Powerball

can there become a point in which the odds of winning become so low that nobody will win?

wbjones wrote: I don't have a current ticket .. so no winner here ... I'll have my 20 draw tickets later today .. I'll be ready for the next drawing

I'm now in position to be a billionaire .. I have the winning ticket ... the gal that sold me the ticket assured me that it was golden ... she had been saving it just for me .... she likes me

PHeller wrote: can there become a point in which the odds of winning become so low that nobody will win?

odds never change ...as long as the amt of # to match are always the same, then the odds, each drawing, are the same as they were the previous drawing ... the same as they will be for the next drawing .... these odds aren't dependent on how many draws there have been, or how many # have been picked

I'm buying a ticket this time.

wbjones wrote:

PHeller wrote: can there become a point in which the odds of winning become so low that nobody will win?

odds never change ...as long as the amt of # to match are always the same, then the odds, each drawing, are the same as they were the previous drawing ... the same as they will be for the next drawing .... these odds aren't dependent on how many draws there have been, or how many # have been picked

That's not right.

Yes, the odds of a single ticket hitting the jackpot are always the same. (1 in 292 million). But the odds that the jackpot will be won by SOMEONE continue to rise as ticket sales increase.

I just got a Lottery book from the library by Shirley Jackson that I hope will help me win.*

*Yes, I know its an old Simpsons joke.

I am in.

I'm still buying Elvis.

I'm too good at math to play the lottery.

fasted58 wrote: No Jackpot winner. Next Jackpot estimated to be.... $1.3B C'mon, say it... Billion

At this point you play for the entertainment value.

You can't win if you don't play.

The award at this point is just asinine.

I played last week and I'll play again. Yeah, the odds aren't in my favor, but come on, over a BILLION dollars at stake? If it continues to climb like it did last week, there's a good chance that by the time Wednesday rolls around, the cash option will be at a billion or more.

Not that you would, but at the current estimated payout, you could stick it in a 2.45% CD (ok more like 100,000 of them) and make $7.7 million/year after taxes.

-Rob

Guys at work just started a pool. Already had my own ticket but if they won and I hadn't joined in and had to keep working when they all went off to enjoy their wealth.....my mental health probably couldn't cope with that.

Apparently we are a REALLY country group. Everyone but me claims they wouldn't even move, just build bigger houses (with shops) in the same location.

I need to go get a ticket. The odds are ridiculous, but the odds that you'll win without buying a ticket are infinitely worse.

It's so much money I can't really even conceptualize what it would be like. Although my plan is, as it always has been, to invest it. I wouldn't spend one red cent. I'd get it all dug into long term investments and then spend all the capitol gains like water. Hard(er) to go broke that way.

So far.... $4 invested.

Now $1.4B

So, the odds are 292,201,338 to one. If I understand that correctly (I'm not a smart man.....), at $2 a ticket, you would need $584,402,676 to buy one of every possible combination. With the annual payout option, you could actual come out ahead if you could afford to spend over half a billion on lottery tickets......

Cash payout would need to be $968million to break even after taxes (if you live in a tax free state).

That's crazy to think that it's possible to guarantee a win and come out ahead.

AND if you DID have the funds to buy that many tickets, you'd probably increase the payout enough to make money off the deal.

-Rob

rob_lewis wrote: So, the odds are 292,201,338 to one. If I understand that correctly (I'm not a smart man.....), at $2 a ticket, you would need $584,402,676 to buy one of every possible combination. With the annual payout option, you could actual come out ahead if you could afford to spend over half a billion on lottery tickets...... Cash payout would need to be $968million to break even after taxes (if you live in a tax free state). That's crazy to think that it's possible to guarantee a win and come out ahead. AND if you DID have the funds to buy that many tickets, you'd probably increase the payout enough to make money off the deal. -Rob

Thatss assuming you were the only one that hit. Split that prize ince, and youre berkeleyed.

mndsm wrote:

rob_lewis wrote: So, the odds are 292,201,338 to one. If I understand that correctly (I'm not a smart man.....), at $2 a ticket, you would need $584,402,676 to buy one of every possible combination. With the annual payout option, you could actual come out ahead if you could afford to spend over half a billion on lottery tickets...... Cash payout would need to be $968million to break even after taxes (if you live in a tax free state). That's crazy to think that it's possible to guarantee a win and come out ahead. AND if you DID have the funds to buy that many tickets, you'd probably increase the payout enough to make money off the deal. -Rob

Thatss assuming you were the only one that hit. Split that prize ince, and youre berkeleyed.

Yeah, that hit me after I posted.

But, just thinking about it, NOBODY got the winning numbers and I would guess there were more than 292million tickets sold, which means there's an increasing number of duplicates.

It's fun to think about and dream.

-Rob

I'll be honest, I DO NOT WANT TO WIN THE BIG JACKPOT.

Who needs the crazies knocking at your door and harassing you? 1Mill will suffice.

Grtechguy wrote: I'll be honest, I DO NOT WANT TO WIN THE BIG JACKPOT. Who needs the crazies knocking at your door and harassing you? 1Mill will suffice.

I'm sure it could be arranged to accept the prize anonymously. Then you buy enough land with a tall enough fence/wall to keep everybody out. At least that's how I'd roll...

GameboyRMH wrote: I'm too good at math to play the lottery.

Or you're in a country that doesn't have the Powerball.

In reply to rob_lewis:

My plan would be to invest it at a guaranteed 4% (at the investment amount I can find as high as 8% guaranteed but those return levels scare me) and to live off of the interest, which would exceed $10M a year at that point. I'd live like an arrogant prick lotto winner, without letting a soul know that I was just living off of the interest. When I pass the the winnings, in tact, would be used to establish a trust to fund cancer research grants.

STM317 wrote:

Grtechguy wrote: I'll be honest, I DO NOT WANT TO WIN THE BIG JACKPOT. Who needs the crazies knocking at your door and harassing you? 1Mill will suffice.

I'm sure it could be arranged to accept the prize anonymously. Then you buy enough land with a tall enough fence/wall to keep everybody out. At least that's how I'd roll...

Not in Michigan. Only 6 states allow anonymous.

I heard that someone hired a guy to accept the check for him and the actual winner stood in the background wearing sunglasses trying to look like security. That way he was still on stage accepting the giant check but looking like a wall flower.

Grtechguy wrote: I'll be honest, I DO NOT WANT TO WIN THE BIG JACKPOT. Who needs the crazies knocking at your door and harassing you? 1Mill will suffice.

Start answering the door with a loaded 12 gauge. I bet they stop.