I'M NO ROCKET SCIENTIST!

pwd72s · 08-22-2001, 05:37 PM

Anybody like me getting excitied about tonight's $200 million powerball lottery? Using just basic math and a calculator, I came up with the following. Odds of winning the lottery are 80,000,000 to one. Eighty million inches is 1,262.63 miles. So, I decide to drive from Seattle to L.A. Somewhere along this route, at random, I decide to smoke a cigar. When I'm done, I'll pull over to the side of the road, place the butt on the shoulder. The next day, you drive the same 1,262.63 miles of highway. Not being shy, you decide you have to take a leak. You stop, then you happen to pee on my cigar butt. Those are the odds! Let us each enjoy the fantasy while we may, okay?

BTW, I bought a $1 ticket today...

[This message has been edited by pwd72s (edited 08-22-2001).]

Superman · 08-22-2001, 05:51 PM

Yes, lottery is a tax on people that cannot do math. I think you are about six times more likely to be struck by lightning.

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'83 SC

cegerer · cegerer's Garage

"lottery is a tax on people that cannot do math"

Well put!

And, ah, PW, buddy, pal, I'm not normally the type to beg, but if you do happen to pee on the cigar tonight, I can clear space in my garage for a certain green 72 S that I'm sure you'll no longer have any use for .....

Clark Griswald · Clark Griswald's Garage

I don't play the lottery so maybe I don't understand how this works, but if your calculations are right then you should go stock up on some more tickets.

The expected return on your $1 ticket is $1 x 200/80 = $2.50. In fact invest $80M to buy all the numbers and be sure to get the $200M payoff.

cabman · 08-22-2001, 07:12 PM

the lottery is legalized scamming.

it gives people false hope of quick wealth.

one dollar here, one dollar there, it all adds up.

it's immoral if you ask me. the purpose of the lottery is to generate revenue for the state.

ClayMcguill · 08-22-2001, 07:34 PM

You know what's great about things like lotteries?

If you wanna play, you play. If you don't, well, you don't.

Free will, baby. Ain't it great?

You know the sad thing about things like this? It's so freaking simple, it makes such complete sense, it's so completely logical... that some people just don't GET it.

BlueSkyJaunte · 08-22-2001, 07:53 PM

Actually they've rigged it now so you CAN'T buy the pot (as in money pot, not leafy green mind-altering substance). If I recall the story correctly it happened a few times in the Florida lotto and now you need to get tickets printed from machines that literally can't print enough tickets fast enough.

Ah, the things you learn from bored stats interns (right before you give them enough work to cure them of boredom for the next quarter).

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blue
'81 SC Targa

[This message has been edited by BlueSkyJaunte (edited 08-22-2001).]

CamB · CamB's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Clark Griswald:
The expected return on your $1 ticket is $1 x 200/80 = $2.50. In fact invest $80M to buy all the numbers and be sure to get the $200M payoff.

If, and only if, they sell one of every ticket combination - implication is you would have to share the prize...

island911 · 08-22-2001, 08:09 PM

. . .and then pay the tax. . . . I mean "your fair share."

89911 · 08-22-2001, 08:31 PM

What I like is the people that have a modest income waiting till the pot goes up to 100-200 million before they play. Like the typical pot of 50 million isn't good enough for them. Oh not them, they can't be bothered with that paultry sum. But once that total skyrockes along with the odds of winning, count me in. Proud to say, I've never played. Unearned money only comes to no good. (I keep telling myself!)

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8 9 9 1 1, The last of the line.

Bill Douglas · 08-22-2001, 08:35 PM

Thanks Pwd72s, I forgot the odds were so good. I'll go out and buy a ticket.

orbmedia · 08-22-2001, 08:40 PM

Forget the lottery. Play a game you can actually win. Play the McDonald's Monopoly game.

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!!!!

89Targa · 08-22-2001, 09:27 PM

Boring................

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

My wife told me the other day that we should buy a lottery ticket because the jackpot was very high, and the odds were much better.

I had to explain to her that the odds never change, only the expected ROI (return on investment). Even with high jackpots, the ROI may not be as high as expected because more people play = more people to split the pot with...

-Wayne

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I used to dream about winning the lottery -- seriously. But now I have my '87 911 and there's really nothing else I want that badly. I don't make a lot of money and if I need an engine rebuild tomorrow, I'd be stuck. But I can't drive my Porsche while I'm sitting in my mansion. I can't drive my Porsche if I'm on some exotic vacation. (Actually, one of my best vacations was in Germany where I drove a 993 on the Autobahn). I'm 30 and have wanted a 911 since well before I was old enough to drive. Now I have one, and the lottery is one of those things I'll play if I happen to think about it, while I'm at 7-11 getting Gatorade for my jog. But how about these nuts you see on tv, waiting hours in line to buy tickets? I live in the Wash. DC area, where we have pretty big jackpots, and I have never seen a line for lottery tix -- nor would I waste my time in one, while my Porsche sits in the lot waiting to be driven.

jlex · jlex's Garage

I have a client coming into my office in 15 minutes to pick up his second installment check for the Pennsylvania lottery. He won 14 million (annuity value) last year, and receives an annual check (net after tax withholding) of $433,444.64.
He's a really private guy who didn't want to change his lifestyle, and luckily he came to me before anyone else found out or he endorsed the ticket. I came up with the idea of establishing a trust, with me claiming the prize as the trustee. The people in Harrisburg were furious (their golden opportunity for publicity was lost). They finally overcame their angst after I persuaded them they had no recourse but to pay out to the bearer of the ticket. Was the first time anyone ever did that in PA.
We'll receive those checks for the next 25 years, and so far only his immediate family members know (they're out of state). No one in this small community has a clue.
Don't tell me it doesn't happen... I've got a check sitting on my desk right now just waiting to be deposited.
regards,
jlex.

ebrownson · 08-23-2001, 05:12 AM

To me it is just a voluntary tax. A small fee to pay for a nice fantasy that's legal! Just think of the P-Cars you could own if you won! See, that kind of fantasy. Since I don't live in or even near a state that has Powerball, I hope that someone on this board wins. Just remember us poor folks and throw a big Pelican Parts party!

Eric
83SC

Rustbucket · 08-23-2001, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jlex:
He won 14 million (annuity value) last year, and receives an annual check (net after tax withholding) of $433,444.64.
He's a really private guy who didn't want to change his lifestyle, so far only his immediate family members know (they're out of state). No one in this small community has a clue.
jlex.

J,
No one in his small community knows?
What's the point of winning? Doesn't he now have a really nice p-car, cadillac, corvette, motorcycle? Something? Dosen't he go away for months at a time to great vacation spots? Have dinners at favorite restaurants every other night?
Why did he play the lottery?

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Clint
73T mfi coupe

pwd72s · 08-23-2001, 08:29 AM

Wow! Now it's reported to roll over into $280 million on the jackpot. Still, that 1,262.63 miles, or 80 million inches, remains. BTW, my one dollar ticket was a HUGE WINNER. I got one number, plus the powerball number, for a payout of $4.00. MY head is spinning...how am I going to spend it all?

[This message has been edited by pwd72s (edited 08-23-2001).]

Pillow · 08-23-2001, 08:41 AM

Rustbucket, read the book "The Millionaire Next Door" and you may have an idea of this mans lifestyle and motives... He may already be a rich man, after all how many morons off the street would have a clue to FIRST go to a lawyer/accountant before collecting the winnings?... Smart man.

No reporters, stupid charities, or shady investment brokers knocking on your door.

Eventually I want to get to the point where nothing is in my name except the 911. Sometimes less is more

There are many ways to keep your life private if you so desire, it just takes time and research.

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Adrian Pillow
1979 911 SC
1966 VW Microbus
PCA - Peachstate Region