When Good Things Happen To People Who Aren't Me

[c9]

This is great, I'm glad the money went to a family in some need. But imagine if there were eighteen $1,000,000 prizes. That many more people would be doing better all of a sudden.

plus I'd be more likely to win, statistically

Comments

[leapfish.livejournal.com]

You already know how I feel on the subject, but I need to remind you that statistically, you still have 0.0 % chance of winning, since you don't play.

[c9.livejournal.com]

On the subject of us playing the tax-on-people-who-are-bad-at-math, or on the subject of my split the prize theories? :) I certainly do have a 0% chance. I should answer one of these get-rich-quick schemes in my email some time...

[cap-hill-latte.livejournal.com]

You'd also have a better chance of winning if you played the slots in Vegas. Canadian lotteries only pay out about 65% of their proceeds where casino slots pay out about 95%. Then again, both of those number mean that you're expected return over time is still less than 1.

Govenerment run lotteries are so weird - they're essentially a weath-redistribution program where the government skims (a lot) off the top...to pay for other social programs. I look at it as a voulentary tax.

[c9.livejournal.com]

I can always tell when you're typing and not using your voice recognition system -- you let words go by like "voulentary" and "govenerment." :-)

Lotteries are a weird confluence of government's need for money, and people's need for excitement and surprises, etc. They actually make societies happier and better places.

Casinos on the other hand, are a little scary.

[scott8424.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but you get free drinks at casinos. All you (usually) get with lottery tickets is worthless scraps of paper. =)

[cap-hill-latte.livejournal.com]

Actually, now that I think about it - I don't think that giving out 18 $1M prizes (by selecting 18 different winning numbers) would give you a better chance. 6/49 doesn't restrict how many people choose the same number so if you chose the same number she did you'd each get $9M. If eighteen people picked the right number it shouldn't matter if it was all the same number, or 18 different winning numbers.

Vinny - you can check my math. Probability/Statistics was a long time ago.

[c9.livejournal.com]

True, but that's not what I meant. I meant they ought to select eighteen separate sets of numbers, leading to a higher number of winners.