A Powerball ticket is seen Thursday, Dec. 4 at Kash Corner Energy Mart store, one of the million-dollar club sites, in Simpsonville, South Carolina.

With a $1 billion Powerball jackpot prize on the line, having a plan in place is not only smart, but it is also necessary.

The Wednesday, Dec. 10 drawing marked the 41st straight drawing without a Powerball winner. And the next drawing, held Saturday, Dec. 13, will tie the game record for most consecutive drawings in a single jackpot cycle, which was last reached in September.

If someone is lucky enough to match all five numbers and the Powerball, then they will get to choose between an annuitized prize of $1 billion or a lump sum cash payment of $461.3 million.

No matter which option a winner chooses, claiming that much money will likely draw taxes, grifters, friends and family members, advisers say.

Therefore, the first and most important piece of financial advice is: "Don’t shout your win from the rooftop," Rob Burnette, financial and investment adviser at Outlook Financial Center in Troy, Ohio, previously told USA TODAY.

"If you’re lucky enough to win the lottery, keep it quiet," Burnette said. "Get organized and make a plan. Consider staying anonymous, if it’s a possibility."

How much is the jackpot, and what are my odds of winning?

Both the $1 billion annuitized prize and the $461.3 million lump sum cash payment amounts are before taxes. If the winner chooses to go with the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year.

According to Powerball, the current jackpot is the seventh-largest in the game's history and is the second jackpot to reach $1 billion this year. The Powerball jackpot was last won on Saturday, Sept. 6, by lottery players in Missouri and Texas, who split the $1.787 billion prize.

While the overall odds of winning a prize are slightly higher, at 1 in 24.9, the odds of winning the jackpot, 1 in 292.2 million, are considered next to impossible. You are at least 250 times more likely to get struck by lightning, AccuWeather reported, citing the National Weather Service.

The odds of this exact version of you being born are around 1 in 400 trillion, according to Madison Trust Company, a self-directed retirement account company.

"That means that your own birth equates to winning the Mega Millions jackpot 1.33 million times! So maybe you really are pretty lucky," the company said.

What to do if you've won the Powerball jackpot

Lie low for a while and keep the ticket secure, maybe in a safe, until you claim the prize.

"The winner is not a true legal winner until the ticket is presented to lottery officials," attorney Andrew Stoltmann, who has represented 6 lottery "losers" who lost their winnings to various investment scams or poor management. "If the ticket is lost or destroyed, the winner is, as a matter of law, out of luck."

Powerball warns: "Lotteries will never ask you to pay a fee to collect a Powerball prize. If you are asked to pay a fee to claim a prize, you are likely being scammed, and you should not share any personal or banking information with those entities."

Then, find a tax attorney, tax accountant and later a financial adviser, Steve Azoury, owner of Azoury Financial in Troy, Michigan, advised. "They’ll work hand in hand to figure out (a) plan."

The plan will go over which payout options are available:

  • Annuity: One immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments, with each payment being 5% larger than the previous one.
  • Lump sum: One-time payment equal to all of the cash in the jackpot prize pool.

Whether you should take the one-time payment or go with the annuity option depends on your goals, your age, and what lottery rules are for beneficiaries to continue receiving payments, or if you’d likely squander a lump sum.

The size of the lottery winning, as well as current and projected earnings, are also some things to consider as you think about and discuss payout options, Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt, said.

This plan should also include a "fall guy," Azoury said. “That’s the person or adviser who keeps you from giving loans to anybody, who tells people, 'All the money’s tied up in investments, not available. We have nothing available to help you out, and we’re not interested in your project.'"

Because the sum is too large to be covered by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance, winnings should be deposited in a brokerage account of a major broker-dealer like Merrill Lynch or Goldman Sachs and initially invested in short-term U.S. Treasuries until more concrete investing decisions can be made, Stoltmann said.

How much do you net? And how quickly do you get it?

It depends. Complex states and how you decide to "take" your money will impact how much cash you'll ultimately net, but you could see some activity in your bank account in a few weeks, Azoury said. Remember: Claim periods also vary by jurisdiction.

Because you'll likely be propelled into the highest federal tax bracket, your state of residency and where you bought the winning ticket can greatly impact what you pay in state taxes.

For example, if you’re a California resident and purchase your ticket there, then you pay the 37% federal tax rate, but you won't have to pay a state tax because California doesn't tax lottery winnings, Steber said. That means this Powerball winner won't have to pay a state tax.

New York, on the other hand, has the highest tax rate on lottery winnings.

Now, if you're a California resident on vacation in, let's say, Rhode Island, and you decide to buy a lottery ticket there, and you win, then you'll have to declare your winnings on your federal and California tax returns, as well as file a non-resident Rhode Island tax return.

While it's unlikely that you'll have to pay taxes on the same income in two states, the inner workings of multi-state tax issues can be complicated, Steber said. You should, though, claim a tax credit for the Rhode Island taxes on your California return so you won't be taxed twice.

"This is where a tax professional really comes in handy," Steber added. "State taxes can be very tricky."

How to play the Powerball

Playing the Powerball is simple:

  • Buy a $2 ticket, wherever tickets are sold.
  • Think about which six numbers you'll pick.
  • Select five "white" numbers between 1 and 69, and one "red" number between 1 and 26 for the Powerball.

Players may also add "Power Play," a $1 feature that increases the winning for all non-jackpot prizes. The "Power Play" multiplier can multiply winnings by: 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X.

If you're not feeling particularly lucky or simply want the computer to do the work for you, the "Quick Pick" option is available. All of the numbers selected with the "Quick Pick" option are computer-generated.

Players must match all five white balls in any order and the red Powerball to win the jackpot. Drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights at 10:59 p.m. ET. If no one wins the jackpot, the cash prize will continue to tick up.

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Contributing: Medora Lee and Rachel Barber, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Powerball hits $1 billion. See financial advisers' tips for winners.

Reporting by Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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