How to Win the Lottery
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I heard someone ask, "How do you win the lottery?", as if there were a strategy you could follow to guarantee success in a game of blind luck. After some consideration, though, I realized that there was a good answer to the question:
Don't play.
The reason lotteries exist is because they are profitable; in other words, they bring in more money than they pay out. If this was not the case, the lottery would go bankrupt and would not have enough cash to pay the winners. So, as a whole, the people who play the lottery lose money. The odds are just not in their favor.
Lotteries will often list the odds of winning as something like "1 in 36", meaning one ticket out of every 36 will win. What they mean by that is simply the odds of winning something. If you get a couple of matching numbers and win $3, that means you won something. And, in reality, almost every single winner in a lottery is of the single-digit variety: $3, $4, maybe $7. If you spend $36 on the lottery and buy 36 tickets, you will, on average, win one time, and that winning ticket will almost always be of the $3 or $4 variety. Congratulations, you just lost $33.
Of course, no one plays the lottery to win the $3 prize; they play to win the jackpot. The goal is to make an unfathomable amount of money so that you can retire and live on a beach somewhere and have servants hand-feed you whatever it is that rich people eat. That is why so many people spend billions, collectively, on lottery tickets each year. So what are the odds of really winning the lottery--you know, hitting the jackpot?
Basically, zero.
Oh, sure, people do win, occasionally. It can happen. But for all practical purposes, no, it won't happen to you.
Two of the biggest lottery programs, Powerball and Mega Millions, offer the really huge jackpots, with payouts that you truly could live off of for the rest of your life in millionaire style. The reason the jackpots are so immense is because, for the most part, nobody wins them. Millions and millions of people buying tickets across multiple states, and yet each lottery regularly goes weeks without having a single jackpot winner. How is that possible?
Don't worry, this isn't a conspiracy. The lack of winners is not only entirely possible, it is probable. The lottery commissions know that, usually, no one will win, because the probability of someone winning are so small. For Powerball, the odds of winning the jackpot with any given ticket are 1 in 146,107,962. For Mega Millions, the odds are 1 in 175,711,536.
Both of those work out to, essentially, zero chance.
Let me put that in perspective for you. There are, roughly, 290 million people in the United States. Two of those people are the movie stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. So, the odds that the next person who knocks on your front door is either Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie are about 2 in 290,000,000, which is the same as saying 1 in 145,000,000. Which is about the same as the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot (1 in 146,107,962). Is Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie going to knock on your door? Is there any remote chance of that at all? No? Well, that's the same odds you have of winning Powerball. With Mega Millions, your odds are even lower.
(Keep in mind, with this example, it has to be either Brad or Angelina. So, even if Tom Cruise or Katie Holmes were to knock on your door--which is, of course, not going to happen--but even if it did happen, you still would not have won the lottery. Also, it has to be the very next person who knocks. So, if your neighbor comes over to borrow your ladder, and then Brad Pitt shows up, you still lost. Thanks for playing.)
Still think you have any chance whatsoever of winning? Let's try some other examples. Do you, personally, have any shot of ever dating a supermodel? Well, you are 2,000 times more likely to date a famous supermodel than to pick a winning Mega Millions ticket (1 in 88,000). Ever been struck by lightning? Lucky you. It is over 250 times as likely as having the winning Powerball numbers (1 in 576,000). Remember the movie Armageddon? The odds of such an asteroid actually hitting Earth in your lifetime and killing you are estimated at 8,800 times more likely than winning Mega Millions (1 in 20,000). And that even requires the impossibility that Bruce Willis would actually fail at something.
Of course, that is all based on the odds for a single ticket. You might wonder, what if I buy multiple tickets? Won't my odds be higher? Well, sure, if you want to throw more money at an impossibility. The odds may change, but the expected return on your money is still the same.
Here's what I mean: if you want to buy more tickets and improve your odds, you could just go all the way and buy every possible ticket--all 175,711,536 number combinations in Mega Millions, for example. Then your odds of winning would be 1 in 1; you would be guaranteed to win the jackpot. Good for you! And it only cost you $175,711,536!
But wait--the payout is not normally $175 million. So, even if the jackpot is a respectable $50 million or $100 million, you just lost a lot of money. And even if the jackpot is $175 million, you still lost money, because you don't get to keep all of the jackpot. If you want the money now, and take the "lump sum" option, then your payout is barely more than half that amount: about $100 million. And that is before taxes. After tax, we're talking about $72 million or so. You just won the lottery, and lost over $100 million in the process. That's an investment return of -59%.
The only way to even break even in this scenario is if the jackpot is over $423 million--which is higher than the largest lottery jackpot, ever. And even then, if someone else also buys a winning ticket, you have to split the earnings.
In other words, trying to win the lottery is a losing proposition. It does not make sense financially, no matter how large the jackpot or how many tickets you buy, and the odds of picking the winning numbers are essentially zero.
As one final piece of evidence, I present to you this--one of several stories I have seen about people winning the lottery without even buying a ticket. Once in a great while, someone simply finds a winning lottery ticket. This means that, technically, the odds of winning the lottery without ever buying a ticket are greater than zero. Probably 1 in a billion, but still greater than zero. And since the odds of buying a winning ticket are also nearly zero, you could say that someone has about the same chance of winning the lottery whether they ever buy a ticket or not.
So, how do you win the lottery? Don't play.
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You're right--it's entertainment, and as long as you look at it as an entertainment expense, there's nothing wrong with playing. I've even bought a lottery ticket before, so I'm probably not as negative on it as you might think (just trying to entertain/prove a point).
I have to disagree with your conclusion "So, how do you win the lottery? Don't play."
While it is true that the odds against you personally winning on any given ticket are very high, the odds of someone winning is not that high. In fact, on a 6 number lottery, the jackpot is almost always won over the course of a a few months/draws. In fact, it is almost guaranteed that the jackpot will be won by someone.
The winner, can only be picked from the existing pool of players. How many people actually play any given draw? I think that the true odds are more like 1 in the tota number of players for any given draw. So if a million people by aticket then your odds are bout a million to one of winning the entire jackpot all by yourself. The odds are actually higher if you consider that the jackpots are often shared by multiple winners.
So, in assessing the statististics you have to consider that 1) the odds of winning are zero if you do not play 2) if you do play your odds of ever winning are very low but 3) the odds are not as low as you might think (witness the fact that people win all the time) and 4) the payoff versus the amount you risk is very high. After all, what investment could ever turn a couple of dollars into several millions?
I don't think I am likely to ever win a large jackpot, but I have won some nice prizes and I am personally ahead of the game in that I have won much more than I ever played. I would never have won if I had never played and though I would still technically have my dollar if I had not bought a ticket, I am sure I would have found some other way to spend it, without any return.
I think as long as you limit yourself to a couple of dollars here and there, its harmless fun and sometimes pays off.
Quotation, did you attend high school? If so, was it in West Virginia or something?
A basic elementary school education teaches you that the chance of picking the winning combination is the same regardless of how many other people play that week. Do the odds of rolling snake eyes in craps go up if fewer people bet on the outcome? No - they're 1 in 36 whether you play solo or the table is packed.
All that being said, I ask Quotations and his brethren to keep paying their math tax. It helps keep my property taxes down.
i guess i am Mr Zero. I hit that ZERO chance and now live off of my interest income from the lottery ticket that has ZERO chance of winning. Yes, I have had weeks were i hit nothing; i had weeks were i won 3 or 7 dollars and i had one week where i won $14 milllion. You cannot win if you do not buy a ticket. You waste over a dollar every day on lots fo trivial useless things, none of which give you the chance to tell your boss and the nay sayers to take a hike. Well, i can say to you Mr. Artice Writer: take a hike...you CAN only win the lottery by playing. Putting a dollar ot two a day for 30 years can get you, at best, 200 grand...but 1 ticket...and wham...easy street...a ah ah aha hahahah
When you buy every combination possible it will cost a bundle, true. You will also get all the other semi (3,4,5) winning combinations also. What does that add up to?
As far as not playing - Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Everyone has the dream of winning the lottery, everyone also knows that its for entertainment purposes. If you play and win, GREAT!!, if you don't, then you don't. Of course there are many systems out there that increase your odds of winning, however, you must invest money and time. However. play for fun, or play to win.. I play the lottery each week, I know the odds of winning, however its great to dream, it brings your spirits up everytime.
Here's some more perspective. The English Oxford dictionary contains 291,000 words. Im thinking of one of the words in that dictionary. What is it?
Your odds are FAR better at guessing my word than picking the winning powerball numbers.
Man, to be the guy digging around in the trash and suddenly a millionaire.
Millionaire...i want it......but lottery....one on a million
one on a million.......impossible...
So, how do you save a dollar? Don't play the lottery.
How do you win the lottery? Spend the dollar!
Tip: don't play the powerball games, choose a game with better odds to start with.
hey... we replied to the same request. interesting take on your article.
Whatever the odds of winning with a $1 ticket, I know one thing! My odds are ZERO, IF I DON'T EVEN PLAY. So, shelling out a dollar gives me better odds than someone who doesn't.
...and they'd better not askk me for a loan, either...lol
1 out of 36 will win the jack pot...ok we know that, so how do you know that 1 is not you or me or the next guy next to you?, the only way that 1 in 36 can win is by that 1 playing lottery right?...I can go play the lottery right now and who knows i might be that 1 that win or you....but off course you will say thats not possible im sure.
as Adam states above, you win more than just the grand prise. For example, with Mega Millions, you would also win 48 of the $250,000 prises ($12M).,
I will never play the lottery again after reading this. and im a little fucking hha'htbroken that i wont win millions of dollars.
fuck it
Playing the lottery serves a psychological need. The stats don't matter. Cigarettes, beer, and lots of other vices fill a need and lottery tickets are no different.
I think as long as the majority of the profits go to community projects like schools, and parks I have no problem with the lottery. I dont like the idea of fat cats getting rich off of it. As long as the money goes back into the community it is just another form of taxes that people feel like they are getting something out of it.
I want to play this lottry,how i can play this lottry
Regards
manzar abbas
Email Address; manzar_abbas118@yahoo.com
I think when most people play, they know their odds of winning are very slim. But people DO win. And of course, you can always play a game with better odds. You may "only" win $100,000, or $250,000, but hell, who wouldn't be happy with that?? In the end, the lottery is a form of entertainment. It is nice to dream of one day matching all 6 numbers. And that day will surely never happen if you don't play. I know 2 people who have won jackpots here in Ohio. One won $100,000, the other $2.5M...So yes, it happens. If you dont bet that dollar on the lottery, it will surely go to some other useless cause..and even if you don't win, that dollar goes to good use. Schools for instance benefit from lottery sales. Even if YOU dont win, someone wins, whether its a jackpot that goes to someone, or schoolbooks being supplied to underprivelged.....Someone is benefiting.
I agree! However, I do purchase lottery tickets occasionally just like I gamble at a table occasionally. I know my odds are nill usually in either case, but I like to play either way. We all spend money in various ways for variuos froms of entertainment. I like the lottery, but I much prefer roulette! At least with roulette I can control 2/3rds of the table and at least break even with a three bet stack, but I usually win. That's why I love the game! I swear sometimes I could quite everything and make my living on roulette alone, but then reality sets in and life resumes. I hate it when that happens! lol...
I love this hub! You are a sober and snarky, with an eye for the man behind the curtain. New fan! New fan!
lottory is like faith,beliving in God, if you dont have hope you dont have anything
The man prayed and prayed to almighty God to let him win a lottery after many years of praying, God told him: Well if you want to win, at least buy a lottery ticket.
If YOU were DISABLED and had a SPINAL CORD INJURY You Would
Want To Play The LOTTO and HOPE That You Would Win Millions
and Get Out Of DENIAL...
Of course the odds are horrible, but I wouldn't compare it to Brad or Angelina knocking at your door. There is no reason for them to come knocking at my door. However, if they were told to "go knock on some random person's door", then it might make sense that they may or may not choose yours.
I think people play the lottery to win, but it's more for the excitement. We all buy the ticket and get excited about what we would do with all that money. We probably won't win, but I think that the excitement alone is worth a buck.
On a more hopeful note, I live in a town with about 10,000 people and two of those people have won the state lottery. I personally only know about 1,000 people and 1 of those people have won the state lottery as well. So, thats 3 people out of about 11,000 in my personal experience. Against the statistics, but it still happened...
My odds are as good as the person who won it. So that is good enough for me!
Melodyman says:
5 weeks ago
Of course the odds are horrible, but I wouldn't compare it to Brad or Angelina knocking at your door. There is no reason for them to come knocking at my door. However, if they were told to "go knock on some random person's door", then it might make sense that they may or may not choose yours.
Good observation!
Sombody wins and as long as my odds are as good as theirs its good enough for me.
if god give me a chance to win tonight deceember 30,2009 i will help the others and its a promise i made to god
I got a family to take care of in The Turks And Caicos Island, Life Starts When The Church Ends.
ask yourself something why i havent won the powerball you will say its not the right i am sure you were saying that 2 years ago or last week, you will say that again next week until you are 80 then you win the powerball,what are you going to do then drive a austin martin. i dont understand why peaple cant win the powerball since its has less numbers the the national lottery i mean more peaple play powerball then lottery but still they dont win if you want to win dont play or play once after six months and when you play it must not exceed 5rand(1dollar) then you will win its gambling i am sure everyone knows that.
I like the way you think Kevin. You probably stirred up some heads with this one. Not many people want to believe that there is truly no odds to them accomplishing personal goals. There are times win dreams to come true, but the chances of it magically happening is very slim. Thank you, Kevin, for this great article!
KEVIN is right. all of you are right. BUT i dont understand. WHAT TICKET , and choosen numbers by the organizers.Powerball and megamillions are LOTTERY BALLS number right? what about the ticket and number you chose.. is WHAT the ORGANIZERS choose right? with thier lotery machines . IT IS TOTALLY LUCk.. NO ODDS and SHIT like that . ITS LUCK! unless Powerball is cheating.the game
Two drawings a week for the powerball is a hundred bucks a year. How much do people spend on vending machines, movie rentals? I think I will keep playing but thanks for the advice.
Angelina and Brad, What's that got to do with Lottery. If they did go knocking on doors, they will knock on SOMEONES door! People win all the time, that is why the jackpot goes down. So if you play, you could WIN!
What if I came to you and said, "I have a check for $70,000 for you right now or I will randomly pick a number out of hat and you can win 100 million dollars" Which would you choose? Most people would probably just take the check for the guaranteed money. What if I told you that there were 100,000,000 numbers in that hat? This is what you do by playing the lotto. If instead of buying 4 tickets a week on lottery tickets from the time you were 18 you put that $20 per month into a Roth IRA you would have $82,000 tax free when you turned 60 years old. So basically you're giving up $82,000 of future earnings on the chance of being a millionaire. If you are making $20 an hour you will have to work 2 extra years just to make that up.
How do you win the lottery?
Very simple: own it!
hey you nver know!!! Good article.
there is only one thing that needs to be said: You can not win if you don't play. How many times have you made a basket in basketball when you didn't shoot? How many people have you dated that you didn't talk to? Yeah the odds are against you but there is no chance at all if you don't play.
Great Hub. Finally, Math Professor Discored Lottery Secrets: http://hubpages.com/hub/Best-Lotto-Strategies-For-
Best Lotto Strategies For Winners
@ Vince. 80k when I'm 60 will be worth a fraction of what it is today. When I get hit by that bus when I'm 52 none of it's gonna matter anyway.
good for you that you do not bet the lotto. People do it for several reasons and I don't blame. A lot of people knows that chances are remote but people hope that a miracle would happen. And sometimes, they do happen ;)
Yes, the odds are horrible, most of us will never win, but what's wrong with taking a chance? What's wrong with believing you just maybe the lucky SOB who wins the jackpot? We play now & then. Yeah, we may never win, but what's wrong with trying? Buying a soda is not going to set me for life, but a 1.00 ticket will if it's a winner.
i never play lottery this makes a person dream only ...better not to play is a good answer
The only way to earn a lot of money in life is to earn it.
I believe that the lottery was invented for people who takes life as a mere joke. Who are you guys to actually think that "winning the lottery" will do you any good in the long run?
In fact, the lottery, given personification, would probably be laughing at you right now.
@Ravemaster:
Actually, winning the lottery will do you a lot of good in the long run. By winning something like $100M, you can invest it all and just live your life off the interest. :))
I win the lottery today ... So good luck
Think of a robot,
Now bring it to life by giving it a neural net brain,
It now needs programming to know the difference between wrong and right, so give it science, religion and philosophy, and the rest.
The human mind works in this way and in a way buying a lottery ticket and having a dream of winning gives a sense of well being.
My argument is not that the lottery is a drug (which is understandable why you came to that conclusion, it keeps the majority going through rough times. okay a conspiracy then, (lol I'll leave that up to you to make your own mind up about)
A man/woman wakes up gets dressed, its raining, your late your boss is stressy you buy lunch but something ruins it. but you have a lottery ticket and life could change. wow I read this sounding like some kind of preacher, but its part of what keeps society ticking over.
Let me leave you with this...
Coffee is a drug
That strange item you got in a Christmas cracker had odds that it may be something useful or maybe not
0 is a number it is also as important as 56 - best known as 42 the answer to life the universe and everything for the mathematically naive.
You have exactly the same odds as having a heart attack while picking up your lottery win as getting the win
Approx 56 Australians die from licking 9v batteries every year.
you were born
Life is full of odds and yours is even like with everyone else.
I won the lottery 2 times in Texas.
I believe that i will win the mega millions jackpot for more than 70 million dallors on 12/2/11 bc on before i went to bed on 11/24/11 i asked the lord to take my life away on that same night if i dont win the jackpot for 70 million dallors or more on that on 12/2/11 and the next day i woke up. I know i will win on that day in JESUS name Amen.
WOW!
You are a great writer. I began reading as a disillusioned and depressed person and ended up smiling. Great writing.
Lotteries are simply a chance to win a dream. Yes, the odds of winning the jackpot are astronomical, but the fact remains that just about every jackpot IS claimed by someone or group, usually within a month or two of the drawing. And at least lately, I have not heard of anyone being struck by lighting... I have a job paying about $100K/year. My yearly lottery budget is $3200. I play PowerBall, Mega Millions, Win For Life and Decades of Dollars. I still max out my TSP every year and have a savings account with a nice balance. I pay all my bills on time. When I'm having a rough day at work, I can always pull out that Powerball ticket and, for a moment, dream of my nice home on some tropical beach (with my wife, of course). When I find out I did not win squat, I just tell myself, "Maybe Next Week!" -- and push on toward retirement. Lotteries are the dream that keeps giving. I may never win, but I'd rather have the real "possibility" of an accelerated retirement, than not. Yes, I could invest the same $3200 and see a reasonable return, but receiving a bank statement with a few dollars interest does not equal the high of a potential $100 million dream. Play responsibly and it'll help you get through the work week.
Who are you to stop someone else from dreaming? And, yes, people do win the lottery everyday--not necessarily the jackpot-but enough to make a difference in their lives. If YOU don't believe YOU can win--then YOU should not buy a ticket. But don't discourage others from dreaming because YOU didn't win. They might have better luck than you.
Cest La Vie!
If you dont play you dont win... Where else could you take $1 and turn it into millions so $2 doubles your chances and $3 triples your odds....Imagine what $100 can do for you..... Wow!! kidding aside Dont bet the farm on gambling... But I look at it as I dont drink or smoke so a few bucks a day for a chance at millions Im in. Good Luck!!
The author of this article needs to get a LIFE. If the author doesn't wish to play, then don't. But he cannot tell other folks how to spend their money. Why? 'Cause it's none of his business.
I faithfully play the lottery everyday.
Is this a dream?
All you guys gotta know is that if your meant to win you will...weather you buy a QP or you pick your numbers...if god planned on you winning then you will win...but it has to have a bigger purpose then just making you rich...most of the people than won had someone saying that they deserved it...think why they would say that and you'll know if you'll win...change the way you think,if you need to win then you wont...you have to have the desire to win and be certain that you will win and expect the win...that is how you win the jackpot... also know that there is no limit to anything if you keep thinking that you wanna win before anyone else does you are limiting your mind which will prevent the fulfillment of your dreams...
My cousin won $40 million in the lottery. I also know another person that won $10 million. You say it's basically impossible to win, but I know two people that won millions. Oh, and I did almost get struck by lightning once. I blasted the tree about ten feet from me in my yard. I felt the hairs on my neck stand up and I jumped on the ground and it just missed me. I know most will never win, but everyone has the same chance. People win all the time. Just my 2 cents.
there actually is a way to win the lottery with a 100% chance, here's how you do it:
1. get a time machine
2. go forwards 1 day in time
3. write down tomorrows lottery numbers
4. go back in time
5. buy a lottery ticket with the winning numbers
6. win
people r wining the lotto jackport, so stop ukukhuluma amasimba joe
stop doing drugs before posting on this blog. by the way the powerball just went to 2$ officially today. Why? don't care I bought the 80$ million ticket
Folks,
Please do your research. People WIN the lottery ALL OF THE TIME. If you go to your state's official lottery site. You will see the number of people who had winning tickets. I know of someone who hit the jackpot in New York. I know a few more people who won $1,000,000.00.
There are WINNERS each and every time the lottery is drawn.
This entire article was incorrect.
I ENJOY READING ARTICLES STEEPED IN TRUTH.
Am Godwin 4rm Onitsha, nigeria Mesages are coming to me several times that i won some money with my username in ongoing 2go awards, plz can someone win a prize on 2go?
I play the UK lottery, have done since it started 18 years ago and someone from London won £40million last night and once again it wasn't me! I am so sick of it now, 18 years playing for fuck all :-/ I am giving it until the end of 2012 if I haven't won, I am giving up!
Play it, 2 rules apply: (1) The lottery balls have no memmory, so it's purely a game of chance, However for some reason 1,2,3,4,5,6 has less chance than randon numbers like 1, 18, 27, 26, 38 45.
(2) U gotta have a ticket in ur pocket to win.
Win or entertain urself. Don't spent too much, just only as much s u can. If u win, u r gr8, if not dont worry, take it ezy!
Lets' just said that everybody is a winner in this life, as you know we have to thank God for givin us a "Life" everyday and for let us try to play everytime there is a big Jackpot the odds of winning are very high think about it there most important things to do than just being negative let's just try to be patience and we will win
yes indeed the odds of winning are high, so what, but when it comes down to it someone has to win, 5 years ago, my uncle purchased 60 dollars worth of powerball tickets and he hit the jackpot for 82 million dollars. Chances make Champions.
I always look at my biorythms when i play lottery or other games. If i don't have least two high i don't play.
dose anybody know if the lotto blackbook work
I know the chance slim to none, but whenever I do buy a lottery ticket I feel like I'm the next winner. I won $1500 a year ago I got 5 of the 6 numbers correct in the state lotto, I still get excited whenever I play.
all lotteries can be won with brains i worked for 16 eyars and have won for over 10 poeple roughly in total 600 million DKK or 100 million us dollars, i did this with brains but to win thaqt i used 40 million dollars so it was all the eople gave me and they won and its their joy. one has to have the ability to guess minimum 4 numbers to be correct in chosen 8 numbers then in a lotto game of 50 numbers for example all psoosible pairs match wih all 4 and you got the lottery at least once every 10 tries. i can certainly win the lottery witht he stake aboe foir any one on earth contact skype kaitas6 it you can colect poeople tow in or got own cash
In fact, it is almost guaranteed that the jackpot will be won by someone. do you see my point? (by someone) and the odds were astronomical, yet that person still won. so if everyone took your advice there would be no winners...so buy a ticket what the hell, you might just be that person that this guy said never had a chance
Lottery officials say someone who played the Powerball in Rhode Island has won the $336.4 million jackpot.
CBS News feb 12, 2012..good thing he didn't take your advice...it could be anybody who buys a ticket
Kevin McConaghy (the “h” is silent) is a freelance writer and recovering advertising account executive who officially lives in Dallas, Texas. He is 29 years old and has lots of money...go figure, simply not in touch
This is not a Joke. I am predicting New york lottery numbers all 7 numbers drawn, and take it or leave it, i will not let you play cause i can play them from new zealand with the lotter, so watch out, the lotter, and lotto agency will spell they got a winner in Ny for wed, and one of the winner is me. i won then with no luck, the money may go to a school in mumbai, india however they pay in 26 annual installments.. so i may not live that long.... i can mention the total of 6 drawn numbers, one of the numbers in the 7 is hard to predict with dot precision, the totals: a total of one of the 6 combinations of 7 numbers: 187 in the 7 numbers drawn, if you split them into all the possible 6 numbers, one of the 6 number combination will total 187 when this is true and i won the nylotto forget forever lotto is not game of brains. master minded brains. i am doing this a favor for the site to support the topic. i predicted on lottery post uk lotto numbers all correct for public about 10 years ago.
This is such a non-issue. The only way you can win is to buy a ticket. END OF DISCUSSION. Either you have a winning ticket or a losing ticket. It's really not that deep. Odds this and odds that. Who cares about the odds when you have a chance at winning millions upon millions of dollars!!!
You say its not possible to hit the lottery? And yet someone wins every so often. So that makes it possible. It is possible even with the slightest chance. Just not often. So what the hell, take a chance.
I have my believes that i will win a lottery if i play. I usually play $5 KENO ticket like 3 times a week but didn't win for a while. I never gave up because i believe that i can win, so i played again and won $500 and $640 within a month. I just hope people learn from this. I'll continue to play and i believe i will win MILLIONS of dollars.
I KNOW that I am about to win millions-upon-millions of dollars either on Mega Millions or Power Ball. Then, I am headed off to "The Great State of Tennesesee."
WOO-HOO!!!
I will playing lottery for years;never won anything but I'm still playing and never loose my. Faith on GOD!
ALOT of this has been exaggerated to make it look even more impossible. First, 175 cash out amount is not 100 million. It is about 25 to 26% less which makes the cash out 140. Then deduct taxes, take home is probably around 100 million on 175 million. Course I'd be overjoyed to win the 1 million from Powerball (not as high odds as the jackpot) or to win the 200,000 or 250,000! These amounts less taxes would make a huge difference in our lives here! If you don't play you can't win. PFFFTTT
hi iam in hyderabad i want internet no pay lotters
It's hard to look for a black cat in a dark room.... especially when it's not there.
winning $1 million dollars or more is not hard. just Pick numbers that you think its a winner. so buy TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want win this lottry because i am needy.
hello, i am the lottery expert. the information above are not true. ttt is a liar. winning $1 million dollars or more is hard. but, let me tell you. winning $20 million is not to hard and i heard that once, 3 people won the jackpot. sorry, i do not know anything about USA lotteries.
I was out of work for months. As soon as I cast the Career Spell of templeofloveandmoney@gmail.com, I got two different job offers within a week.
1 in 77 is not to high. 1 in 77 is like winning $20 or more. chances of winning any prize for most lotteries is 1 in 6.6 any cash is 1 in 36
well that was an utterly completely depressing read. just what i needed after checking three tickets and in disbelief winning nothing. i even resent people buying tickets in front of me in line, because it makes me realise what a chump i am spending money on these tickets.
i just so desperately want to leave my ****ing job and be free. then you see the saps who win £45,000,000 ($120,000,000 aprox) and they'e just bastards, what did they do to deserve that?
completely ****ing infuriating. life, the whole world - everything is about money, money money. i ****ing hate it.
Interesting. I know people who've played the lottery all their lives and never won a dime. The odds are low. But to say to not play? Well that would make your odds exactly zero to win. While playing at least gives you a chance. Also, there are definitely some strategic ways to win the lottery. You might not win the 100 million dollar jackpot, but you can win money. The lottery is about strategy and persistence. If you play a set of numbers for a whole week and don't win, do you bow out and not play the next day? Or do you keep playing? Countless of people become frustrated with losing only to watch their number come out. Only play with money you can afford to lose. And study up on something you spend money on. After all, how many idiots do you know that just went and invested in any stock they didn't know about and came out millionaires? Is it possible? Yes. But most likely they will lose money if they don't know what's going on. I haven't won any significant amount playing the lottery(Im in my late 20's). However, I found a strategic way to minimize losses and maximize odds. As the saying goes it takes money to make money. Those of you looking to cash in by just buying one ticket everyday are pretty much chasing the wind.Could that happen? Sure indeed. But imagine putting 1000 numbers in a hat and only having 1 number. I guarantee that a person who has 100 numbers will draw that number before your 1 number 99.5% of the time. It's a game of chance and of time. Life is always about taking risk. To stand out you have to take risk that other people aren't willing to take. You have to have faith. No one hit the lottery with no faith. Otherwise they wouldn't have played at all. Remember, run with the winners!
Ok look, If you want to talk odds, well i have a odd's game for you. YES the odds are stacked against every one when they play the lottery. That's just the way the game is. Just look at you'r town, and every one within 30-40 miles of it. How many times has some from your town WON the lottery. For me ONE in that past 40 years. But on the flip side, 2 years ago I read that THREE people (all from different states)won a jackpot of 389MILLION. Now I'm NO math whiz but if the odds that one person are gonna pick the winning number are 1 IN 175,711,536. then it stands to reason that the odds TREE people would win is astronomical. So if for that reason only, then you should play, cause if they can do it so can you. knowing full well that YOU probably wont win. but hey to me its $10 a week. No big deal, I'm sure i spend more on coffee every morning and I've never heard of a coffee cup paying out 300MILLION dollars.
How do you explain the people who have won jackpots multiple times?
Two coins equal 30 cents one of them is not a nickel what are they?
Brad Pitt just knocked on my door!
how do you know an addict they justify to support that continued urge..whether it's doughnuts, liquor, cigarettes, shopping, or lottery... the higher the reasoning sometimes equates to the higher the addiction and if your friends are in agreement add to the picture the success of enabling..we find other fat people to eat dinner with want to lose weight hang out with skinny people who drive you crazy want to maintain go eat KFC with your friends..hey it's friends nite out...who is your friend one who tells you what you want to hear or one who is willing to risk losing your friendship...
that said.... if you are not coming from needy which supports having more need like wanting equals more wanting....here is an experience I had I was trying to decide whether to end up with a futre husband or not three neames were engraved on the sidewalk.. in an area there were absolutley zero other names...an upscale community in Hawaii, my daughters name and his name were right there, engraved in the cement! there was the Brad Pitt you mentioned... however mine for the good or bad of it was my intuition... and I went with it...not craving but an asking and being open to the answer...
Never underestimate the power of positive thinking...
I can tell you one thing, You'll NEVER win with an attitude like "I can't win". A large part of winning is having FAITH that you will win.
Its gambling for sure.. I'll bet on that!
This is the first time I've spoken about this. I wanted to break my silence. About a month ago, I purchased 3 Megamillions tickets for the 600+ million lottery. This was the first time I had purchased lottery tickets in my life. I grabbed 2 fill out cards and walked to my car with my mother in the passenger seat. On the fill out sheet I chose 6 numbers, my mother filled in 6 and for the third we chose quick pick. While waiting on my mother to pick her numbers, I began filling numbers on the spare fill out card I had. We both aren't much of gamblers and the hype on the news convinced me that the odds were not in my favor. So we didn't want to spend too much, especially since we don't have much as it is. I opted to redeem $3 worth ...the card both my mother and I filled out and just hoped for the best. Like millions of others around America, we didn't win. About a week after the drawings, I was cleaning out my car and came across the second fill out card I had tucked away on the side. Glancing over the numbers I filled in, I coulldn't help but notice some of the numbers looked strangely familiar. When I logged online to re-check the winning numbers for that lottery, I was devastated to find out that the numbers I had circled matched. I just hadn't submitted them. What would have costed me a measly $2 dollars ended up being a 600+ million dollar loss. Since the discovery, I've fell into a bout of depression. As much as I try not to show it, my face expresses it all. I look and feel terrible. Still though, I refuse to tell anyone I know. Not friends, not family. Nothing good comes of it. Just regret. Regret that has made my life a living hell til this day. If only I had submitted that damn card! I carry this weight on my shoulders every day. I cannot help but wonder what could of been. The type of lifestyle that money could of offered for my family. Something I could never provide even working two full-time jobs as it is. Amongst the regret though, I try to find greater reason. Perhaps all that money would caused something terrible to happen. I guess I'll never really know. I can only hope though that the opportunity will come again one day -- this time with the ticket redeemed. God bless.
It would be fun to dream of winning the lottery, even though the odds are a million to one.
with all respect your article is shallow and i am sure you played lottery many many times but didnt win so you are frustrated .read the story of the winners .you will find the secret to win. its no secret actualy .its mentioned in the bible by our master yahushua(jesus)
Angela Harris 4 years ago
All that you said is true, but I waste more than a buck (the cost of a megamillions lottery ticket) every day on things like fountain drinks, fast food, gum, etc. I don't expect to win the lottery, but the anticipation of winning is fun. It's a cheap form of entertainment for me.