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Mega Millions

post #1 of 75
1/4/11 at 9:42pm
Thread Starter 
At $355 million how good is your self restraint?
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post #2 of 75
1/4/11 at 9:46pm
It's always worth buying 1 ticket if its > $100 million.
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post #3 of 75
1/4/11 at 9:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fraiche View Post
It's always worth buying 1 ticket if its > $100 million.

At $355 million I'm in. If I lose it is only $1. If I win you will never hear from me again because I'll have my butler post for me.
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post #4 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:03pm
Odds of winning the Mega Millions is 1 in 176 million, according to the news.

$355/176 = $2.01. Buy 2 tickets and its still worthwhile from an expected value point-of-view, I guess.
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post #5 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:20pm
Bought my first lottery ticket in years tonight. My grandfather asked me to pick up a few for him so I got $2 for the Mega Millions. People who play the lotto on a regular basis are usually uneducated and of the lower class.
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post #6 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:26pm
My self restraint is fine, but my statistics are better. I played, just because the EV is more than the cost of a play. I bought some last week, and I bought some today. Prior to last week, I couldn't even guess when I'd last played the lottery.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BC2012 View Post
Odds of winning the Mega Millions is 1 in 176 million, according to the news.

$355/176 = $2.01. Buy 2 tickets and its still worthwhile from an expected value point-of-view, I guess.

If you take the partial payouts into consideration, the EV is actually higher than $2.01.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Connemara View Post
Bought my first lottery ticket in years tonight. My grandfather asked me to pick up a few for him so I got $2 for the Mega Millions.

People who play the lotto on a regular basis are usually uneducated and of the lower class.

It's true. So much so that, in my policy classes, the lottery was often cited as a regressive tax.
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post #7 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Connemara View Post

People who play the lotto on a regular basis are usually uneducated and of the lower class.
I apologize for my current predicament.
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post #8 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:36pm
Got some gas today and noticed the amount so I bought a ticket. The few minutes of fantasizing about what I'd do with that amount of money was worth the dollar.
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post #9 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:43pm
I believe the lotto exists purely as a social experiment.
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post #10 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba View Post
I believe the lotto exists purely as a social experiment.

You have obviously never won.
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post #11 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:52pm
I know you haven't won or Tom Ford would be your personal assistant.

I personally believe the 'Mega Millions' to be irresponsible, most of the winners are poor or lower middle class who end up completely destroying their lives and the lives of their families.
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post #12 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:55pm
When is the drawing?
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post #13 of 75
1/4/11 at 10:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BC2012 View Post
Odds of winning the Mega Millions is 1 in 176 million, according to the news.

$355/176 = $2.01. Buy 2 tickets and its still worthwhile from an expected value point-of-view, I guess.

It's a bit more complex than that, because there are many more prize payouts than just the jackpot. Also, you need to account for taxes and the actual value of the payout, which is substantially lower than $335 million even before tax.
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post #14 of 75
1/4/11 at 11:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BC2012 View Post
Odds of winning the Mega Millions is 1 in 176 million, according to the news. $355/176 = $2.01. Buy 2 tickets and its still worthwhile from an expected value point-of-view, I guess.
odds does not equal probability. I don't really care what the odds are. Out of curiosity, does anybody know what the true probability of hitting jackpot is?
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post #15 of 75
1/4/11 at 11:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba View Post
I personally believe the 'Mega Millions' to be irresponsible, most of the winners are poor or lower middle class who end up completely destroying their lives and the lives of their families.
Sad how it ends up like that. A forced money management class would do wonders for society as a whole. At the very least I think it would...
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