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[aspiegamer]

On a more serious note, I know there's always a lot of commentary on how lotteries are essentially an "idiot tax" and a laughable way to waste money. As a physical object, perhaps, but if for $1 or $2 someone can be a little happy daydreaming about what they'd do with the money to crawl out of their depressing life, I consider that worth the money. Hell, the average person can be happy daydreaming about winning a damn $100 prize.

$2 for the thrill of the tiny chance at half a billi...

What is that falling for exactly?

Exactly!

 

[EazyWeazy3]

I probably should play.

I'll stop by after work.

 

[pelicansurf]

39 people at our office chipped in.

 

[eddie4]

I believe they added more numbers so the odds are even worse, 1 in 292 million

For some comparison, your chance of being struck by lightning in a year is about one in 960,000.

 

[Byakuya769]

I work for the gambling industry in a position where I evaluate the average return on a wager and I'm not buying a ticket.

I'd have to be pretty dumb to fall for my own thing.

$2 for the thrill of the tiny chance at half a billi...

What is that falling for exactly?

 

[Eusis]

at one in 175m to win a jackpot, it's actually statistically convenient (pre-tax) at 350m?
probably convenient post-tax post 500m.
Can't you buy 175m tickets?

It might be a net gain (if no one else wins) but with that kind of money why play the lottery?

 

[Yaboosh]

$2 for the thrill of the tiny chance at half a billi...

What is that falling for exactly?

Buying one is fun.

Buying two is falling for it.

 

[georly]

$2 for the thrill of the tiny chance at half a billi...

What is that falling for exactly?

if you're ok with basically paying MORE taxes for nothing, then go ahead

 

[bootsthecat]

On a more serious note, I know there's always a lot of commentary on how lotteries are essentially an "idiot tax" and a laughable way to waste money. As a physical object, perhaps, but if for $1 or $2 someone can be a little happy daydreaming about what they'd do with the money to crawl out of their depressing life, I consider that worth the money. Hell, the average person can be happy daydreaming about winning a damn $100 prize.

That's always been my mindset. a 1 in 5 gazillion chance, is infinitely better than a zero in gazillion chance. The $6 I spent is more than worth it for a few minutes of dream talk with coworkers today.

 

[psynergylover]

I bought a ticket, do everytime the lotto becomes news worthy, if I win everyone on Gaf gets $100

 

[MIMIC]

I believe they added more numbers so the odds are even worse, 1 in 292 million

Wow, and I thought Mega Millions had the worst odds. Turns out they're better (slightly) than Powerball: 1 in 259 million.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Buying one is fun.

Buying two is falling for it.

agreed. $2 is a small price to dream for a day. But if you're buying $20 worth, then you're not doing it right

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Yeah. My favorite part of buying a lotto ticket is the day dreaming and talk about what you would do. Of course you can talk about that without buying a ticket but without the chance of it actually happening the day dreaming isnt nearly as fun.

I actually prefer to play when the pots are smaller. Less people buy tickets.

Canadian lottos are much less but at least we dont get taxed on it.

 

[Byakuya769]

if you're ok with basically paying MORE taxes for nothing, then go ahead

It's not nothing, though. You're paying for the enjoyment of the intangibles. Peel away any non-essential purchase, and it all goes back to intangible feelings of worth but generally not much value intrinsically.

Just silly that this odds discussion continues to come up as if it is novel, thoughtful or informative to any of the people who just buy a ticket or two on a whim.

 

[CFMOORE!]

Where my GAF 52 at?

here! we resolved the paypal issue by going amazon payments, remember yall?!

 

[I'm an expert]

agreed. $2 is a small price to dream for a day. But if you're buying $20 worth, then you're not doing it right

What if $20 to me is what $2 is to you..? Then I'm doing it right?

Also who cares about the odds. Someone always wins. It's not like there are no lottery winners for years and years. Someone will probably win tonight.

 

[Syncytia]

What if $20 to me is what $2 is to you..? Then I'm doing it right?

Also who cares about the odds. Someone always wins. It's not there are no lottery winners for years and years. Someone will probably win tonight.

I feel like usually no one wins when it first gets on the news. Then the next drawing after three people win.

 

[DurielBlack]

Sometimes I buy a couple of tickets. Not for any real hope of winning, but just because its fun to daydream and to insert a little bit of hope into an otherwise dreary existence.

 

[Patryn]

I tend to buy a ticket, daydream about what I'd do with the money, and then immediately lose the ticket and never both to check if somebody won.

I think I figure that if someone won from the location I'm buying, that location would make a big deal about it. Don't they get a bonus or something for selling the winning ticket?

 

[shoplifter]

Yeah, once it gets to $500m, that's pretty close to EV+ (for a single winner) after taxes, so I'll toss a couple bucks at it.

 

[bmo]

I play all the time.

Let's do 20 years. See how I do.

edit: I made -$3982

This is great. I've made $-200,924. The upside is: I'm 1,113.5 years old. It has taken 1100 years to "win" $30,000. lol

 

[Yaboosh]

Yeah, once it gets to $500m, that's pretty close to EV+ (for a single winner) after taxes, so I'll toss a couple bucks at it.

EV should really not have anything to do with your decision to play the lottery.

There is no long term when it comes to the lottery. So basically nobody should ever expect any return on investment.

It isn't like poker where seeing a situation 100 times will usually yield a profit when you play in a EV+ manner.

 

[5amshift]

A good amount of the people from my office are pooling together to get a bunch of tickets. Put in my $2.

 

[shoplifter]

EV should really not have anything to do with your decision to play the lottery.

I'll only play when its EV+ even with the ridiculous odds. It's the only way I can justify (literally) throwing $2 away.


OVER 87 MILLION WEEKS I'M POSITIVE MONEY!

 

[Arthr2ShdsJcksn]

I just sold my car (A 2016 Toyota Rav4 that I thought looked cool when I bought it last month, but I really don't like) for $1200 and put it all on the same hand-picked numbers. That way, when I win, I'll win the jackpot 600 times.

 

[Yaboosh]

I'll only play when its EV+ even with the ridiculous odds. It's the only way I can justify (literally) throwing $2 away.


OVER 174 MILLION WEEKS I'M POSITIVE MONEY!

I mean I never play unless the number is super high too, but yeah, your expected value is effectively zero regardless of jackpot size.

 

[Bay Maximus]

Yeah, once it gets to $500m, that's pretty close to EV+ (for a single winner) after taxes, so I'll toss a couple bucks at it.

I don't know. The new odds of winning are 292 Mil to 1. You get a third of the total advertised. At two dollars a pick (?) the jackpot would have to approach 1.8 billion to make sense.

 

[shoplifter]

That's true, they did change the odds, didn't they?

 

[Ovid]

I just sold my car (A 2016 Toyota Rav4 that I thought looked cool when I bought it last month, but I really don't like) for $1200 and put it all on the same hand-picked numbers. That way, when I win, I'll win the jackpot 600 times.

Troll logic.

Also you got ripped off.

 

[Chris R]

500,000,000.00?

Time to buy a few tickets then I guess. Do I just go into the gas station and say print me the winning numbers and walk out clapping? We don't have the lottery in my state so I'm new to this

 

[JdFoX187]

Our office forbids a pool. Then again, there's less than 20 of us on the floor and if we won, we could easily purchase this place and run it a hell of a lot better than the current owners. So maybe that's why. I need to swing by the gas station on my way home tonight and purchase a ticket, just for the hell of it.

 

[Yaboosh]

500,000,000.00?

Time to buy a few tickets then I guess. Do I just go into the gas station and say print me the winning numbers and walk out clapping? We don't have the lottery in my state so I'm new to this

Say you want a power ball quick pick, give them $2 (cash only) and walk out like Mr moneybags.

 

[show me your skeleton]

Only way to justify lottery is knowing the money is hopefully going back into schools/roads/etc.

unfortunately that is not where most if the money goes.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

If I win I will give each GAF member $10,000.

Spoiler

Junior members are not eligible.

Hey Now,

My office put up 100 bucks. We will win $2

 

[UpperCaseN]

My wife and I saw a printout ad for the Mega Millions while grocery shopping on Sunday, decided to buy a ticket. I know the odds are absurd but tell that to the last person who won, you know? Did a quick pick and the drawing was last night, I checked this morning and didn't get a single number right.

I've been meaning to pick my own numbers and play them each time, with Quick Pick it's a random followed by the random drawing, so double randoms. With a manual pick at least your constant is being thrown against the random drawing.

 

[Camwi]

If I win I will give each GAF member $10,000.

Spoiler

Junior members are not eligible.

There are 164,884 members. You'd need over a billion dollars to fulfill your promise.

My wife and I saw a printout ad for the Mega Millions while grocery shopping on Sunday, decided to buy a ticket. I know the odds are absurd but tell that to the last person who won, you know? Did a quick pick and the drawing was last night, I checked this morning and didn't get a single number right.

I've been meaning to pick my own numbers and play them each time, with Quick Pick it's a random followed by the random drawing, so double randoms. With a manual pick at least your constant is being thrown against the random drawing.

The odds are the exact same whether you do a random pick or a manual one, no matter how many times you play.

I think..

 

[shoplifter]

I've been meaning to pick my own numbers and play them each time, with Quick Pick it's a random followed by the random drawing, so double randoms. With a manual pick at least your constant is being thrown against the random drawing.

The odds are the same, they don't eliminate a combination when it wins.

 

[BumRush]

bought a ticket today. I only play when jackpots get over $400 million. Anything less isn't worth my time

I'm the same way although my "floor" is $300m.

 

[BumRush]

If I win I will give each GAF member $10,000.

Spoiler

Junior members are not eligible.

You...you didn't play, did you...

 

[kris.]

My workplace does a $6 buy-in pool. One of these days, we'll win.

Spoiler

hahahahaha

 

[eddie4]

You...you didn't play, did you...

Yeah I did actually.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

The odds are the exact same whether you do a random pick or a manual one, no matter how many times you play.

I think..

Yes, it's the exact same odds whether you play 1-2-3-4-5-6 or randomly get 8-22-29-37-55-20.

....

Anyway, no, I am not playing the lottery, it doesn't matter how large the pot gets.

 

[SolidusDave]

I play all the time.

Let's do 20 years. See how I do.

edit: I made $-3982

I played most of my life! 50 years and now I'm retired. Every time I used my lucky numbers, the day my beautiful but bitchy wife Loise died. The Powerball number is the number of her severed limbs.
In the end I paid $9,699 of additional taxes. You're welcome.

 

[Camwi]

Yes, it's the exact same odds whether you play 1-2-3-4-5-6 or randomly get 8-22-29-37-55-20.

....

Anyway, no, I am not playing the lottery, it doesn't matter how large the pot gets.

Yeah, I just didn't know if the odds changed somehow based on the odds of the same numbers getting drawn twice over time. For some reason, in my head that feels like one of those things that might be true using higher math than I ever learned.

 

[Gray Matter]

Bought a ticket yesterday while putting gas in my car, one can dream for at least a day.

 

[ThisGuy]

I am now after seeing the price of the oculus rift.

 

[The Ummah]

I already have my answers ready for the press conference.

"..."

"..."

"..."

 

[Big Baybee]

Bought 4 tickets with some ones I had. Why not?

 

[Volimar]

Good luck GAF.

 

[True Savior]

There should be a worldwide lottery.

If you win, you're the richest guy in the world.