# Did you buy a Powerball ticket? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364 "2016-01-06T22:01:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/21 "2016-01-07T05:09:03Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I can do the math well enough to know that a one-in-500 million chance of ever having that kind of money is bigger than a zero-in-500 million chance (which is what my chances are if it comes down to relying on my own initiative). Buy two and double your chance to one-in-250 million:cool: ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/22 "2016-01-07T05:23:05Z")
I did. I rarely do but what the Hell? Someone just could win and if I don’t have one ------- ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/23 "2016-01-07T05:36:22Z")
I bought one on New Years then promptly lost the ticket on NYE, which made me sad because I see it as paying $2 for the opportunity to dream about insane amounts of money. I skipped this week on the theory that if I am meant to win it will be the largest jackpot ever so I would wait to see if nobody won. Apparently I was right so I guess I will have to play again next week. I don’t know why I even play. I would not want that amount of money. It just seems that you will be at risk for kidnapping or murder, not to mention the lowlifes who will come out of the woodwork wanting money. I’d much rather win a less obscene but still excellent sum like $20 million-enough to be comfortable for life without the aggravation. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/24 "2016-01-07T11:46:38Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I bought one on New Years then promptly lost the ticket on NYE, which made me sad because I see it as paying $2 for the opportunity to dream about insane amounts of money. I skipped this week on the theory that if I am meant to win it will be the largest jackpot ever so I would wait to see if nobody won. Apparently I was right so I guess I will have to play again next week. I don’t know why I even play. I would not want that amount of money. It just seems that you will be at risk for kidnapping or murder, not to mention the lowlifes who will come out of the woodwork wanting money. I’d much rather win a less obscene but still excellent sum like $20 million-enough to be comfortable for life without the aggravation. You could fund the hell out of a lot of charities and keep $20m for yourself. (You’re welcome. My advice is an absolute _steal_ at only 15%!) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/25 "2016-01-07T13:24:05Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Nope. Lottery is a tax on people who can’t do math. Actually, it’s you who can’t do the math. The odds of winning Powerball is about 175-million to 1 on a single ticket. The jackpot is, since it did not win last night, is 600+ million, call it a ratio if 3.5 to 1 If some guy offered a proposition where he would pay me $3.50 if I called a coin toss correctly, but pay him $1.00 if I did not, I would jump at the chance, assuming the coin is legitimate. By buying a ticket now, you’re climbing on the backs of the schlubs who went before you (who can’t do the math). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/26 "2016-01-07T13:45:57Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Nope. Lottery is a tax on people who can’t do math. The lottery is entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/27 "2016-01-07T13:50:52Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Actually, it’s you who can’t do the math. The odds of winning Powerball is about 175-million to 1 on a single ticket. The jackpot is, since it did not win last night, is 600+ million, call it a ratio if 3.5 to 1 If some guy offered a proposition where he would pay me $3.50 if I called a coin toss correctly, but pay him $1.00 if I did not, I would jump at the chance, assuming the coin is legitimate. > > By buying a ticket now, you’re climbing on the backs of the schlubs who went before you (who can’t do the math). I see this all the time - “Lottery is for poor dumb people” But when the jackpot grows to higher than the odds, doesn’t it make sense to buy at least ONE ticket? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/28 "2016-01-07T13:55:41Z")
I live in a state (Alabama) which is not part of the Powerball group (the Baptists don’t hold with that there gambin’ stuff), so I’ll have to drive up to Tennessee if I want a ticket. For a (highly implausable, I know the odds) chance at $650M? Yeah, I have $20 that I can spare and one can always dream dreams (but not make dreams your master). ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/29 "2016-01-07T13:56:33Z")
Wow. Every excuse in the book conveniently listed right here. You’re not going to win. Yes, _someone_’s going to win, possibly even several people are going to win, but it’s not going to be you. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/30 "2016-01-07T13:57:35Z")
Nobody won the Wednesday drawing, so I’ll buy one tonight. Two bucks is cheap for a few days of idle daydreams about what to do with the wealth and leisure. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/31 "2016-01-07T13:59:28Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Wow. Every excuse in the book conveniently listed right here. > > You’re not going to win. Yes, _someone_’s going to win, possibly even several people are going to win, but it’s not going to be you. It could be one of us. Since you didn’t buy a ticket then it’s definitely not you. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/32 "2016-01-07T13:59:54Z")
I dropped $20 on it and hit 3 powerballs! Naturally I’m gonna let the $12 slide through the next drawing. Maybe I can turn that into $4, and then $0 and then … oh, right. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/33 "2016-01-07T14:00:57Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Wow. Every excuse in the book conveniently listed right here. > > You’re not going to win. Yes, _someone_’s going to win, possibly even several people are going to win, but it’s not going to be you. It’s not going to be somebody who didn’t buy a ticket, that’s true, so you aren’t going to win. Why it is so important to you to piss on people who decided to buy a couple dollars worth of fantasies is a puzzlement. They didn’t bum the money off you, what do you care? ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/34 "2016-01-07T14:02:43Z")
I did not purchase a ticket for last nights drawing; but I will for the next one. What I like about PowerBall is not the odds of winning; but the level playing field. Every ticket has the same bad odds of winning. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/35 "2016-01-07T14:12:37Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Why it is so important to you to piss on people who decided to buy a couple dollars worth of fantasies is a puzzlement. They didn’t bum the money off you, what do you care? Because I’d like you to not waste your time and money. You may think you’re buying hope, but what you’re really buying is disappointment. If you really want to invest in “hope,” donate that 2 bucks to cancer research or some other cause you deem worthy. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/36 "2016-01-07T14:36:09Z")
I will now ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/37 "2016-01-07T14:42:46Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Because I’d like you to not waste your time and money. > > You may think you’re buying hope, but what you’re really buying is disappointment. If you really want to invest in “hope,” donate that 2 bucks to cancer research or some other cause you deem worthy. I said I was buying idle daydreams, not hope. > [@](#): > > Two bucks is cheap for a few days of \*\*idle daydreams \*\*about what to do with the wealth and leisure. > [@](#): > > Why it is so important to you to piss on people who decided to buy a couple dollars worth of **fantasies** Nothing at all in there about hope. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/38 "2016-01-07T14:48:16Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Actually, it’s you who can’t do the math. The odds of winning Powerball is about 175-million to 1 on a single ticket. The jackpot is, since it did not win last night, is 600+ million, call it a ratio if 3.5 to 1 If some guy offered a proposition where he would pay me $3.50 if I called a coin toss correctly, but pay him $1.00 if I did not, I would jump at the chance, assuming the coin is legitimate. Not quite. The annuity value of the the jackpot is about $675 million, or a cash payout of about $300 million. If you subtract taxes from that, you might come to a net of about $200 million or so. So it’s a fair bet, but not much more than that. Don’t get me wrong; I’m still going to buy a ticket. But if I’m doing the math correctly, the expected value is only slightly positive. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/39 "2016-01-07T14:48:52Z")
Well good luck with that. I hope you win, I really, sincerely do. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/40 "2016-01-07T14:50:45Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > You may think you’re buying hope, but what you’re really buying is disappointment. If you really want to invest in “hope,” donate that 2 bucks to cancer research or some other cause you deem worthy. Do you really think that two-dollar donation means the difference between finding a cure and not? Donating it to cancer research is about as hopeless as buying a lottery ticket. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364.md?page=3)