2 ms·
>Fantasies of dynastic wealth are one of the few things you can buy with $2 these days — a price that hasn't gone up since 2017. Yep, I'll probably go buy a ti
by undersuit 4y ago
>Fantasies of dynastic wealth are one of the few things you can buy with $2 these days — a price that hasn't gone up since 2017.
Yep, I'll probably go buy a ticket today after work. I only buy MegaMillions or Powerball when it reaches these outlandish amounts. Read somewhere in an outdated article that Powerball only reached an expected $2 payout per ticket when it's a +$550 million pot.
That graph of the tickets bought in the article is pretty amazing too. If the pot isn't won tonight I would love to see an update.
- secabeen 4y agoThe challenge with that hockey-stick graph is that it greatly increases the chance of multiple winners. That kills any chance of a +EV. The best lottery drawing is the one just before the one that makes news; by definition, it had no winner, so if you had just picked the right numbers, you would have won it all.
- yieldcrv 4y agoAlso every drawing (twice a week) has had one or more million dollar+ winners People focus waaay too much on the jackpot! I love the privilege of not being poor enough to be criticized for buying a ticket. I pay for a lot of fleeting entertainment. What's a $2-3 ticket? Or $20 worth of those?
- undersuit 4y agoThe math for the expected payout reaching $2 per ticket was only for the jackpot. The lesser prizes and bonus modifiers are the losing propositions that get you into a gambling addiction.
- yieldcrv 4y agoI expect a negative expected value game, and I get a negative expected value game.