A BILLION dollars

[zakthor]

I occasionally try to imagine the mindset needed to have fun gambling or to buy a lottery ticket. As far as I can tell the 'fun' requires me to believe that 'lady luck' is on my side.

Folks can't visualize what these probabilities mean. All numbers are equal. Pick all 1s, it is as likely as any other outcome. Do you think all 1s is less probably than some other specific sequence? Well... you probably shouldn't play then.

Nope, I'm not going to play because its stupid, and you shouldn't either.

[KFC911]

i figure that winning 1.9 Billion would be like proposing to Kim Kardashian ... ya know it ain't gonna happen, but why even chance it !

Happy pre-birthday Paul

[masraum]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Ahhh, but the fantasies. Hey, maybe even a Southwest Cue.

You could probably buy a guy just to make you a cue if you had a cool billion.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by svandamme

you have to pay taxes on gambling ??
here in europe that would be tax free

I thought America was freeer then anybody else?

[svandamme]

why sure, but When I win euromillions, the 250 million will be all mine and no taxes !!

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by zakthor

...All numbers are equal. Pick all 1s, it is as likely as any other outcome. Do you think all 1s is less probably than some other specific sequence?

Yup. My first conference in grad school (1998?) was almost a week at Caesar's Palace. Girlfriend went home early and on my last night I decided to blow $20 on some hot gambling action. Even center-strip (not Caesars) you could find $2.00 roulette and some watered down G&Ts. I just played "2" every spin for some reason and hit twice in maybe 8 spins. I was expecting to just burn the $20 for a drink or two and some people watching but walked with maybe just over $100. Others at the table thought me to be the idiot for playing the same number...

Dealer/ballspinner said, when I was walking off, "woah - nobody leaves so soon. Stay and play a while." - aaand that's why teeshirt sales aren't what pays for those giant hotels!

(yes, buying 5 tix tomorrow because, regardless of inflation, a few six-sigma belts and reality, I've given myself a $20/y gambling budget for the last few decades)

[gregpark]

I've never bought a ticket, not once. I figure the odds are just as good of a suitcase full of money falling from a plane and landing at my feet

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by zakthor

I occasionally try to imagine the mindset needed to have fun gambling or to buy a lottery ticket. As far as I can tell the 'fun' requires me to believe that 'lady luck' is on my side.

Folks can't visualize what these probabilities mean. All numbers are equal. Pick all 1s, it is as likely as any other outcome. Do you think all 1s is less probably than some other specific sequence? Well... you probably shouldn't play then.

Nope, I'm not going to play because its stupid, and you shouldn't either.

If I lived on a Indian reservation, my name would be Black Cloud as that is how my luck runs. But, the "What If" fantasy is worth a few bucks, so why not. I'm still relatively young, but my Father passed at 68, so that is the bench mark. So enjoy life while you can and make the most of it.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

Yup. My first conference in grad school (1998?) was almost a week at Caesar's Palace. Girlfriend went home early and on my last night I decided to blow $20 on some hot gambling action. Even center-strip (not Caesars) you could find $2.00 roulette and some watered down G&Ts. I just played "2" every spin for some reason and hit twice in maybe 8 spins. I was expecting to just burn the $20 for a drink or two and some people watching but walked with maybe just over $100. Others at the table thought me to be the idiot for playing the same number...

Dealer/ballspinner said, when I was walking off, "woah - nobody leaves so soon. Stay and play a while." - aaand that's why teeshirt sales aren't what pays for those giant hotels!

(yes, buying 5 tix tomorrow because, regardless of inflation, a few six-sigma belts and reality, I've given myself a $20/y gambling budget for the last few decades)

I heard this in the early 90s and I never found any evidence that its true but...

My probability professor said he used to make fun of all the poor lottery players. But then one of his old grad students who was an associatemath professor at berkeley won the california powerball and ended up endowing a chair in probability with some of the money. So he changed his tune and told all his students to go ahead and play.

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by zakthor

I heard this in the early 90s and I never found any evidence that its true but...

My probability professor said he used to make fun of all the poor lottery players. But then one of his old grad students who was an associatemath professor at berkeley won the california powerball and ended up endowing a chair in probability with some of the money. So he changed his tune and told all his students to go ahead and play.

If I won the bajillion, I totally would endow something into statistics, as - from the users' point of view, the lottery is stupid. I'd like to angle to some irony there, but I'm simple engineer and not that smart.

(still buying my five tix...)

[Racerbvd]

[sc_rufctr]

(From an interview) Australian actor Hugh Jackman has a tradition of buying every crew person on the film set he is working on a lottery ticket every Friday. And crew members that are not working on that Friday still come in to claim their ticket. He started doing this years ago and he's literally bought many thousands of tickets.

- And guess what... No crew member has ever received a jackpot winning ticket.

https://www.ibtimes.com.au/generous-star-hugh-jackman-shared-lottery-tickets-entire-film-crew-1295599

[rattlsnak]

I'm in for $100.00 Cheap entertainment!

[RobFrost]

If you do buy a ticket, be sure to do so at the very last minute. If you buy it the day before, you're way more likely to die before the draw than you are to win.

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

(From an interview) Australian actor Hugh Jackman has a tradition of buying every crew person on the film set he is working on a lottery ticket every Friday. And crew members that are not working on that Friday still come in to claim their ticket. He started doing this years ago and he's literally bought many thousands of tickets.

- And guess what... No crew member has ever received a jackpot winning ticket.

https://www.ibtimes.com.au/generous-star-hugh-jackman-shared-lottery-tickets-entire-film-crew-1295599

That's cruel. One has better odds with scratch off tickets...


Fun fact. A office attendant in my high School won 200k off a scratch ticket my jr year. She promptly quit.

[ramonesfreak]

I know someone who won “win for life” ($1 mil twice) scratch off twice. So. You never know. I’m more than happy to toss $2 away on a chance. Well, $4 since I always play my numbers and get one quick pick too

[KFC911]

My best friend growing up (also college roommates) won a million $ on a scratch off after stopping in a gas station leaving the gym he owned about 10 years ago. I was kinda surprised to learn he even played.... and he didn't need the $$$. Unfortunately Robbie didn't get the vaxes and lost the Covid lottery a year ago . A health nut .... Gone at 61.... still think about him a lot.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Just got my tickets for tonight's drawing. I gave them my ticket that I thought I had only won $4 on but they scanned and said $12. That seemed pretty odd but just took the money and bought more tickets.

[rwest]

Bought two tickets tonight- needed gas and just as I was about done, remembered about Powerball and went inside and got them, but not before moving my car away from the pump so someone else could get gas- good karma can’t hurt my chances!

Good luck to all

[stevej37]

^^^ You can do the same on-line instead of the store.