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Powerball Insanity

I won before but just around $100,000. Still I was shocked and thrilled.

Never had anymore luck though.

What I learned is money is not everything.
 
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One thing seems apparent, people seem to drop by the size of the jackpot a lot of money for a highly improbable chance of winning, human nature. With the odds of 290M to 1, 20 tickets vs 1 makes .000001* difference in the odds.

*pulled that number Out of the air. 🙂
 
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eyoungren said:
Large or small prize, my wife has insisted for years now that I purchase a PowerBall ticket twice a week. Lately I've had discretion on which days those are, but generally it's been Monday/Wednesday. With the large prize currently this has meant all three days.

I just buy one - if we're supposed to win, it'll happen. The lady in front of me on Saturday dropped $20 for ten tickets. She didn't win, now she's out that $20. I've seen people walk up with packets of tickets and hold the line up because they are conducting global finance through the lotto machine. 🙄

As far as life changes, there seem to be a lot of rich people that REALLY want you to know that money doesn't buy happiness. That's true, it does not.

But money WILL make your misery comfortable. The rich should try being unhappy and still having to worry about the bills, food, gas, rent/mortgage, health - you know, the stuff they DON'T have to worry about while they are miserably telling you this!

It's all good and fine to say this when you never have to even think about your bills. Yet, I do not see the 'miserable' rich giving up their money to be 'happy'. 😉
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Agree with both. I mean even the lowest prize would set us for life, so might as well play every time. And 0 to 1 290M is an infinite jump, but 2 3 4 5...10 290M isn't even worth the money for how little more of a chance you get.
 
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max2 said:
I won before but just around $100,000. Still I was shocked and thrilled.

Never had anymore luck though.

What I learned is money is not everything.
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$100 is my best on a Christmas scratchoff one. I think $12 is the most from a numbers game 🙁
 
dmr727 said:
I don't play the lotto, but as I've gotten older I roll my eyes less at those that do. For two bucks they get to dream a little bit - maybe it makes their life just a smidgen better for that period of time when they're holding a ticket that has a chance (no matter how small) of changing their life.

It's like those that love big tax refunds. It is illogical? Yeah, but if it's making someone happy and not negatively affecting them otherwise, who am I to piss in their Wheaties? 🙂
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Agree the only ones I fault are the multiple ticket people. 0 - 1 at least puts you in the game, but more is barely a better chance. Now if there really are only 270M combos and you had the capacity to fill out every combo and submit them, you would win since the prize i over $1B, but there's no way without an army, and with the army you'd need, the split would be negligible
 
jimothyGator said:
I'm right there with you.

If I won a couple million, I could easily retire early and spend my time outdoors, enjoying an idyllic but not extravagant life. If I won a billion dollars, I'd be afraid of being kidnapped and held for ransom.

Soooo...if any fellow Apple nerd here happens to win the jackpot and wants to throw $2 million my way, I'd be eternally grateful. Stay safe!
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Whew, I dodged a bullet there. I’ll confess that between my wife and me, we bought two tickets and thank goodness, neither won so I guess I don’t have to worry about being kidnapped.

I will still accept a gift from the California winner, however.
 
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Huntn said:
  • Next drawing is 7Nov22 estimated value $1.9 Billion, cash value about $800M.
  • Odds of winning approx 1 in 290 million.
  • https://powerball.com/
How would this change your life? Your reality would shift drastically. Your life could become complicated as one set of concerns is replaced by another. It could put you in danger.

I was talking to a stranger in line at the store to buy a ticket- just one random pick, to be sure if a winner, it was intended for me. 😉 He described an analogy, to win this jackpot, the odds are worse than in a game of chance where a beer bottle is placed every foot from New York to Florida going down Interstate 10. And not being able to see which bottle has the prize, while driving down the highway, you’d have to pick the correct bottle to win.

Yet, I remember the story of the person who was buying cigarettes in a gas station and to be able to meet the minimum purchase requirements to use her credit card, she bought a lottery ticket and won millions. 🙂
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Buying one ticket, increases your odds of winning dramatically (from zero, to very very very very very very very very very very very unlikely). Buying more than one ticket, is foolish.
 
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FreakinEurekan said:
Buying one ticket, increases your odds of winning dramatically (from zero, to very very very very very very very very very very very unlikely). Buying more than one ticket, is foolish.
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There is a finite set of numbers.

So if buying 1 ticket the odds of winning is very, very, very, very, very, very, very unlikely, then buying a second ticket (with a distinct set of numbers) has increased your odds to 1 less “very”.
 
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