He needs to aim higher now. Like trying to hit Hot Lotto. Powerball will always be around, even if it continues to change its matrixes every few years.

Wow...I'd like to take him to Vegas with me this summer! Congrats!

I hit 4 of 5 in our state lottery twice in the same week, I don't know if this was lucky or unlucky, because the payout only $400 total, but 5 of 5 would have been $500,000.

The article said the odds were 1 in 170,000, what are the odds of doing that twice in a row?

Good for him!! I'd love to win just one $25,000 jackpot. 

"The odds of winning one Northstar Cash jackpot is about 1 in 170,000."

Regarding a pick-5 game: the odds shown for Florida Fantasy 5 which has 36 numbers is 1:377,000

The average jackpot is $250,000.  Sometimes one person wins, but often there are 3 or 4 winners. Obviously, the population here makes a difference, since there have been as many as 15 or 20 winners (although that's unusual) splitting one jackpot, especially if the 5 numbers are low. 

Would a member who is better at math than I please explain why adding 5 more numbers makes such a huge difference. 

Now here's the $25,000 question.....QPs or does this guy have a system?

Congrats Raymond!

I'll give the explanation a try.

The odds don't increase equally with each extra ball in the lottery.  Every extra ball adds more odds than the previous ball.  Odds of winning a 5/31 jackpot are precisely 1 in 169,911.  Odds in a 5/32 jackpot are 1 in 201,376.  A difference of 31,465.  But the odds of winning a 5/33 jackpot are 1 in 237,336, a difference of 35,960 above the 5/32 game.

The formula for figuring out odds is a bit complex, but it can be boiled down to this:

Start with the total number of balls.  In the story, this is 31.  There are 5 balls drawn, so multiply 31 x 30 x 29 x 28 x 27.  Then divide that result by 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1.

In the 5/36 game you cited, it would be 36 x 35 x 34 x 33 x 32 divided by 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1.

For another example, take a 6/49 game, you would do 49 x 48 x 47 x 46 x 45 x 44 divided by 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1, to get odds of 1 in 13,983,816.

I hope this helps to explain why each additional number adds more combinations than the previous number.

Thanks, JAG331. 

Okay, it all makes sense to me.  I was being lazy I guess, but sometimes it's nice to see it written out clearly so I can say "Oh, I see."  This is why I was so opposed to increasing the Florida Lotto from 49 to 53 numbers.  That was several years back, so I have to let that rant go, but I still think 6/49 is high enough.  If I wasn't so "committed" to playing my Lotto numbers (I should be committed LOL!)  I would probably play the pick-5 games more often.  It's true that increasing the matrix and having 2 draws a week instead of 1 has caused the jackpots to increase faster. But who needs $40 million?  (I do, but I'd settle for 1 or 2!) 

Tony95, i think the odds are higher if you do it the following day...The question should be what are the odds of doing it twice and in a row...Couple of people have done it twice but not the following day, which is hard..I don't know is just my opinion..

"the odds of it happening are virtually incalculable"

Geez.  Has anyone ever considered making it illegal for morons to be reporters? The odds are extremely steep and extremely easy to calculate. If the odds of doing it once are 1 in 170,000 then the odds of doing it twice are 1 in 170,000^2, assuming the guy only bought two tickets.

If he bought more tickets the odds go down. If he bought two tickest for each of those drawings but not for any other day then the odds were 1 in 85,000^2. Assuming he's been buying tickets for that game regularly the odds go down every day he plays. The odds of any one person having back to back wins will always be steep even for games with relativley low odds, but  with enough people playing enough games it's a virtual certainty that somebody will do it every once ina while.

I wonder if he's married?  Since, I'm not, and he's that lucky, I'm going to ask him: "will he marry me?"

It would make quite a scene if someone in California wins Megamillions and Super Lotto Plus back-to-back.

$50,000 after taxes isn't going to go vary far so you had better wait until he wins a jackpot worth several million dollars but of course you'll have a lot more competition then.

Of course, I was being facetious!

However, I loved your response.

Competition, huh?  You hit the nail on the head.