# 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:** 3
**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, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/41 "2016-01-07T15:05:58Z")
Oh Nos!! I didn’t win!!! Oh woe is me, I have $4 less money now, whatever shall I do? My hopes and dreams lie shattered on shores of frivolity! I shall rend my clothes, tear at the little hair I have left on my head, and spend the rest of my days repenting my foolish indulgence. But first I have to buy some more tickets for Saturday’s drawing. ---
**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, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/42 "2016-01-07T15:14:59Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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. If every person who threw away their money on a silly daydream donated it to a worthy cause instead, yes, yes I do think it would make a real difference. But again, I’ve got my fingers crossed for you. Seriously. ---
**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, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/43 "2016-01-07T15:26:16Z")
I’m sure you have no Starbucks habit. No Puma sweatshirt or other designer clothes. No house other than the smallest one in which your family can fit. My point is that we all have frivolous expenses in our lives, be it a two-dollar lottery ticket, or a vacation to the tropics. Assuming one is otherwise being wise with one’s money, an indulgence here or there isn’t going to matter much. ---
**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, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/44 "2016-01-07T15:29:39Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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. But still positive, so not a foolhardy risk, correct? ---
**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, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/45 "2016-01-07T15:31:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > No Puma sweatshirt or other designer clothes. this is great!🙂 ---
**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, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/46 "2016-01-07T15:31:06Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > 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. > > But still positive, so not a foolhardy risk, correct? No so foolhardy that I’m not going to buy a ticket. Hell, I might be really daring and buy two. ---
**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, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/47 "2016-01-07T15:34:22Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > If every person who threw away their money on a silly daydream donated it to a worthy cause instead, yes, yes I do think it would make a real difference. > > But again, I’ve got my fingers crossed for you. Seriously. How much do you spend on entertainment in a year? Stop spending it on entertainment this year and donate it to cancer research instead. If you don’t, any cancer deaths in 2016 are your fault. ---
**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, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/48 "2016-01-07T15:42:46Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’m sure you have no Starbucks habit. No Puma sweatshirt or other designer clothes. No house other than the smallest one in which your family can fit. My point is that we all have frivolous expenses in our lives, be it a two-dollar lottery ticket, or a vacation to the tropics. Assuming one is otherwise being wise with one’s money, an indulgence here or there isn’t going to matter much. When I spend $2 for coffee or clothes or the mortgage, I _get something_ for it. If it’s entertaining to you to burn $2 in exchange for nothing, by all means go for it, I don’t give a shit. Maybe the question you should really be asking is why you’re so pissed off about me telling you the fact, and it is a fact, that you’re not going to win. ---
**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, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/49 "2016-01-07T15:49:53Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Because I’d like you to not waste your time and money. > [@DCnDC](#): > > I don’t give a shit. These statements don’t seem to go together. ---
**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, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/50 "2016-01-07T15:50:42Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Maybe the question you should really be asking is why you’re so pissed off about me telling you the fact, and it is a fact, that you’re not going to win. Maybe because you basically threadshat? ---
**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, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/51 "2016-01-07T15:51:47Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > When I spend $2 for coffee or clothes or the mortgage, I _get something_ for it. If it’s entertaining to you to burn $2 in exchange for nothing, by all means go for it, I don’t give a shit. > > Maybe the question you should really be asking is why you’re so pissed off about me telling you the fact, and it is a fact, that you’re not going to win. I’m very happy for you if you enjoy saving $2. Please be happy for me if I enjoy taking $2 and burning it. ---
**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, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/52 "2016-01-07T15:53:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m very happy for you if you enjoy saving $2. Please be happy for me if I enjoy taking $2 and burning it. I am. I’m golf clapping for you right now. 😉 ---
**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, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/53 "2016-01-07T15:58:06Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Maybe because you basically threadshat? You know what? You’re absolutely right, I did. I apologize; please go about your business. Enjoy that lottery drawing, I hope you win, I am not being sarcastic, I really do hope you win. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/54 "2016-01-07T16:04:05Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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. Sure, but it has a legitimate place as part of your allocation. I put $4,000 a month into savings. 75% goes into stocks, 25% into bonds/money market, and I dropped a $20 bill on a Powerball ticket. When I put another double sawbuck on the next drawing it will rocket the percentage to 1% of the total. Plus, every other investment you’ve got to pay taxes on too. You can’t discount the lottery because of taxes and ignore the effect of taxes on other investments. Hell, I could buy lottery tickets every week for the rest of my life and never equal my losses on that idiotic platinum mine stock I bought. What the hell was I thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/55 "2016-01-07T16:08:37Z")
I hadn’t heard it was so high, or I would have. Zero is zero. Everything else is nonzero. One ticket to make your chances nonzero–along with the entertainment value–is worth it. I need to work on my Crazy Rich fantasy. So far I have a boreal estate with a mega-chalet and a herd of white reindeer. I can embellish this. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/56 "2016-01-07T16:17:58Z")
Yep, and we won $2. Or $4, or something. I don’t know how this all works. I’m not a regular lottery player. But when I get a text message in the middle of the day from the husband that says, “Don’t ask me why, just please get $10 worth of Powerball Quick Picks for tonight,” I do it. He might have been kidnapped by white reindeer or something. I got some giggles from the cashier and other people in line when I admitted I’d never bought a lottery ticket. I made an old man smile and share his dreams of fortune with me for 10 minutes. I got to tease my husband about alarming text messages (he wasn’t kidnapped by white reindeer). Definitely got $10 worth of entertainment out of it. And $2. Or $4. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/57 "2016-01-07T16:33:06Z")
> [@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). > [@China\_Guy](#): > > Buy two and double your chance to one-in-250 million:cool: Why would I need to do that? I called dibs. Come on, people! It’s DIBS! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/58 "2016-01-07T16:35:50Z")
> [@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. If you lost your ticket 364 days AFTER buying it, I’m not really sure why you’re saying you did it “promptly.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/59 "2016-01-07T16:51:14Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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. Assuming your state doesn’t assess taxes on lottery winnings, your federal tax burden will be approximately 39.6% (that’s marginal, on the amount that exceeds what it takes to put your income for the year above $415,050; or $466,950 for a couple filing jointly; but at these levels, a back-of-the-envelope calculation can neglect that). That’s going to leave you with about $249,512,000. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364/60 "2016-01-07T17:05:23Z")
I never buy lottery tickets, but you people have somehow convinced me that I should. If I win, you all get $10. (ETA: except DCnDC) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-buy-a-powerball-ticket/742364.md?page=4)