The Lotto - A triumph of hope over statistical probability

Excellent. I was getting bored of trampling people at Wal-Mart. Now I can do it at the gas station too!

Not bad, subby, not bad :)

a fool and his money.. ohh more black friday deals!

This headline delivers.

I'm an excellent driver: The Lotto - A triumph of hope over statistical probability

Can't win if you don't play!

Why yes I DID just buy 10 bucks worth. Why do you ask?

MFAWG: I'm an excellent driver: The Lotto - A triumph of hope over statistical probability

Can't win if you don't play!

Why yes I DID just buy 10 bucks worth. Why do you ask?

Exactly. I realize that spending a couple bucks on lottery tickets is pretty much the same as just burning the bills, but it's still worth it for that longshot chance of being set for life.

Powerball still wasn't as good as Goldeneye.

NeoCortex42: MFAWG: I'm an excellent driver: The Lotto - A triumph of hope over statistical probability

Can't win if you don't play!

Why yes I DID just buy 10 bucks worth. Why do you ask?

Exactly. I realize that spending a couple bucks on lottery tickets is pretty much the same as just burning the bills, but it's still worth it for that longshot chance of being set for life.

I was thinking about buying twenty bucks worth. You're saying I should burn the other instead?

For the LULZ?

Throw a buck at it. What the hell? Most of you have more than that in your sofa cushjons so quit with the 'this is so stupid, I'm smarter than everyone else with my money' bullshiat.

I need some blank DVDs. Is Best Buy safe yet?

The standard 3 million prize isn't good enough, it's only REALLY worth it if the prize is the GDP of a small country.

Whatever happened to that fat train engineer in MI who won the last one? I'll be honestly very impressed if he hasn't most it all yet to hookers, robberies, Vegas, etc.

sure haven't: The standard 3 million prize isn't good enough, it's only REALLY worth it if the prize is the GDP of a small country.

Whatever happened to that fat train engineer in MI who won the last one? I'll be honestly very impressed if he hasn't most it all yet to hookers, robberies, Vegas, etc.

Lost, not "most".

/must be the heroin I'm on

The way I look at it, I can drop $10 bucks and spend a couple of days where winning is actually a (grotesquely remote) possibility. Spending a couple of days thinking of how I would quit, what I would do with the first check, where I would go to celebrate, etc is entertainment worth every penny.

germ78: Powerball still wasn't as good as Goldeneye.



'Schtopp it.'

The same people who make fun of lotto players probably buy bottled water and don't regularly check the air pressure in their tires. Heh

Stepqhen: The way I look at it, I can drop $10 bucks and spend a couple of days where winning is actually a (grotesquely remote) possibility. Spending a couple of days thinking of how I would quit, what I would do with the first check, where I would go to celebrate, etc is entertainment worth every penny.

Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

The odds the asteroid Apophis will impact the Earth in 2036: ~1 in 250,000. Powerball odds: 1 in 175,223,510.

/BOOM Earthshot!
//I'm in $4.

Yes I know the chances, I can blow $30 or so a year dreaming.

/1 ticket when it is over $100 mil
//2 tickets when over $200 mil
///3 at $300 mil

I get one here & there when I think of it, but only at minimum entry (last one was 2 bucks - when did that happen?). Still get the same dream and sinking $20 will hardly increase my odds a measurable amount (certainly less than the 20% from the week's booze budget).

Mr. Eugenides: Stepqhen: The way I look at it, I can drop $10 bucks and spend a couple of days where winning is actually a (grotesquely remote) possibility. Spending a couple of days thinking of how I would quit, what I would do with the first check, where I would go to celebrate, etc is entertainment worth every penny.

Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Yeah, a $12m jackpot is "I could live a comfortable middle class lifestyle in a not too expensive part of the country"

$325m is "dream life" fantasies

/that's worth $2 to me

Look up "utility theory" lotto haters. I'm in for $10.

Mr. Eugenides: Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Maybe I'm just some sort of killjoy, but I wouldn't see $130 million as fun. That's just too much money, for me. The most I could possibly ever want is about $10 million... the rest I'd probably endow some sort of foundation - like the X-Prize, but smaller, so we can do more.

We should all put in $5 and buy tickets. If anyone wins, it gets split. Of course you will have to take a picture of your lottery ticket before it happens, to prevent cheating.

mephisto6: I get one here & there when I think of it, but only at minimum entry (last one was 2 bucks - when did that happen?). Still get the same dream and sinking $20 will hardly increase my odds a measurable amount (certainly less than the 20% from the week's booze budget).

The price went up this past January. The idea was to have bigger jackpots more often and to help distinguish itself from MegaMillions. So far, it seems to have been a pretty good plan. This is the second or third jackpot over $300M just this year.

The bingo the lotto you know I'll never win those....

/must be stopped

ImpendingCynic: Mr. Eugenides: Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Maybe I'm just some sort of killjoy, but I wouldn't see $130 million as fun. That's just too much money, for me. The most I could possibly ever want is about $10 million... the rest I'd probably endow some sort of foundation - like the X-Prize, but smaller, so we can do more.

The advantage of more is that investment becomes much easier. Hell, with $130M you could do nothing more than buy T-Bonds and live like a king on interest alone.

with 1 in 175 million odds, it's only worth it if the jackpot goes up to 350 million and there is only one winner. Multiple winners make it less worth it and the chances of that can't be known without knowing how many tickets are sold.

ImpendingCynic: Mr. Eugenides: Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Maybe I'm just some sort of killjoy, but I wouldn't see $130 million as fun. That's just too much money, for me. The most I could possibly ever want is about $10 million... the rest I'd probably endow some sort of foundation - like the X-Prize, but smaller, so we can do more.

I agree 100%.
The thought of winning a quarter billion dollars frightens me. People dont understand the enormous life issues that come along with that.

ImpendingCynic: Mr. Eugenides: Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Maybe I'm just some sort of killjoy, but I wouldn't see $130 million as fun. That's just too much money, for me. The most I could possibly ever want is about $10 million... the rest I'd probably endow some sort of foundation - like the X-Prize, but smaller, so we can do more.

I'd like to think I'd go all Bill Gates with it.

sure haven't: ImpendingCynic: Mr. Eugenides: Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Maybe I'm just some sort of killjoy, but I wouldn't see $130 million as fun. That's just too much money, for me. The most I could possibly ever want is about $10 million... the rest I'd probably endow some sort of foundation - like the X-Prize, but smaller, so we can do more.

I agree 100%.
The thought of winning a quarter billion dollars frightens me. People dont understand the enormous life issues that come along with that.

How much therapy can one buy with a quarter billion dollars? Enough to work through those issues, I'll wager.

MFAWG: sure haven't: ImpendingCynic: Mr. Eugenides: Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Maybe I'm just some sort of killjoy, but I wouldn't see $130 million as fun. That's just too much money, for me. The most I could possibly ever want is about $10 million... the rest I'd probably endow some sort of foundation - like the X-Prize, but smaller, so we can do more.

I agree 100%.
The thought of winning a quarter billion dollars frightens me. People dont understand the enormous life issues that come along with that.

How much therapy can one buy with a quarter billion dollars? Enough to work through those issues, I'll wager.

Not to mention, being able to basically disappear if you chose to.

sure haven't: ImpendingCynic: Mr. Eugenides: Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Maybe I'm just some sort of killjoy, but I wouldn't see $130 million as fun. That's just too much money, for me. The most I could possibly ever want is about $10 million... the rest I'd probably endow some sort of foundation - like the X-Prize, but smaller, so we can do more.

I agree 100%.
The thought of winning a quarter billion dollars frightens me. People dont understand the enormous life issues that come along with that.

Last time this thread popped up, someone posted a link to a thread with some very good advice on the subject

/from ar15.com I think

Mr. Eugenides: The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Two chicks at the same time, man.

So if it was the left one he lost would he refer the remaining one as "the right nut" or just "the nut".

Surely there is some sort of protocol for this type of thing.

/would buy him a nuetical should I win

ImpendingCynic: Mr. Eugenides: Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Maybe I'm just some sort of killjoy, but I wouldn't see $130 million as fun. That's just too much money, for me. The most I could possibly ever want is about $10 million... the rest I'd probably endow some sort of foundation - like the X-Prize, but smaller, so we can do more.

But then the fun is in getting to fund causes you really care about.

how many people bashing lottery players here wouldn't hesitate to go to Vegas and drop several hundred $$ playing games like blackjack or craps or texas hold 'em? who cares? if people want to play let 'em play.

CaliNJGuy: how many people bashing lottery players here wouldn't hesitate to go to Vegas and drop several hundred $$ playing games like blackjack or craps or texas hold 'em? who cares? if people want to play let 'em play.

Not many?

According to the Powerball website (which is in no way biased. I checked and everything), the proper way to increase your odds of winning (not the jackpot, just winning in general) is to plop down 70 bucks and ensure that you select every red ball 1 to 35. So all you need to do is wager 70 to get back 4. What a deal!!

/In for 10
//Just win, baby!

GRCooper: Last time this thread popped up, someone posted a link to a thread with some very good advice on the subject/from ar15.com I think

I think this is is.

NeoCortex42: Not

Yeah but, I like my life. I wouldn't want to "disappear". I could do that now even if I wanted to.

If I lived in a state that offered it, I'd put a few dollars in. The chance to daydream about what I'd do with the money is well worth the price, and I have a decent shot at making the money back(something I wouldn't if my entertainment money went to the movies for example).

Hiring a lawyer, setting up a LLC partnership, changing my name (Joe Smith) , setting up the family with a nice trust. Invest wisely, Pay off bills, live off the interest and we all go off the grid. Leave the country, for a good long while.
Easy enough.

NeoCortex42: MFAWG: I'm an excellent driver: The Lotto - A triumph of hope over statistical probability

Can't win if you don't play!

Why yes I DID just buy 10 bucks worth. Why do you ask?

Exactly. I realize that spending a couple bucks on lottery tickets is pretty much the same as just burning the bills, but it's still worth it for that longshot chance of being set for life.

Powerball odds are fixed.

At some point, the $2 for the ticket has an expected outcome of over $2. (By a smidge.) So it's not irrational after a certain value for Powerball grand prize is reached.

I had it figured out once, and it wasn't uncommon for it to get that high. Now that it's $2 it's probably not as common.

Snowflake Tubbybottom: So if it was the left one he lost would he refer the remaining one as "the right nut" or just "the nut".

Surely there is some sort of protocol for this type of thing.

/would buy him a nuetical should I win

wut

VTGremlin: I think this is is.

Hands down the absolute best advice I have ever read on the subject.  I think it should be required reading for anyone who plays the lottery.

Some people think that coming into a few million dollars means life on easy street, money that will be around forever, and no need for responsibility or work. (new window)

Mr. Eugenides: Stepqhen: The way I look at it, I can drop $10 bucks and spend a couple of days where winning is actually a (grotesquely remote) possibility. Spending a couple of days thinking of how I would quit, what I would do with the first check, where I would go to celebrate, etc is entertainment worth every penny.

Well that's exactly it isn't it. $325 million annuity would translate to $120 to $130 million after taxes if you took the lump sum. The fun comes in playing around with the idea of what you would do with that much money.

Someone in another thread had it accurately figured to around 165 mil the other day after everything. Lump sum. And that any sane financial advisor would tell you take the lump sum any day.