Mega Millions

[eztantz]

At $355 million how good is your self restraint?

 

[Fraiche]

It's always worth buying 1 ticket if its > $100 million.

 

[pdxpm]

Originally Posted by Fraiche

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.

 

[BC2012]

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.

 

[Connemara]

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.

 

[MrG]

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.

Originally Posted by BC2012

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.

Originally Posted by Connemara

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.

 

[Desi]

Originally Posted by Connemara

People who play the lotto on a regular basis are usually uneducated and of the lower class.
I apologize for my current predicament.

 

[Nil]

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.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

I believe the lotto exists purely as a social experiment.

 

[SpooPoker]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

I believe the lotto exists purely as a social experiment.

You have obviously never won.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

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.

 

[Don Carlos]

When is the drawing?

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by BC2012

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.

 

[sharwood]

Originally Posted by BC2012

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?

 

[Desi]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

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...