Did you buy a Powerball ticket?

[China_Guy]

@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:

[kopek]

I did. I rarely do but what the Hell? Someone just could win and if I don’t have one -------

[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.

[Emtar_KronJonDerSohn]

@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%!)

[DesertDog]

@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).

[Quartz]

@ivylass

Nope. Lottery is a tax on people who can’t do math.

The lottery is entertainment.

[Slash1972]

@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?

[The_Stainless_Steel_Rat]

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).

[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.

[Scumpup]

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.

[TriPolar]

@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.

[steronz]

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.

[Scumpup]

@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?

[CT_Damsel]

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.

[DCnDC]

@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.

[DummyGladHands]

I will now

[Scumpup]

@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.

[Dewey_Finn]

@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.

[DCnDC]

Well good luck with that.

I hope you win, I really, sincerely do.

[Dewey_Finn]

@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.