# I want to win a million dollars, what should I play? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778 "2008-01-16T20:44:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/81 "2008-01-24T15:26:42Z")
But blackjack requires thought and the OP is looking for something completely brainless. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/82 "2008-01-24T15:52:24Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] But surely, in calculating your chances of winning a million dollars on _Deal or No Deal_, you would have to take into account your chances of getting onto the show in the first place. That lengthens the odds considerably. [/QUOTE] Like the lottery, you can’t win unless you play. How many people don’t bother to try either the lottery or DOND? Anyway, I think it answers the original question of “I want to win a million dollars, what should I play?” rather well. Out of all the gameshows, DOND is the most mindless way to get a million, and is also the most lottery-like if you refuse all deals to the end. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/83 "2008-01-24T16:29:56Z")
[QUOTE=The Controvert] Like the lottery, you can’t win unless you play. How many people don’t bother to try either the lottery or DOND? Anyway, I think it answers the original question of “I want to win a million dollars, what should I play?” rather well. Out of all the gameshows, DOND is the most mindless way to get a million, and is also the most lottery-like if you refuse all deals to the end. [/QUOTE] The OP has a good chance to get on. They search out for the loudest most brainless people to be on that show. He needs to practice being enthusiastic. ---
**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 24, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/84 "2008-01-24T17:08:31Z")
I once visited the headquarters of Bank of America, and asked them to sell me $2.00 worth of stock in their company. They wouldn’t do it. $2.00 is pretty much all the money I have available for investing. I can either use it to buy two candy bars that I don’t really need, or buy a quick-pick twice a week. ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/85 "2008-01-24T18:21:18Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] $2.00 is pretty much all the money I have available for investing. I can either use it to buy two candy bars that I don’t really need, or buy a quick-pick twice a week. [/QUOTE] Really? Those are the only two choices you can think of? ---
**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 24, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/86 "2008-01-24T18:33:20Z")
I can think of endless possibilities, all of which come in under two bucks. I don’t suspect my two dollars would get me very far in a brokerage house, either. How much does it cost to set up an account at one of those places? How much does it cost to make a buy, or a trade? I’ve heard of things called “commissions”, although I don’t pretend to understand them. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/87 "2008-01-24T19:07:33Z")
Or you could save it for a couple weeks or months and then do something with it. $50 is easier to invest than $2. ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/88 "2008-01-24T19:12:50Z")
Do a search on “Latte factor”. Is your car fully paid off? Do you have student loans? ---
**Author:** ![MOLLYBIRD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@MOLLYBIRD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOLLYBIRD)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/89 "2008-01-24T19:36:23Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] I have a friend in Nigeria who will send you a $1,000,000 after you make a payment of $20,000 for handling fees. [/QUOTE] That’s nothing. I have a “friend” in Nigeria, two in South Africa, and a barrister in England, all of whom are willing to send me between 1 and 2.6 million. the Africans need help to launder their millions of family money. All they want so far is my personal information 😉 BTW, the barrister is representing the estate of a James Montgomery Doohan who died 2 years ago and decided to leave me the $2.6 million in his will after having somehow met me years ago. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because that is the real name of Scotty from Star Trek :dubious: I offered to open a separate account in my bank in the amount of $5.00 to help them with their monetary woes. So far I haven’t heard back from any of them, but I remain optimistic 😃 ---
**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 24, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/90 "2008-01-24T20:21:18Z")
[QUOTE=flight] Or you could save it for a couple weeks or months and then do something with it. [/QUOTE] No. I couldn’t. Trust me on this. ---
**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 24, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/91 "2008-01-24T20:39:20Z")
[QUOTE=muttrox] Do a search on “Latte factor”. Is your car fully paid off? Do you have student loans? [/QUOTE] “Latte factor” I think I comprehend. As to the others, the answers are “no” and “no”. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/92 "2008-01-24T21:01:34Z")
[QUOTE=The Controvert] Out of all the gameshows, DOND is the most mindless way to get a million, and is also the most lottery-like if you refuse all deals to the end. [/QUOTE] have you ever thought about what the chances are of someone actually winning a million on that show? If you were up there with 2 suitcases left, one was a million and the other was $500…wouldn’t you take the deal? I know I would. The only way I would press on with 2 suitcases left and one was a million would be if the other was $750,000. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/93 "2008-01-25T00:37:47Z")
I think Bacarat (betting on the bank) is the way to go in the casino, unless you can count cards. I don’t think the casino would mind taking a 500,000 bet if you informed the casino of your plan in advance (to make a million off 50 bucks or whatever your first stake is) ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/94 "2008-01-25T07:25:09Z")
Please mail me $1/week, and I’ll contact you if and when you win $1,000,000. Seriously, you’ll get the same results with me as you will from the lottery. Alternatively, you could ritualistically set fire to a $1 bill every week and that $1,000,000 may or may not rain down from the sky at some point in the future. [www.sharebuilder.com](http://www.sharebuilder.com) lets you buy fractional shares for small amounts of money (withdrawn automatically from your bank account every month; $4 per transaction, I think). If you contribute $385 dollars per month, put it all on SPY, and do that for 40 years, you’ll have a million dollars. And I calculated that at 7%, which is a little conservative. I ran the numbers for $1/week, and you’d have to invest for 103 years to get to that million. So you’d need to bump it up a bit. I suspect your question was a little more light-hearted than an actual request for for reliable procedures to get from where you are to $1,000,000, but seriously, you should consider that as a goal that you can actually get to, no magic required. Rather than the various options that involve gambling, I suggest positioning yourself to marry into money. Get a makeover, a good suit and start taking ballroom dancing classes. The middle aged women there, all fresh from their recent divorces, will flock to you because there are so few guys there (I’m assuming you’re a guy – T\_Square sounds a little masculine to me). Focus on an older one, preferably without kids (who would dilute the estate), and bring some excitement into her life. By that I mean, don’t encourage her to smoke or eat lots of saturated fats – they add up to large medical bills just before she kicks. Instead, get her into base jumping, mountain bike riding, skydiving, etc. You want her to exit the scene abruptly, without lingering medical bills further eating away at her/your estate. BTW: I occasionally buy lottery tickets (maybe four or five per year) for the **single purpose** of being able to idly fantasize about what I’d do should I win, but I don’t even bother to check the numbers. ---
**Author:** ![casieispretty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@casieispretty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casieispretty)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/95 "2008-01-25T13:46:11Z")
Geez people, this isn’t great debates. He didn’t ask for your advice on other routes of financial success, just the lottery. Also, I find it amusing that people are calling lottery players dumb, but those who play roulette somehow better. Think of it this way, a lot of lottery money goes back to useful community causes. At least his $1 can help someone out, unlike casino gambling, or some of the other smartass ideas on here. Now, I suggest that the OP buys a book called, “The Secret.” Follow the instructions of the book word for word. If you do this it won’t matter what lotto you play, you’ll eventually get everything you truly want. Personally, I have rich parents and reccomend that everyone do the same. ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/96 "2008-01-25T14:08:03Z")
1. Playing roulette is factually smarter than playing the lottery. 2. The OP didn’t ask about community causes. 3. You’re irritated by smartass ideas, and reccomend The Secret and being born rich. Maybe I’ve been whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/97 "2008-01-25T14:26:08Z")
[QUOTE=casieispretty] Think of it this way, a lot of lottery money goes back to useful community causes. At least his $1 can help someone out [/QUOTE] This is one of the most insidious things about the state-run lotteries: their frequent association (whether real or implied) with funding for education or other widely supported programs. If education is so all fired important, why should it depend in any way on the uncertainly of lottery income? Would people “feel so good” about playing the lottery if the revenue was applied to funding prisons? No, the smarmy politicians have pegged lottery funds to education as just another cynical “think of the children” measure, so they can tax poor and stupid people disproportionately in their name. It’s disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/98 "2008-01-25T14:37:35Z")
There’s a group where I work who have formed an office pool for the state (South Carolina) lottery. So far, they’re down about $25,000. These are mostly intelligent people, but they continue to pour money down that particular rathole. I think they’re mainly buying the opportunity to fantasize. If they figure it’s worth it, OK by me. RR ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/99 "2008-01-25T14:42:55Z")
[QUOTE=King Friday] have you ever thought about what the chances are of someone actually winning a million on that show? If you were up there with 2 suitcases left, one was a million and the other was $500…wouldn’t you take the deal? I know I would. The only way I would press on with 2 suitcases left and one was a million would be if the other was $750,000. [/QUOTE] Yes, of course I have thought of that. I’d walk away if the offer was north of the $130,000 expected value of the game. But the OP wants a million dollars, and the chance of that is exactly 1 in 26. No initial cash outlay and the odds are significantly better than any of the other schemes previously laid out. Can you answer “I want to win a million dollars, what should I play” any better than DOND? Keywords: “win”, “million”, and “play”. ---
**Author:** ![casieispretty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@casieispretty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casieispretty)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778/100 "2008-01-25T15:01:31Z")
[QUOTE=muttrox] 1. Playing roulette is factually smarter than playing the lottery. 2. The OP didn’t ask about community causes. 3. You’re irritated by smartass ideas, and reccomend The Secret and being born rich. Maybe I’ve been whooshed. [/QUOTE] 1. Playing roulette is still a stupid way to make money 2. Yes, but I was mentioning that as a way to make it more appealing to those who seem to be coming down hard on our lottery loving friend. 3. You don’t believe in The Secret? See, that right there is why you’re not getting what you want. You gotta believe to achieve! 4. Yeah, there might be a slight draft over your head. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-million-dollars-what-should-i-play/433778.md?page=6)