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That was a fantastic long read! Wow. A lot of intrigue in it, too, especially with the emergence of the MIT cohort, computer programmers, and electrical engine

That was a fantastic long read! Wow. A lot of intrigue in it, too, especially with the emergence of the MIT cohort, computer programmers, and electrical engineers. Excellent decision on the part of the investigative reporter Jason Fagone to tell the story from the vantage of the Selbees. The article is fun even as it smudges the Selbees (and other bulk ticket purchasers) with a dab of questionable ethics as is appropriate for a (minor-ish) vice such as lottery gambling. Thanks for sharing. EDIT: noun verb agreement

malbs 9y ago
I guess you could argue on the ethics due to the fact that these "smart" players are never contributing to the jackpot, and only playing when the payout is higher than the probability (an over), but you need the mugs in order to fill the pool. If the world was filled with smart gamblers, no one would bet because nothing would be an overlay. Its like when I see a horse racing win pool go up from $0, to $2. Someone has had a bet. Whats the most they could possibly gain by that bet (given the current pool)? Its about $1.70, so why bet in the first place? I don't know. Maybe they liked the colour of the horse.
- phire 9y ago
  The game was delibratlly designed to divide the players into "smart" and "dumb" groups. Most lotto games are (though not normally to this extreme where large groups can guarantee a profit). It's a good way of attracting players. As the jackpot gets larger, more and more 'smarter' players play the game. This video gives a good overview of why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVKTiXdCDyQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVKTiXdCDyQ
dennisgorelik 9y ago
"The article is fun even as it smudges the Selbees (and other bulk ticket purchasers) with a dab of questionable ethics" Showing this "bulk buyers with questionable ethics" point of view made this article especially entertaining and educational.

malbs 9y ago

I guess you could argue on the ethics due to the fact that these "smart" players are never contributing to the jackpot, and only playing when the payout is higher than the probability (an over), but you need the mugs in order to fill the pool. If the world was filled with smart gamblers, no one would bet because nothing would be an overlay. Its like when I see a horse racing win pool go up from $0, to $2. Someone has had a bet. Whats the most they could possibly gain by that bet (given the current pool)? Its about $1.70, so why bet in the first place? I don't know. Maybe they liked the colour of the horse.

phire 9y ago
The game was delibratlly designed to divide the players into "smart" and "dumb" groups. Most lotto games are (though not normally to this extreme where large groups can guarantee a profit). It's a good way of attracting players. As the jackpot gets larger, more and more 'smarter' players play the game. This video gives a good overview of why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVKTiXdCDyQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVKTiXdCDyQ

dennisgorelik 9y ago

"The article is fun even as it smudges the Selbees (and other bulk ticket purchasers) with a dab of questionable ethics" Showing this "bulk buyers with questionable ethics" point of view made this article especially entertaining and educational.