$220 million

[schloff]

Well, I didn't win the Powerball jackpot last night.

[woodturner]

Well, I didn't win the Powerball jackpot last night.

It helps to buy a ticket

Maybe Dogbert will sell you one - only one less chance of winning!

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1994-04-08/

[dbhost]

Nor did I win... Pity, that would buy a LOT of wood...

[BigguyZ]

Self- moderated. Didn't think it was "political", as in partisan, but I'd hate to create an issue either way.

Summary, lotteries are stupid.

[jking]

And why do states allow a goverment-funded lottery, but a privately run casino isn't OK? I'd rather take my chances at the casino than the lottery, that's for sure.

Because the state doesn't make much money on the privately run casino.

There isn't much more I can say without this turning political.

[Black wallnut]

Please use care to keep this away from the political implications and ramblings side of lotteries. This is simply not the venue to discuss that.

Thanks jking you were posting as I was typing.....

[jackellis]

Lotteries are popular, and not just with people who can't afford to play. There are plenty of middle-class folks who will plunk down a buck for the thrill it provides. They're pretty pervasive in Latin America.

I don't like lotteries or casinos because the odds are horrible and I don't really understand casino games anyway. I used to watch the dealers when I had business near Atlantic City and the only decent place to stay was one of the casino hotels, and I put a free roll of nickels through a slot machine once.

Lotteries are dumb, but when jackpots reach the 8 figure range, it's hard not to get caught up in the hype.

[woodturner]

I don't like lotteries or casinos because the odds are horrible and I don't really understand casino games anyway.

That's the funny thing about statistics, though - although the odds are against you, it doesn't mean you won't win every time. All statistics does is predict the likelihood an event will occur, given a large set of samples.

So, the more lottery tickets you buy and the more often you buy them, the more likely you are to win - but is still doesn't mean you will win every time, or ever.

[jackellis]

I like "lotteries" and other, similar "games of chance" where you can control the odds or even improve them by being smart. Warren Buffett even provides free education at the Berkshire Hathaway web site

[BigguyZ]

I like "lotteries" and other, similar "games of chance" where you can control the odds or even improve them by being smart. Warren Buffett even provides free education at the Berkshire Hathaway web site

Actually, you can. From Wikipedia's page for Lottery:
In 2011, it was reported that Joan R. Ginther, a statistics professor, had won four different multi-million dollar jackpots from purchasing scratch-off lottery tickets in Texas. It was speculated that there was actually a pattern to where and when the winning tickets were sold, and that Professor Ginther had figured out this pattern.[13]


And I remember a story just recently where someone mathematically figured out that buying $600,000 worth of tickets for a specific game guaranteed that they'd win about 30% of the prizes, netting millions in return.

I still think Lotteries are a bad idea.

[cabinetman]

I still think Lotteries are a bad idea.

Unless (or until) you win.

.

[jking]

Please use care to keep this away from the political implications and ramblings side of lotteries. This is simply not the venue to discuss that.

Thanks jking you were posting as I was typing.....

My comment was more about what more I could say about lotteries & less about what anyone had said.

[schloff]

A lottery is a voluntary state tax. That's the way I see it. Hahaha

I buy a ticket now and then. It increases my chances of winning by that much.

[BobSch]

The winners were from this area. Unfortunately, it wasn't me.