OMG!!! The Lottery Just Reached $636 Million!!!!

[LOYD]

......and I'm just here like:

Would rather spend my time working on my business and building a wealth-creating asset than wasting time standing in line and hoping to get rich. And let's just be real about it, most lottery winners go broke within a few years of winning. Some people end up worse off than they were before winning. But I'll be interested to see how this whole thing plays out tonight.

 

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[Ravens_Shadow]

I feel If I just won all that money, I wouldn't know what to do with it or how to handle it, since I didn't earn it myself. Not sure If I could even control myself with that money, until I knew what it takes to actually earn that much myself. Granted I don't think it'd waste it all.. but I'd try to find ways to preserve it through investments etc. I have a 50/50 chance of scoring it big with my business in my eyes.

 

[AllenCrawley]

I'm buying a ticket!

Positive EV...

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...eam-or-a-dollar-and-a-fool.46331/#post-280854

 

[CommonCents]

Hell yeah I bought a couple tickets. I wouldn't wait in line to buy one or spend my last dollar on one though.

 

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[Gsuz]

Bought a few tickets for 20 euros, thanks for making me aware of this.

Cya at the top

 

[Get Right]

Actually it might not be that bad of a bet for a sidewalker:

Odds of winning 636 million: 1 in 175 million
Odds of a sidewalker earning 636 million in any other way: 1 in forgetaboutit

Now for us:
Odds of winning 636 million lottery: 1 in 175 million
Odds of building a 636 million company: 1 in 16,666
Odds of one of us building a 636 million company: 1 in guaranteed!

 

[Likwid24]

I never play lotto anymore, but hey, why not throw a couple bucks at it.

 

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[JAJT]

There is a massive, massive difference between playing the lottery as a retirement strategy and playing it for a bit of fun.

For a bit of fun - your ticket buys you a bit of excitement. A bit of unknown. Your brain can play around with the "what ifs" in a tangible way - even if you are 99.9999+% sure you won't win, even if you know the odds, it still becomes a mentally tangible experience. You can also engage in fun and idle chit-chat with others who are playing. Have a bit of fun with it. Engage in some playful water-cooler talk.

Things start to get sad when people who can't afford to play in the first place start talking about how badly they need it. Or how they "feel this is the time". Or talk about how they dropped a few hundred on it instead of paying off the Visa. I once saw a young couple with a new baby who were holding a lottery ticket that must have been 2 feet long - I felt bad for that kid.

Personally I buy a few tickets a year. I only buy them to poke fun at a friend who used to sell them. He has become so jaded against them and the people that buy them that the look on his face when I buy one is really what I'm paying for

 

[1step]

Odds of winning 636 million: 1 in 175 million
Odds of a sidewalker earning 636 million in any other way: 1 in forgetaboutit

They changed the numbering system so the odds are actually 1 in 259 million

But if you want more behind the math and positive expected value as mentioned by Allen above http://www.businessinsider.com/you-should-buy-a-mega-million-ticket-2013-12

 

[Guest3722A]

@LOYD. Great movie! No Country for Old Men is one of my all-time favorites, up there with Pulp Fiction. And to me, the message is similar to this discussion. Awesome!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I bought a ticket, but only bought it because I was waiting for a deli order to be completed -- had time to blow, and there was no line.

Yes, it is positive EV too...

 

[Anthony Mitoli]

Too late for me to get one (snowing like crazy, no way to get one before 11PM)

Oh well, I never play the lottery. I'll list 2 new products online tonight instead. At the end of the week, let's meet back here and see who made more.

 

[Genium]

I bought one, simply because its $1 and I just turned 21. I don't get how people get crazy about it though

 

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[DeletedUser2]

Everyone in my office pitched in. Except me. I don't play.

 

[LOYD]

Well I just got back from the gas station looking to get a drink and a bag of chips. Lo and behold, a fairly long line of people trying to get lottery tickets last minute. And no, they weren't like you guys trying to play for fun. You could tell they were hoping that ticket would be their retirement plan. Interestingly enough, I heard on the radio that if no one wins tonight, it jumps to a $1 Billion jackpot next week on Christmas Eve. Even I'll admit that'd be a nice Christmas present lol.

 

[Mbc]

They changed the numbering system so the odds are actually 1 in 259 million

But if you want more behind the math and positive expected value as mentioned by Allen above http://www.businessinsider.com/you-should-buy-a-mega-million-ticket-2013-12

If it's 1$ per ticket and the odds are 1 in 259M, doesn't that mean you can buy every number for 259M and win 636M? Unless it's divisible and 2 other people win.
Lol can we pool together 259M before 11pm?

 

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[DeletedUser394]

Some people do just do it for fun. This just happened a few days ago. A retired CEO of a company that was bought out last year won $40 million dollars in a lottery last year. He's already wealthy, so he's rolling the full amount into a trust to donate out to various charities focusing on cancer research. Lottery winnings in Canada are tax free, so he's getting the full amount. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...er-tom-crist-to-give-40m-prize-away-1.2466610

 

[Determined2012]

I would love to see the pot roll over to $1B. That would be insane. Here's to hoping no one wins tonight and that a massive jackpot comes for Xmas Eve... That, and I didn't play- didn't even know about the big pot. Yup, I live under a rock. Smh!

 

[OzGrinder]

Not to familiar with this particular lottery but for the people that are calling it +EV. That's not necessarily the case with lotteries. Multiple people can win the jackpot and the prize pool is split.... If enough tickets are sold (which is often the case with these mega draws) then it's definitely -EV.

On the other hand what's a dollar for a ticket when the amount is that life changing.

 

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