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Active: 6888 users

Mega Millions Lottery $640 million jackpot - Page 2

Blogs > spacemonkey4eve
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next All
micronesia
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States24782 Posts
March 30 2012 20:33 GMT
#21
On March 31 2012 05:31 mizU wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 31 2012 05:29 micronesia wrote:
On March 31 2012 05:28 mizU wrote:
Only a million? So greedy.
I'd put like 100 million into TL and eSports yo

I won't be getting the full jackpot. We will split it up among the ~10 of us who are in.


you'd still get like 35 million...

Okay. If you win you have to donate 3% of your winnings to teamliquid no questions asked.
ModeratorThere are animal crackers for people and there are people crackers for animals.
ziggurat
Profile Joined October 2010
Canada847 Posts
March 30 2012 20:37 GMT
#22
Can you buy these if you live in Canada?
Durak
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
Canada3685 Posts
March 30 2012 20:42 GMT
#23
I hate lotteries based on utilitarianism: they take money from many poor, stupid people and give it to one person. At least it's taxed.
Charger
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States2405 Posts
March 30 2012 20:44 GMT
#24
On March 31 2012 05:37 ziggurat wrote:
Can you buy these if you live in Canada?


Yep. And on top of that, "Prizes are subject to a federal withholding tax of 30 per cent, which out-of-country players can apply to have rebated. Most states also tack on their own taxes, up to 30 per cent, according to the Star."

Source
It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback.
HardlyNever
Profile Blog Joined July 2011
United States1258 Posts
March 30 2012 20:50 GMT
#25
When I got out of college, I had a really mind-numbing job. And when you have a mind-numbing job, you start to think about things that will change that, and how you can obtain that change. I came up with this (admittedly shallow) idea that to actually NOT play the lottery is dumb. However, buying more than 1 ticket is also dumb.

The way I see it, if you do nothing, you have a 0% chance of winning. You can't win, ever. However, the difference between 0% chance and 1 in 180 million is actually quite big. 0% is zero fucking percent. Can't happen. At all. But 1 in 180 million... well shit, going from 0% to some fraction of a percent for 1 dollar, that seems worth it.

Of course, it ends there. While buying two tickets doubles your odds, the change in probabilities is so small it isn't worth it. Only going from 0% to 1 in 180 million (or whatever the odds happen to be) is actually worth it.

Generally, though, I always felt like the lottery was a scam. I've only bought like 5 tickets in my entire life, but the few times I did I had some "fun" with it, so I don't regret it.

Maybe I'll buy a single ticket.
Out there, the Kid learned to fend for himself. Learned to build. Learned to break.
Disregard
Profile Blog Joined March 2007
China10252 Posts
March 30 2012 20:54 GMT
#26
I fancy the scratch games, never won any of the big prizes but usually the small rewards pay off the investment. Never tried the lottery, then again I'm just over of legal age to play the lottery, no experience!
"If I had to take a drug in order to be free, I'm screwed. Freedom exists in the mind, otherwise it doesn't exist."
blabber
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States4448 Posts
March 30 2012 20:55 GMT
#27
On March 31 2012 05:50 HardlyNever wrote:
When I got out of college, I had a really mind-numbing job. And when you have a mind-numbing job, you start to think about things that will change that, and how you can obtain that change. I came up with this (admittedly shallow) idea that to actually NOT play the lottery is dumb. However, buying more than 1 ticket is also dumb.

The way I see it, if you do nothing, you have a 0% chance of winning. You can't win, ever. However, the difference between 0% chance and 1 in 180 million is actually quite big. 0% is zero fucking percent. Can't happen. At all. But 1 in 180 million... well shit, going from 0% to some fraction of a percent for 1 dollar, that seems worth it.

Of course, it ends there. While buying two tickets doubles your odds, the change in probabilities is so small it isn't worth it. Only going from 0% to 1 in 180 million (or whatever the odds happen to be) is actually worth it.

Generally, though, I always felt like the lottery was a scam. I've only bought like 5 tickets in my entire life, but the few times I did I had some "fun" with it, so I don't regret it.

Maybe I'll buy a single ticket.

i believe once the jackpot reaches a certain amount of money, it actually becomes a "good" gamble to pay the $1 for a chance at it
blabberrrrr
Durak
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
Canada3685 Posts
March 30 2012 21:06 GMT
#28
On March 31 2012 05:50 HardlyNever wrote:
When I got out of college, I had a really mind-numbing job. And when you have a mind-numbing job, you start to think about things that will change that, and how you can obtain that change. I came up with this (admittedly shallow) idea that to actually NOT play the lottery is dumb. However, buying more than 1 ticket is also dumb.

The way I see it, if you do nothing, you have a 0% chance of winning. You can't win, ever. However, the difference between 0% chance and 1 in 180 million is actually quite big. 0% is zero fucking percent. Can't happen. At all. But 1 in 180 million... well shit, going from 0% to some fraction of a percent for 1 dollar, that seems worth it.

Of course, it ends there. While buying two tickets doubles your odds, the change in probabilities is so small it isn't worth it. Only going from 0% to 1 in 180 million (or whatever the odds happen to be) is actually worth it.

Generally, though, I always felt like the lottery was a scam. I've only bought like 5 tickets in my entire life, but the few times I did I had some "fun" with it, so I don't regret it.

Maybe I'll buy a single ticket.

If the ticket provides you with more enjoyment than the price, and there's nothing else that would give you more enjoyment for that price, that seems like a good purchase to me. I just wouldn't think of the probability because you won't win and that'll lessen your enjoyment.
TheToast
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States4808 Posts
March 30 2012 21:25 GMT
#29
On March 31 2012 05:21 Recognizable wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 31 2012 05:18 TheToast wrote:
Hmm the odds are 1 in 178 million, payout is 640 million even if it were split between several winners.... hey, does anyone have $178 million dollars I could borrow? I'll pay you back tomorrow.


If you buy 178 million tickets, that doesn't mean you will have a 100 percent chance of winning, right?


ummm idk.

According to Wikipedia the current rules state that you pick five numbers from between 1 and 56 and then you pick one number from 1 to 46. The first five numbers are all drawn from the same machine (that is one machine with just one set of the numbers 1-56 inside) so repeats are not possible.

So the total number of possible results would be the total number of ways to choose 5 out of 56 multiplied by 46.

So to figure that, we would use the formula for combination (which ignores order and won't count repeats) which is:

n!
──────
k!(n-k)!


Where n is the total number of options and k is the number being chosen.

So 56!/5!(56-5)!
=56!/5!51!
=55005350400

Then multiply by 46 to account for the mega ball number
55005350400(46)
=253024611840

Is that right?

There are 253,024,611,840 different combinations?
I like the way the walls go out. Gives you an open feeling. Firefly's a good design. People don't appreciate the substance of things. Objects in space. People miss out on what's solid.
mizU
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States12125 Posts
March 30 2012 21:30 GMT
#30
$1 dollar down for a chance at 350 million seems like a worthy investment to me.
if happy ever afters did exist <3 @watamizu_
Enki
Profile Blog Joined January 2007
United States2548 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-03-30 21:36:22
March 30 2012 21:35 GMT
#31
My parents bought 5 tickets and my sisters work are pulling their tickets together. Was in town earlier and the gas stations were swamped with people. @_@

On March 31 2012 05:42 Durak wrote:
I hate lotteries based on utilitarianism: they take money from many poor, stupid people and give it to one person. At least it's taxed.

Alot of the revenue from ticket sales goes to state programs though. Here in Gerogia, the state lotterys here helps fund college scholarships. Yes, one person eventually gets a fuckload of money but I'm sure the money pulled in from all the ticket sales is worth it, before taxes even set in.
"Practice, practice, practice. And when you're not practicing you should be practicing. It's the only way to get better. The only way." I run the Smix Fanclub!
Slithe
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
United States985 Posts
March 30 2012 21:35 GMT
#32
On March 31 2012 06:25 TheToast wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 31 2012 05:21 Recognizable wrote:
On March 31 2012 05:18 TheToast wrote:
Hmm the odds are 1 in 178 million, payout is 640 million even if it were split between several winners.... hey, does anyone have $178 million dollars I could borrow? I'll pay you back tomorrow.


If you buy 178 million tickets, that doesn't mean you will have a 100 percent chance of winning, right?


ummm idk.

According to Wikipedia the current rules state that you pick five numbers from between 1 and 56 and then you pick one number from 1 to 46. The first five numbers are all drawn from the same machine (that is one machine with just one set of the numbers 1-56 inside) so repeats are not possible.

So the total number of possible results would be the total number of ways to choose 5 out of 56 multiplied by 46.

So to figure that, we would use the formula for combination (which ignores order and won't count repeats) which is:

n!
──────
k!(n-k)!


Where n is the total number of options and k is the number being chosen.

So 56!/5!(56-5)!
=56!/5!51!
=55005350400

Then multiply by 46 to account for the mega ball number
55005350400(46)
=253024611840

Is that right?

There are 253,024,611,840 different combinations?


I think your calculations are off.

(56!) / (5! * 51!) = 3 819 816
Seth_
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Belgium184 Posts
March 30 2012 21:39 GMT
#33
On March 31 2012 06:25 TheToast wrote:
=56!/5!51!
=55005350400

How did you calculate that? It's 3,819,816
times 46 leads to 175.7 million

However I'm wondering if there are multiple winners, do they split the money? If they don't, you could buy every combination for 176 million and win 350 million guaranteed (+ all of the 5 number prizes...)
Assault_1
Profile Joined April 2009
Canada1950 Posts
March 30 2012 21:51 GMT
#34
1/180 million chance and $640 million total, so expected winning is $3.56
Its worth it for everyone to buy three tickets according to math, obviously doesnt work this way though
TheToast
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States4808 Posts
March 30 2012 21:52 GMT
#35
On March 31 2012 06:39 Seth_ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 31 2012 06:25 TheToast wrote:
=56!/5!51!
=55005350400

How did you calculate that? It's 3,819,816


I DONT KNOW! O-o

I'm at work so the only calculator handy is the useless windows one.
I like the way the walls go out. Gives you an open feeling. Firefly's a good design. People don't appreciate the substance of things. Objects in space. People miss out on what's solid.
Assault_1
Profile Joined April 2009
Canada1950 Posts
March 30 2012 21:55 GMT
#36
On March 31 2012 06:52 TheToast wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 31 2012 06:39 Seth_ wrote:
On March 31 2012 06:25 TheToast wrote:
=56!/5!51!
=55005350400

How did you calculate that? It's 3,819,816


I DONT KNOW! O-o

I'm at work so the only calculator handy is the useless windows one.

google and wolfram alpha are better than any calculator
JimSocks
Profile Joined February 2009
United States968 Posts
March 30 2012 22:02 GMT
#37
im buying sport team
ReketSomething
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United States6012 Posts
March 30 2012 22:17 GMT
#38
I think he forgot the parens and did the multiplication step afterwards, but w/e

The environment is being destroyed because of this
Jaedong :3
PrimeTimey
Profile Joined January 2011
Canada369 Posts
March 30 2012 22:24 GMT
#39
On March 31 2012 05:13 tw!tch wrote:
ahhh my whole office bought tickets today! a few guys and myself didn't chip in though. is it wrong to be nervous?


Just don't be the idiot that tries to sue them after they win.
Pooshlmer
Profile Joined August 2008
United States1001 Posts
March 30 2012 22:32 GMT
#40
It is actually never worth it to buy a ticket (from a strict EV perspective), no matter how big the jackpot gets.

http://www.circlemud.org/~jelson/megamillions/
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