenue Montaigne storefront, just off the Champs-Elys�es.

What makes Harry Winston so appealing? We'll go with the paranormal on this one: The jeweler who loaned his name to the shop donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1958, where the effects of the curse some believe it bears have been negligible--until now!

Related Stories:
· Paris Robbers Grab $108 Million Worth of Diamonds [Bloomberg]
· Crime coverage [Jaunted]

Milwaukee: Fistfuls Of Foreign Currency... In Milwaukee?

pbb — 2008-12-04T15:30:13-05:00

Two neighborhoods in Milwaukee have had it with the US dollar--and are planning to print up their own cash to be used at local businesses. Amazingly, it's totally legal as long as they don't mint coins.

Community organizer (ewww!) Sura Faraj tells the Chicago Tribune:

You have all these people who have local currency, and they're going to spend it at local stores. They can't spend it at the Wal-Mart or the Home Depot, but they can spend it at their local hardware store or their local grocery store.

But why would you want to use locally grown cash if you can just as easily spend US dollars in Wisconsin? Shops in Riverwest and East Side, Milwaukee might build in favorable exchange rates, so an item that would cost, say, US$11 would go for just $10 worth of local scratch.

Related Stories:
· Milwaukee Neighborhoods Could Print Own Money [Chicago Tribune, via]
· Dollar-Euro Exchange Rate Totally Killing Us [Jaunted]

[Photo of funny money: sixsixsixismoney]

Dollar-Euro Exchange Rate Totally Killing Us

pbb — 2007-09-21T15:15:01-05:00

At this rate, we'll never head back to Europe: a Euro now costs $1.40, a record high for a currency that you could buy for 90 cents seven years ago. So why does the dollar suck so bad right now? There are a few reasons, none of which we completely understand. (We made it through our college finance class by reading Pico Iyer books instead of paying attention.)

But we'll try to sum it up: a few years ago, some rich guys borrowed a lot of money at really cheap interest rates. Now it looks like they maybe, possibly, kinda-sorta borrowed too much, which means there's not enough cash to back up the loans. So the US government lowered its official interest rates, and that made currency traders scared that inflation may take off in the States.

Now, there's not much you can do about this, other than decide not to go to the Euro zone. To which we say, awesome! Eastern Europe is still a good value, and Southeast Asia and South America are both super, too. But don't try Canada: a loonie--which used to be cheap--is now on par with the greenback.

Related Stories:
· Dollar Hits Bottom, Then Falls Again [IHT]
· South America Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Thailand Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Vietnam Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: ganessas]

Canberra: In The Money in Canberra

amandak — 2007-04-26T09:50:02-05:00

There's no better way for a money-loving capitalist to spend a holiday in Australia's capital, Canberra, than by making a visit to the Royal Australian Mint, where most of Australia's coins are made. The Mint's exhibition galleries are currently undergoing major renovations to make for a better visitor's experience.

Sadly for us, increased security probably makes it impossible for us to carry out a few souvenir coins in our boots, but we can still check out exhibits explaining both the production and design of Australia's currency. All kinds of cute stuff gets on the back of Aussie coins, from kangaroos and a platypus to even the royal wedding of Charles and Diana. Plus you can find out that Australia nearly didn't have dollars: other names considered for their currency were royals, australs, or, after the sheep, merinos! Entrance to the Mint costs zero merinos, but you can spend plenty at the gift shop.

[Photo: xlynx]

Related Stories:
· Australian For Museum [Jaunted]
· Canberra Mint Worker Filled Boots [Jaunted]

Rotterdam: Tax Museum in Rotterdam

djk — 2007-02-13T15:44:09-05:00

What better way to celebrate tax season than book a trip to the Netherlands? We're not even talking about having a little fun in Amsterdam so you can forget all your woes. Celebrate the ancient act of taxing at the Tax & Customs Museum in Rotterdam, whose pretty exterior belies the ugly reason for its existence. Admission, ironically enough, is free.

Information within includes the predictable history lessons, plus an interactive "smugglers' experience" room. Visitors are herded into a dark room that's meant to simulate the inside of a shipping container, and bullied through some simulated suspense. Exhibits are mostly in Dutch, but you'll get the idea.

[Photo: Imbi]

Related Stories:
· Dutch Tax & Customs Museum [Official Site]

Germans Spend Up Big

amandak — 2007-01-22T10:25:27-05:00

If you really want to be a big traveler, you'd better find yourself a way to become a German. Once again, it's the guys from Frankfurter-land who have spent the most money on traveling to foreign countries.

Admittedly, it's a bit easier for a German to pop into a foreign country than most--they share borders with nine other nations, plus most German workers get five or six weeks' holiday time each year. But when you consider how many Germans must have stayed home last summer during the World Cup, you realize those who did leave and managed to spend over 60 billion euros did a good job. In fact, the Germans alone were responsible for 11 percent of worldwide spending on foreign travel in 2006. So next time you're in New York or at Ayers Rock or basically anywhere that tourists go, don't be surprised to hear a few "Guten Tags" or "Auf Wiedersehens."

[Photo: Miala]

Related Stories:
· Germans Spend Most on Travel [Sydney Morning Herald]