If you won....

[Akverno]

Apparently someone didn't like me saying 200k wasn't that much to get worked up about. I guess I should have been more clear.

After taxes, you're looking at two-four year's pay from winning a poker tournament (for most people with a decent job). A lot people aren't calculating the implication that you'll be adjusted into the alternative minimum tax (which screws up all sorts of tax cuts/benefits).

IMHO 200k isn't enough to freak out about. Is it enough for someone to quit a decent job, probably not. Is it enough to retire on for the rest of your life, probably not (unless you were to move to a third world country and live poor the rest of your life). It's a nice chunk of change that will help alleviate a lot of short term problems for many people. It may give some the flexibility to make life altering changes for most they will pay off debt, blow some of it, and invest the rest of it. I guess someone could always pull an eejit and blow all of it online.

There was actually an article really similar to this in money magazine. What to do if you inherited 100k today.

As far as how much to keep online, 5k tops. I have no intention of trying to play stakes that are that far above my skill level.