10 replies to this topic

[Rogerdodger]

At 7:07 on 7/7/07: Ticket #777777, I made $1 on the lottery!

I DIDN'T BUY A TICKET!

I thought it would be cool to buy a ticket with the numbers 777777. But I didn't.
Look what I would have won: $0

OK Lottery



I'm up $1

Do you know how difficult it is to get one number? 55 to 1 and it pays $0
Two Numbers? 55 x 55 = 3,025 to one. Pays $0.
Three numbers? 55 x 55 x 55 = 166,375 to one. Pays $7.
4 numbers? 55 x 55 x 55 x 55= 9,150,625 to one. Pays $100
5 numbers and my calculator hits "E"
The powerball is one in 42 which puts your odds near ....ZERO!
And yet it looks so easy to win.

The Mafia should have such a scam!

Edited by Rogerdodger, 07 July 2007 - 11:13 PM.

[borland]

Government statistics show there are about 1.7 automobile caused fatalities for every 100,000,000 vehicle-miles. If you drive one mile to the store to buy your lottery ticket and then return home, you have driven two miles. Thus the probability that you will join this statistical group is 2 x 1.7 / 100,000,000 = 0.000000034. This can also be stated as "One in 29,411,765-". Thus, if you drive to the store to buy your Powerball ticket, your chance of being killed (or killing someone else) is more than 4 times greater than the chance that you will win the Powerball Jackpot.


http://www.johncolli...erballOdds.html

[Rogerdodger]

So it's dangerous to play the lottery as well as stupid. Your chance of winning is basically ZERO but if you buy 2 tickets on the same trip your chances of dying are the same but your chances of winning are double = 2 x 0!

Edited by Rogerdodger, 08 July 2007 - 12:25 AM.

[Sentient Being]

I can tell you why I play! First off, I only play the local one when it goes over 100 million. So in that way, most of the time I don't play. That's how I control that aspect of this gambling. I have a very healthy fantasy life and I can dream of being very wealthy and imagine what I will do with that wealth....when I put my dollar down! So if I buy the ticket say, 3 days before the big drawing, I get to dream for three days about all this incredible wealth I'm going to win and it only costs me a buck! Far cheaper than paying for a plane ride to Vegas, and dropping hundreds of dollars at the tables having "fun". How many billions does Vegas pull in?

Edited by Sentient Being, 08 July 2007 - 07:17 AM.

[HoseB]

At 7:07 on 7/7/07: Ticket #777777, I made $1 on the lottery!

I DIDN'T BUY A TICKET!

I thought it would be cool to buy a ticket with the numbers 777777. But I didn't.
Look what I would have won: $0

OK Lottery



I'm up $1

Do you know how difficult it is to get one number? 55 to 1 and it pays $0
Two Numbers? 55 x 55 = 3,025 to one. Pays $0.
Three numbers? 55 x 55 x 55 = 166,375 to one. Pays $7.
4 numbers? 55 x 55 x 55 x 55= 9,150,625 to one. Pays $100
5 numbers and my calculator hits "E"
The powerball is one in 42 which puts your odds near ....ZERO!
And yet it looks so easy to win.

The Mafia should have such a scam!

You didn't do the calculation correctly... odds MUCH better than you show....

Ball 1, odds = 5/55
Ball 2, 4/54
Ball 3, 3/53
Ball 4, 2/52
Ball 5, 1/51
Powerball 1/42

= or, 1.2 : 175,329,554

Now see, that's NOT zero..

[redlocks11]

At 7:07 on 7/7/07: Ticket #777777, I made $1 on the lottery!

I DIDN'T BUY A TICKET! :lol:

I thought it would be cool to buy a ticket with the numbers 777777. But I didn't.
Look what I would have won: $0

OK Lottery



I'm up $1 :D

Do you know how difficult it is to get one number? 55 to 1 and it pays $0
Two Numbers? 55 x 55 = 3,025 to one. Pays $0.
Three numbers? 55 x 55 x 55 = 166,375 to one. Pays $7.
4 numbers? 55 x 55 x 55 x 55= 9,150,625 to one. Pays $100
5 numbers and my calculator hits "E"
The powerball is one in 42 which puts your odds near ....ZERO! :lol:
And yet it looks so easy to win.

The Mafia should have such a scam!

[Rogerdodger]

Sorry about the math. So it's 175 times worse than a million to one.
As Jim Carry said in Dumb and Dumber:
"I Hear you. I DO have a chance!"
[img]http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:bo0UgKfRRMCaHM:http://static.flickr.com/68/156968740_93ed34f0c2_m.jpg[/img]

So if I buy the ticket say, 3 days before the big drawing, I get to dream for three days about all this incredible wealth I'm going to win and it only costs me a buck!
Far cheaper than paying for a plane ride to Vegas, and dropping hundreds of dollars at the tables having "fun". How many billions does Vegas pull in?

There is an "entertainment" value there that's worth $1.

The stupidity really comes in when people buy huge amounts of tickets thinking that will insure a win.
But I don't think there is the same addictive quality to the lottery as there is to the slot machine/video poker games.
I personally know a couple of people who have lost their homes and retirement funds at casino's.
A friend I know won $20,000 last year on the lottery. He said it took him all year to turn around and lose all of it.

The Indians around here love casinos.
It's the best thing since tobacco and just as addictive.
[img]http://www.indiangaming.com/istore/casino_624.jpg[/img]
Tulsa's Cherokee Casino at 777 W. Cherokee St.
Maybe the Indians will build reservations for all the gambling addicts.

PS: If my math is right, buy NOT playing the lottery, I'm up $104.00 this year alone!
(52 weeks x $1 twice a week.)
That's enough to fill up my truck, buy a cup of coffee and get a lottery ticket.
Who knows.
After all: "I DO have a chance."

Edited by Rogerdodger, 08 July 2007 - 11:04 AM.

[Sentient Being]

I know a guy that spends very paycheck on booze and lottery tickets. His wife carries the load. She has had to strip of him of credit cards as he was running those up to gamble. He also sold her diamond ring to get some tickets and booze. She enables and he sort of drifts along. We are amazed he hasn't found a way to strip her of the house.

[JAP]

Unfortunately, many do spend ridiculous amounts of money playing the lotto. The only time I play is when the jackpot a substantial amount. I know my chance of winning is 0.000001%. Still, it's fun to think about "what if"... pure entertainment.

[Sentient Being]

I think that Einstein once commented on his having a healthy, or happy fantasy life, or some such thing. Yes, even the smartest people have fantasies and enjoy them. So ever once and awhile the amount gets up over 100,000,000 and I get to put a buck down and have a little fantasy! I'm probably more likely to get hit in the head by a meteor..but why should reality intrude on my fantasy?

Unfortunately, many do spend ridiculous amounts of money playing the lotto. The only time I play is when the jackpot a substantial amount. I know my chance of winning is 0.000001%. Still, it's fun to think about "what if"... pure entertainment.