Sooo I MIGHT have found out the deal on the Lottery...

So one of the Bartender girls at my work... I was talking to her about the Lottery and she said she had heard that like when the Computer picks the numbers for you... That they have it set up to where only people in the Major Cities like New York City and California places like that get to win the big money... That's BS... I live in little ol Tennessee... So I will never win letting the Computer picks my numbers... So from now on I'm going to start picking my own numbers... That way if I win it living in Tennessee they will HAVE to give me the money... Soo...

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ElwoodBlues · M

Probability of winning powerball is 1 in 292,201,338. The drawing is random, so any choice of numbers is as good as any other choice, and don't hold your breath.

Location of winners is related to population density. There are more people in NYC than in all of Tenn, and 5X as many in Calif as in Tenn, so yeah, the high population states have far more ticket buyers, thus far more winners.

The lottery is not rigged geographically; it's only rigged in terms of only paying out about half of what people spend on tickets. If you find it an amusing way to lose money, then be my guest!

UPDATE

@newjaninev2 makes a very good point!

All number sequences have the same probability of winning, but rarely chosen sequences (those that include number above the calendar dates) may have a higher payout thru lower probability of sharing the win.

newjaninev2 · 56-60, F

@ElwoodBlues Here in New Zealand the lottery uses 40 balls, with six numbers on each line of the ticket.

It seems impossible (believe me, I've tried!) to convince people that a line with the numbers 1-2-3-4-5-6 has exactly the same chance of winning as any other line of numbers

The odds are given by:
(1/40)*(1/39)*(1/38)*(1/37)*(1/36)*(1/35)
which will show the odds for any line to be 1 chance in around 4.3 million
...which is why the lottery is often referred to as The Idiot Tax.

__________________

As an amusing aside...

If you pick your own numbers you should ensure the line adds up to at least 172
That will ensure that you include a good percentage of numbers greater than 31.
Many people use birthdays and anniversaries... all of which are 31 or less.
Using higher numbers makes absolutely no difference to your chances of winning, but if you do win you have less chance of having to share your prize.

BlueSkyKing · M

@ElwoodBlues Never bothered with the lottery. It’s a tax for people that are bad at math.