WOW - just let me win a part of that ..oooooh  boooy

my god, 400+ next draw if it rolls.

Grow baby GROW!

 I'll bet if nobody hits this time its gonna be half a billion.

WOW, How exciting is this.

141 million after taxes! I think i can live with that.

  You won't believe how many cousins you've got.

i knew it would be above 300, and just above 200 million cash

but 208 m in cash, i understated it a bit rofl

its now the 3 largest jackpot cash wise in history, what a monster we have on our hands

Annuity		Cash
Mega Millions Jackpot for Mar. 6, 2007    $390,000,000		$233,000,000

and now our current jacktop,  is 2 million away form taking #2 spot in biggest cashs jackpot ever in history,

the irs will take a full 35% thro as thats the max rate

Your net payout: $135,200,000  and if you live in a state with income tax also, oh, best check usa mega for your state math added on 35% the irs is taking

if it rolls, it will beat 233m cash world record by a landsilde, it will murder the cap

, i wont even try to guest what it be, but it be will above 270m  cash must likly and marketed as 400m + jackpot annuity lol

lotto history is about to be made maybe as todd said

i enjoy these insane jackpot amounts, how would i invest/and spend 135m cash,  o what fun it is to have my imagination run wild with the idea

When you are dreaming about this, remember that the tax amount quoted on the analysis page is just a withholding.   After they take out takes, you may still need to send in an estimated tax differential.  Every situation is different of course.

Good luck to everyone.   Just may have to actually buy a ticket this time.

I can't wait for the approximately $135 million EFT after Federal Taxes!

my Grey Violet Bentley will announce a quite grand midlife crisis!

One Ticket ........... One Winner!

.......... don't have to wait in line .......... got my ticket on Saturday!

Good luck to my lottery post friends ............

WOW 

bought my ticket hope it's a winner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE

I'm thinking the jackpot amount will be bumped up

one more time before the drawing tomorrow night.

The Arkansas Lottery released a statement today indicating that is probable.

Yay! Go Arkansas!

Lottery fever is in full effect -

some people will spend a hundred dollars

or more trying to win this jackpot -

and the winner will probably be someone who spent

$1 on a quick pick

I will be happy if i had won and had to split the jackpot with another ticket holder!!!

Someone explain how it could be bumped up $40 million? 

Usually, it is bumped up $10 million.

Sales for the last drawing were $121 million.  Sales for this will probably be over $200 million.

I believe the increase is based on projected sales.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

im right there with you, i dont mind sharing at all, even if it was 4 other people!!!

I have a question. Can a prize by claimed by a trust in the state of Georgia and not have the winner's name revealed?

and you are probably right ...........(so says the king of the 1QP only approach)

if i am meant to win it this time, i will.

 and after throwing only 1QP at it,  iffin i don't,  i will still have alot of money saved that i could have thrown at it,  iffin i acted in desperation.

1QP gives me peace.

$100 a draw leaves me saying ......."i can't believe i wasted THAT MUCH money"

all hail the power of the 1QP 

I can only hope that will happen because all i buy is a $1 OP

wow... I wouldn't crae if I have to share with 10 people

As long as I get my $342 Million

Before Taxes

During Taxes

and

After Taxes

I will have no complaints.

Anything over MY $342 Million, y'all can have.

May we all be blessed with some cha ching from the next Mega Million drawing.

Wow.....wow.....wow

Went to the local store early to get milk so that I could avoid the lottery lines and I just had to purchase another $1 ticket.

I recall several years ago that I was in line behind a guy that purchased $250 in tickets for the Mega Millions .......... we both lost .......... I only lost $2!

I want to see One Ticket & One Winner ......... the wailing & gnashing of teeth from the greed of envy crowd would be somewhat humorous .............  "you have more than your fair share crowd!?!?!?!"

I could use the money to make a huge impact at some selected schools and charities.

It would be great fun to mitigate the approximately $73 Million in Federal Taxes with some very nice donations to help people with A HAND UP ..... NOT A HAND OUT!

I wish all Lottery Post Members the best !

 well I just tossed my few dollars into the backhole ..... personally would love for it to be a single ticket win (preferably me)

heres to hoping to get a smallish piece of the beastly prize

if i lived in the states i would play 3QP

3 is my lucky numba :PP

I thought the jackpot might go up to $300 million but $330 million-wow! When I win, forget the champagne and caviar-I'm celebrating with Mountain Dew and hot dogs! Hopefully my tastes won't change and I can still be the same person.

Dang, so the last one was bumped only $5 million (from $237 to $242) and this was a $40 million bump... that's a huge difference.

I hope another person out there has the winning numbers as me, $135,000,000 is a ridiculous take home for one person.

My friend picked up $2Qp from Georgia ,North Carolina and Virginia  he spent $6 good luck everyone!!

Doing the rough math . . $208M would be reduced to around $125M after 35% federal and 5% state taxes.  That balance invested in a corporate bond fund with a yield of around 5% would generate around $10,000 per day in dividends after 40% taxes.

I'll probably grab a $4 QP.  Anybody think it's better to have them all on 1 slip or each individually?  I can't wait to drive to Olympia on Wednesday morning!!!

 Most jackpot winners have them all on one slip, good luck!

I have some old tickets from PA and KY, they both are $1 QP, im thinking about replaying those QP numbers!

I HAVE A STRONG FEELING THE WINNING TICKET WILL BE SOLD IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE!!!

YOWZA!    In the words of Stephan Furst of Animal House....   "OH BOY...This is going to be Great!"   

I might just break my rule of playing non-daily-numbers games this one time to have a shot at winning $330 million on my 25th birthday!

im playing a few quick picks and my own numbers and a few numbers that i got from fortune cookies, u never know ;-)

I think one of the reasons the jackpot jumped so much is because many more states offer the Mega Millions game.   Not that many people would drive to another state as before but now, if you just have to drive a few miles and know about this big jackpot, it means the jackpots will increase much greater now.

I thought only 1-2 picked it up, all I remember reading on here was the addition of Florida.

Sorry, no. No Mega Millions in Florida. So I guess no one is buying Powerball tickets. The advertised jackpot is 1 million less than its "usual" $35 million.

I remember reading here somewhere, I guess maybe they read something wrong. Oh well I'm not gonna worry about where that extra money comes from.

And ya I can see people not buying PB in favor of driving across the border for MM. I haven't bought PB in a while because of this jackpot.

Yeah, I'm sure that folks in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming are crossing the borders to buy tickets. Folks from Alabama cross the border into Florida and WIN!

If you think this is a wow, just imagine when it turns over again. If I win this Mega Millions grand prize tomorrow night,I'm going to share some of it with all active Lottery Post members!!!.True believers in the lottery!!!.

nothing speaks  LOUDER  than 1QP in a fate based "if i am meant to" approach.

afterall,  based solely in common sense,  no one is really helping their odds of winning in throwing a $100 bill at a game with a matrix field of balls that large, and odds of 176million to 1

common sense recognizes this - desperation disregards it.

there is nothing i can ever do to make it happen,  and $1 gives fate it's invitation.

i like that. 

 no, i  REALLLLLLLY  like that --------> 

Well i went threw every pair of pants, looked under every couch cushion, went threw my vehicle and looked around the the washer and drier and finallt found enough chsnge to go buy a $3 QP. Hope it pays off.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's more than a hundred thousands members, how do you decide which ones are active?

the current state lottery's are swimming in money like scrooge mcduck!

but their 2 main holdouts, who are  stubborn not to join mega millions

they are the Louisiana lottery and Florida lottery , they both have powerball, but don't have the brains to join MM ,

their ceo's are arrogant and should be fired for costing their state lotto's money,  when jackpots get high, this is when states make out like bandits in a bank

mega millions just like powerball,  just under 50% of the money goes right to the state's profits

team work with other states, to share the "prize pool" part of the jackpot, to make sales go sky high, is smartest lottery move EVER, these 2 genius didn't seem to understand why  their team work in first place, yet they joined pb and not yet joined mm, 

the whole, but it would kill our state lotto games is bull,  the fact is mm and pb both bring more sales to a state then sales lost , thats a fact or all the other states would of STOPED

giving players less options so you force them on a fewer options that SUCK is down right retarded

got some news for you 2, the turtle's  Don't infact WIN THE RACE , its a lie, and now the no show states can live without the profits!

Florida Lotto took FOREVER to join Powerball. They were concerned that they would lose money in Florida Lotto. Which they have. Florida Lotto is no longer advertised on the Interstate Billboards and the Jackpot now starts at $2 million and slowly creeps upward from there.

Hmm, I think it depends on your perspective. While I am not a person who spends $100 on a given draw, I am not going to knock those who do. Spending $100 does not work for me. I only think it is egregious/unfortunate if a person is spending money he or she does not have just to play. In that regard, it would not matter if he or she is spending $1, $10 or $100 if is not affordable.

But another way to see it is this: you are quite excited that the jackpot is $330 million after the latest $40 million increase. Well, if everyone only bought a $1 ticket as you seem to propose here, then the jackpot would never reach $330 million. If I end up spending $5 or $10 on a very large jackpot, I am always thinking that it takes only $1 to win but that the rest of the money spent helps to increase the size of the jackpot for my potential win. And if I do not win, well, it's not the end of the world. Someone will win. And one day, I, TOO, will win. And in each case, it will have been those individuals who spent more than $1 who will have helped to make the jackpot larger, which then means I, in turn, can have a far greater reach to help others.

 could not have been written better!! I am a big spender when i have extra cash. If everyone only played $1 then the pot will not be enormous as it is now.This jackpot is bringing everyone out the wood works, this New Year people who never play is playing!!!

There are those who play hard for a big win to help others,then there are those who play hard to win so that they can crawl in their shell and do not give no one a dime!! and live off the fruits of their big win. People will remember you for what you have done not what you had!

(1)  you are right,  the jackpot would take  f.o.r.e.v.e.r.  to reach this level at $1 a player.   a factual statement

(2) i don't have a problem with anyone throwing any amount of money at it,  as it's their personal choice.

i just happen to know you cannot (realistically) increase your chances of winning with a 176:1 odds,  so why bother wasting more money than that.

(3) the whole point i was making is addressing the desperation quotient,  which greatly increases once the jackpots reach this level,  and people lose their minds in the common sense realm ------->  "thinking ......"if i just throw an extra $20 at it, then".....

fun, afforded entertainment = good.

let's face it,  the vast majority here operate from a place of desperation.  some more than others.

let's just say "VISION" is the voice of reason / common sense  at a time like this

actually,  i will prove my point.......go back thru mega millions jackpot history and my guess (without looking) is overwhelmingly the jackpots were won on QP's,  and ticket slips of $5 or less.

 whatever amount someone wants to spend is their decision, The odd will still remain at 176 million to 1. Your chances of getting eaten alive by a shark in the desert with no water is better!!! Just joking.

For all of you $1 spenders out there, I'm $500 poorer and will probably still be $500 poorer tomororrow night, but it will be fun checking them all.

Wooo Hooo, i thought my $32 was something!!

I'm pretty sure the majority of the jackpots were won mostly on $5 - $10 playslips, considering $10 is the highest they go... Even is you tell the clerk you want $10 bux worth, many of times they hand you 2 $5 slips.

So your assumption is correct

well its doing good for imports over there, cuz i sent money over from australia to buy 5 tickets.

i may not get out of the states alive if i won, but its a risk im willing to take.

You know, I never thought of it like that. Thanks for the new perspective!

If you buy a $1 ticket, your odds are 1 in 175,711,536. However, you can increase your odds by purchasing multiple lines. So if you buy a $5 quick pick, your odds are 1 in 35,142,307(175,711,536 / 5). I happen to have $13 worth of tickets, so my odds would be 1 in 13,516,272, which is about the same as a single line in a Pick 6/49 Lotto game.

  As a matter of fact, the odds on 5 wagers are 1 in 175,711,531 but I won't argue just wish everyone good luck  and many big jackpots this year.

No, no, no.

The odds for 1 ticket is 1 in 175,711,536.  The "1" is the 1 ticket and the "175,711,536" are the number of possibilities.

The odds for 5 tickets is 5 in 175,711,536.  Note the "5" is the 5 tickets, but the number of chances does not change, only the number of tickets purchased.

Now then, odds are essentially fractions.  The 1 in 175,711,536 can be written as 1 "over" 175,711,536, or 1 "divided by" 175,711,536.

So the 5-ticket purchase is 5 "over" (or "divided by") 175,711,536.  To get the traditional "your odds are 1 in ____" statement, you would just simplify the fraction, something taught in elementary mathematics, even these days.

So buying 5 tickets would make your odds of winning the jackpot ..... drum roll please ..... 1 in 35,142,307.2

Sorry Guru101 the odds do not work that way, example  if you spent $13 your odds will be 13 in 175,711,536. Play to win

Please read my post, Guru101 is correct. 

You are both stating the same thing, in fact. 

Stating the odds as "13 in 175,711,536" is the same exact thing as saying "1 in 13,516,272".

or,  you could look at it this way from an additional common sense perspective......

even if one did buy $100 worth in a game that has 176 milllion to 1 odds,  you realistically are still not giving yourself better odds of winning anything........ in light of the fact that people cannot even win the pick3 with any consistentcy,  and that after supposedly "effectively" covering the matrix field with more saturation vs dollar(s) spent.

since we are discussing increasing one's odds/probability by buying more tickets,  when was the last time you heard of anybody that spent over $1000 on tix and won a jackpot?   ......i figured if we were debating buying 5 more tix to increase odds,  why not 1,000?

truthfully,  it's a rare oddity to find anyone (or have someone admit to it) that spends over $100 a draw,  and almost extinct are the stories of those that do buy over $100 and win.   that's because everyone really knows what those odds represent

fate based allows the person to sleep better before AND after the draw.

if throwing more amounts of money at a draw "increases" one's odds,  then why wait until the jackpot reaches $330 million.

that same "logic" would theoretically work at $12 million,  if it worked at all.

and i know everyone in here wouldn't return a $12million dollar check,  so then,  why don't people throw $100 a draw at $12 million?   (.... you know why they don't)

 Ok now i understand!

  You might be right but buying 87,855,768 tickets does not reduce the odds to 1 in 2 - there are still almost 88 millions possible combinations left over.

I like the math.  I now have a 1 in 351,423 chance.  Going out to get more tomorrow to reduce that even further.

go for it buddy..

I will be there in Olympia sharing the manmoth spoil. Joint Winners!

so 2 tickets dont double your chances? o man i knew i should have got a pick 3 instead

As long as you are sharing it wth me!

Nope.

Every line of numbers you play is up against the same odds, there is only one set of winning numbers drawn.

barbos is right.

If the fractionalizing theory worked people would just form pools and bet enough to "make sure" they won. Ha ha ha, the lottery loves that. They have this all figured out.

Take a pick 5 game where the odds are 575,757 to one. $5000 in tickets, according to your thoey, would bring the odds down to 115 to one. $20,000 would make the odds 28 to one. If it worked people would be taking out loans and winning $100,000 or more a pop.

And if you're theory worked on Mega Millions it would never have rolled over 15 times to get to a $330,000,000 jackpot.

You have $13 worth of tickets, each one up against odds of 175,711,536.

You are up against 175,711,536: 1 - 13 times.

Actually, that's exactly what it does.

After purchasing your stated quantity of tickets, your odds would be 87,855,768 in 175,711,536.

Simplifying the fraction yields 1 in 2.

You seem to be caught up in the "wow, it's hard to win" syndrome.  Yes, it is hard to win indeed.  Buying several tickets does not make it easy to win.  However, it is important not to confuse the mathematics about it with the reality that any way you express it, it is still very hard and rare to win.

That would only be true if a different person holds each ticket.  We are talking about one person holding all the tickets, so COLLECTIVELY the odds of 13 tickets are 13 in 175,711,536.  There is really no way you can argue with that.  You have covered 13 of the 175,711,536 possible combinations.

So reduce the fraction.  You do know that odds are simply a fraction, right?

barbos - that will give you a 50/50 chance persay...That is exactly what it does. Increases your odds if you bought  half of the amount of possible combinations.

Problem with doing that: if someone else wins also, then you just spent87,855,768 and wont come out ahead because you would be splitting itwith someone else.

** With your logic you are basically saying that if a person buys every combination available, then they still only have a 1 in 175,711,536 chance. Which is not true. If a person bought every single combination in Mega Millions that means they would have a 175,711,536 in 175,711,536 chance (or 100%) chance of winning....

Let look at this at another angle. The pick 3 games have 1000 possibilities. If you spent $500 on pick 3, that would also give you a 50/50 chance or a 1 in 2 chance of winning.

Its simple math

I have gone over the top with my wagering ........... $6 .........

......... probably the most that I have ever spent on one drawing !

 I will be smiling on Wednesday!

Celebrating Pensylvania's first Mega Millions Jackpot & Rendell leaving!

 If i do not win the jackpot tonite i will be very happy when i collect $250,000 wednesday!!

Todd,

With 13 tickets you have covered 13 sets of a posssible 175,711,536 sets of numbers, leaving 175,711, 523 sets not covered.

From GURU101,

"if you buy a $5 quick pick, your odds are 1 in 35,142,307(175,711,536 / 5). I happen to have $13 worth of tickets, so my odds would be 1 in 13,516,272, which is about the same as a single line in a Pick 6/49 Lotto game."

If the "magic fraction odd reduction" worked, those 13 tickets would have covered some 40,000,000 + combinations. They don't, they only cover 13.

According to you guys, those 13 tickets have covered 162,195,264  (175,711,536 minus 13,516,272 stated by having 13 tickets) sets of numbers! THE "MAGIC BULLET" THEORY FROM THE WARREN COMMISSION ON THE JFK ASSASSINATION MEETS THE MEGA MILLIONS ODDS!

Once again, if it worked, with the over 100,000 members you have here on LP, we could all go $5 or $10 apiece and have a "lock". Once upon a time.....

Good Luck everyone!

i have 330 million reasons for a road trip to Ga !!!!   Good Luck Everyone!!!

Yea man Im glad I live so close to GA I went twice last week over my vacation. Gave me and my family something to do while we were off ....Less than an hour drive. Went up and bought some lotto tix, got lunch and headed back.

Over and done in 2 hours tops.

If you are coming from South FL get off at exit 3  approximately 2 miles past the border...there are 3 gas stations that sell tix right there. You would be amazed at how many scratchoff books these dudes have. Like 8-10 of each one and the walls are plastered with past winners. Its big business there because they are the first big exit past the border

OMG, odds calculations do no express the NUMBER of combinations you've covered.  The express the FRACTION of the combinations you've covered!

The number of possible combinations is how the odds are established to begin with. Every line of numbers played (one combination) reduces those odds by one combination. There are no fractions that magically take one more combination and reduce the odds by millions.

The belief that there is sure sells a lot of tickets and systems though!

But I do think I might use numbers extracted from 13, 516, 272 tonight!

13  51 6 27  2 .....

1  35  16  27  2 .... darn still need a Mega number!

OK, you are reluctant to have a discussion that expresses odds in a mathematical format, so let's try this a different way. 

I would assume that you know that all odds can be expressed as "1 chance in _____".  If we can't agree on that, then I'm not sure we can have any discussion at all.  So please just validate that you agree with this statement.

Then, as step two, please fill in the blank:  After I buy 13 tickets, my odds of winning tonight are 1 in ______.

Each ticklet is facing odds of 175,711, 536 :1.

You have those odds against you 13 times over. You've reduced the odds by 13 combinations and that's as good as it gets, you havent's divided those original odds by 13. 13/175,711,536 is hype, that's all.

Thinko of it ie thsi, there are 46 Mega numbers (bottom matrix). The odds against one number hitting are 46:1 (46 to one, or 1 in 45).

So you play two Mega numbers. If you say you've just cut those odds to 23:1, you are implying that the seond Mega number has eliminated not one more but 23 more of the remaining numbers, 2/46 as opposed to 1/46.

coinstoss -

Another way to look at this is to establish the odds if a person spent $46 bux to cover every Mega Ball #.

If that same person played the same 5 set of #'s 46 times with a different MegaBall number (1-46) each time, that persons chances of winning would be 1 in 3,819,816. That would garauntee he/she's chances of winning was 1 in 3,819,816 (on each of those 46 tickets) since they already got the megaball right (they covered all of the possible Megaballs).

Its all math just like Todd is trying to explain. Buying more tickets does in fact give a person better chances.

Go to MS excel and run this formula and play around with the numbers:  =combin(56,5)  then multiply that # by 46 (# of MegaBalls) ....that will give you the total MegaBall possibilities which is 175,711,536.

If you run this formula =combin(56,5) it will give you 3,819,816. Like I said above, if a person plays the same #'s 46 times with a different MegalBall for each line, that persons chances would be 1 in 3,819,816.

How can you argue with Math?

I understand what you are saying, but you have completely ignored everything I have said.  Not worth having a discussion if you can't try to re-phrase the discussion in order to gain consensus.  I tried taking your examples and pointing out the flaws, whereas you have ignored what I said.  Too bad. 

2/46 = 4.3%

1/23 = 4.3%

2/46 = 1/23

If you buy 2 numbers in a 46-number game, you have a 4.3% chance of winning.

You are right, whenever someone buys $5 worth of mega millions this does not change the equation to win 1 in 175,711,536. I feel that we are confusing odds and chances. You can increase your chances to win like TODD stated, but you are right COIN TOSS  the odds to win never change no matter how many lines we purchase. Each line you play whether 1 or 100 tickets faces the odds of 1 in 175,711,536 to win.Athough the lottery makes you believe otherwise by dividing it 175,711,536/2=87,855,768 . The fact is that you can't cut the odds in half by purchasing 2 tickets like the example implies.I do not believe in purchasing multiple tickets since it takes one set of numbers to win.So when you purchase  2 tickets you have two chances to win out of 175,711,536 each number line facing the odds of 1:175,711,536. So 13 tickets will be 1:175,711,536 , 1:175,711,536 and so on until you reach 13 times, not  13:175,711,536. The equation never changes, it stays the same 1:175,711,536.

I am fascinated by the reduction of odds discussion.  Each purchased single ticket has the same odds- 1 in 175+ million. If 13 tickets are purchased, the odds of winning are 13 in 175+ million. The reduction of this relationship on a fraction basis is 13 divided by 175 million, not 175 million divided by 13. Expressed as a percentage, 13 tickets have a 0.000007% chance of winning versus the odds of 0.000006% (decimal point moved one more space to the left) on a single ticket.

******Breaking News*******

Channel 7 News in New York is reporting the jackpot amount is now $355 Million!

Actually the jackpot is $12 million. There was one winner in Indiana who won the $355 million.

Having only registered today as a result of this discussion I apologize for taking a counter position to Todd, who truly has developed a meaningful website for lottery game players. The correct phrasing of the 1 purchased ticket out of 175+ million argument presented to counter CoinToss versus 13 purchased tickets is not from 1 in 175 million to 1 in ____________, rather it is from 1 in 175+ million to "13" in 175+ million. Makes sense in my mind- not sure it has translated well in written form.

Please bear with me; I am going to post a lengthy description of odds calculations for multiple ticket purchases.  Please follow the logic, and don't get frustrated.

Some folks here are having a difficult time with the mathematics of odds calculations. My guess is that dealing with huge numbers is causing a problem for them.

Maybe if we talk about small numbers, things will become clear.

After all, the subject of mathematics works the same way no matter how big or small the numbers are.

For example, 1 + 1 = 2, and 10 + 10 = 20, and 1,000,000 + 1,000,000 = 2,000,000.  The same concept works, no matter how big the numbers are.  It works the same for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

A Small Example

Now then, let's take our odds calculation into the realm of "tens" instead of "millions" of calculations, and then we'll ramp up the discussion back to millions once we have the concepts down.

Let's say our lottery has a total of 10 numbers being selected from a drum, and you buy one ticket. Your odds of winning on that ticket are 1 in 10. I think everyone can agree with that statement.

It is the same as saying you have covered one-tenth of the possible combinations. In other words, an odds statement is a fraction — "one over 10", or 1/10. You can do the division (1 divided by 10) to say I have a "0.1" chance of winning. And as we also know, decimals can be expressed as percentages by simply moving the decimal place two positions to the right. So our "0.1" chance of winning becomes 10%.

That is all easy to understand when dealing with small numbers, especially tens. We have expressed our odds of winning in four different ways:

• 1 in 10 (a traditional odds statement)
• 1/10 (a fraction)
• 0.1 (a decimal)
• 10% (a percentage — we have covered 10% of the possible combinations)

All of those four ways should be easily and quickly agreed upon by all. The concept of 1 in 10 chances is very easy to understand and express.

Buying More Tickets

OK, so we buy 2 tickets for the drawing. Let's express those two tickets in the same four ways as we did for our 1-ticket purchase:

• 2 in 10
• 2/10
• 0.2
• 20% — we have covered 20% of the possible combinations

Just to be clear: We do NOT think of our lottery drawing as two separate "1 in 10" odds, because we would have to conduct two separate drawings for that to be true. We are still only conducting one drawing, but now two combinations are covered out of the possible 10 combinations.

Another way to look at it is visually. You can see how our two purchased numbers represents 20% of the possible combinations, and the ones we have NOT purchased is 80% of the combinations. Our math checks out perfectly.

Expressing as "1 in ____"

One of the points I made previously was that all odds calculations can be expressed as "1 in _____", meaning you have "one chance in _______ (some number)" to win. We all know it's possible to express odds that way, because that is really the only way the lottery EVER speaks about odds, no matter how complicated the game is to play.

A great example of this is the Canada Lotto Max game. For $5, you get a ticket with 3 separate lines (combinations) on it. You get to pick your own numbers for the first line, but the second two lines are always quick picks. Regardless of the way the numbers are selected, each $5 purchase gets you the equivalent of buying three tickets. So how does the lottery express the odds for that 3-ticket purchase for $5? As "1 in _____" odds. They don't say "you have three separate chances of "1 in ____", they combine the three combinations and accurately tell you what your "1 in ____" odds of winning are. You can see it for yourself in the Prizes section at http://www.olg.ca/lotteries/games/howtoplay.do?game=lottomax.

Getting back to my little lottery drawing example here, we can see that when I bought a second ticket above, I expressed the odds as "2 in 10". So what is the "1 in _____" become?

That's pretty easy to calculate. Since one of the four ways to express the odds is a fraction, we can just simplify the fraction — something taught in elementary mathematics.

Simplifying our 2/10 fraction above, we divide the top and bottom of the fraction by the lowest common denominator, which is 2, and our new fraction becomes 1/5.

Now our four methods of expressing the 2-ticket purchase become:

• 1 in 5
• 1/5
• 0.2
• 20%

Notice something here! Although we have changed the first two expressions, the last two have stayed the same.

How is that possible? Because reducing a fraction does not change its value, it only changes the expression of it. 1/5 is the same number as 2/10. They both equate to 20%.

So hopefully the skeptics here will see that there is no "magic fraction reduction", or anything strange going on. We have not made the game somehow easier to win — all we have done is accurately reflect the mathematical way of stating of chances of winning.

When expressed visually, you can see how saying "1 in 5" instead of "2 in 10" does not magically make the game easier to win.  It is still a 20% chance of winning.

More Tickets

Now, let's buy 5 tickets for the drawing. The numbers become:

• 1 in 2 (or, 5 in 10 — same thing)
• 1/2 (or, 5/10 — same thing)
• 0.5
• 50%

Visually, it's easy to see this is correct:

Scaling the Concept to Mega Millions

There is nothing magical about calculating the odds of multiple ticket purchases for Mega Millions. The same exact mathematical calculations are used, no matter how many combinations there are.

To review a 1-ticket purchase of Mega Millions, our four ways of expressing the odds are:

• 1 in 175,711,536
• 1/175,711,536
• 0.00000000569114597006311
• 0.000000569114597006311%

Wow, that's a pretty small chance of winning. Look at that percentage!

So let's use the example discussed in this thread of purchasing 13 tickets. Here's the new odds:

• 1 in 13,516,272 (same thing as 13 in 175,711,536)
• 1/13,516,272 (same thing as 13/175,711,536)
• 0.0000000739848976108205
• 0.00000739848976108205%

If this is where I lose you, then let's step back to the discussion above where I mentioned the Canada Lotto Max game. In that game you get 3 chances (tickets) per purchase, and the lottery expresses the odds as a "1 in ____" number. So let's see what the Mega Millions odds would be with a 3-ticket purchase.

Because Mega Millions has a larger number matrix than Lotto Max, we know that the odds must be steeper to win.

In other words, the Ontario Lottery has published the Lotto Max odds of winning the jackpot as 1 in 28,633,528, so our 3-ticket Mega Millions purchase, if calculated correctly, will have WORSE odds than that.

And here is the Mega Millions calculation for 3 tickets:

• 1 in 58,570,512 (same as 3 in 175,711,536)
• 1/58,570,512 (same as 3/175,711,536)
• 0.0000000170734379101893
• 0.00000170734379101893%

Well, we can see that our 1 in 58,570,512 chances are definitely worse than Lotto Max's 1 in 28,633,528 chances of winning, when the playing field is leveled by purchasing 3 Mega Millions tickets.

In fact, we would have to purchase 7 Mega Millions tickets in order to achieve approximately the same odds of winning Lotto Max (with the Lotto Max $5 purchase):

• 1 in 25,101,648 (same as 7 in 175,711,536)
• 1/25,101,648 (same as 7/175,711,536)
• 0.0000000398380217904418
• 0.00000398380217904418%

Summary

I really hope this sheds some light on the discussion of odds calculations for multiple ticket purchases.

I do not intend this information to reinforce some notion that buying multiple tickets somehow make the game much easier to win. In fact, if you think buying 13 tickets and making the odds 1 in 13,516,272 is "much easier to win", then you are deluding yourself. The odds against you are still astronomical either way.

However, one thing I am doing here is being FACTUAL. It IS possible to make your odds BETTER by buying more than one ticket. The mathematics I have described here accurately reflect exactly how much better your odds become. Frankly, to those who do not like the way it is being expressed, then it would be best for you to not think in terms of odds at all, because it will only become upsetting for you. Mathematics is a "black and white" subject. There are not two correct answers here, only the one answer I am giving you.

On the other hand, if you have always been confused by odds for multiple tickets, and this helps clarify the topic, then it is my pleasure to have helped!

Good luck in tonight's big drawing!

Forget the top matrix for right now, let's look at the Mega ball number.

You choose one of forty -six. That leaves 45 that can beat you. So you say, "OK, I'll play another Mega number and reduce that by half (2/46), now there are only 23 numbers that can beat me".

Wrong. There are 44.

Now go back to the top matrix and apply the same thing.

No, because if you want to simplify a fraction, you have to change both the numerator and denominator. 2/46 = 1/23. To simplify the fraction, I had to divide both the numerator and denominator by 2.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW there is still 9 more hours to purchase tickets!!! Before its all said and done it might hit $400 millions!!!!! Either i win or i dont!!!!!! I have never seen the mega millions being bumped up this many times, the winners might be some large group of co workers or lucky young me. Im just happy to be here and have this chance to win!!!!!!! I would not mind winning $250,000 2nd place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your logic is poor, and once again, despite the fact that I took great pains to explain things clearly, you have completely ignored -- or misstated -- what I said.

Where do you see that the Mega Ball would have only 23 number to beat? 

Buying the second one would give you 2 chances in 46, or 1 chance in 23.  It means out of every 23 draws, one of your two numbers should hit.  It does not mean you've eliminated 23 possible numbers.

You are confused.

Almost the same as being struck by lightning or mauled by a bear twice on the same day.! Clear enough 

YES, Crown me the WINNER!!!!!! 

Todd,

Very good post. Odds are just hype. What kind of percent you have to win is all that matters.

HERE is my reply https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/214432/1903992 about this odds thing

Pretty cool.  Maybe we'll finally see the half-billion$ jackpot they promised when they increased the matrix. 

Good luck to all LP Mega players tonight!