Why the world's biggest lottery jackpot wasn't

Comment #17

TheMeatman2005 — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 18:48:47 GMT

-rcbbuckeye not losing sleep over 4

Comment #16

rcbbuckeye — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 13:45:31 GMT

Well,

I sure ain't losing any sleep over it. And if I won, I sure wouldn't worry over the ESTIMATE being off 4%.

Comment #15

TheMeatman2005 — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 11:02:31 GMT

Exactly CT. It's an estimate.

es ti mate

verb

/'est??mat/

1.

roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, or extent of.

the aim is to estimate the effects of macroeconomic policy on the economy

synonyms: calculate roughly, approximate, guess; More

noun

/'est?m?t/

1.

an approximate calculation or judgment of the value, number, quantity, or extent of something.

at a rough estimate, our staff is recycling a quarter of the paper use... [ More ]

Comment #14

Quanchill — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 10:38:27 GMT

Lord shinnok overseer of the netherrealm..now lottery headquarters. 4% can happen bugs an grubs..but drinking to much here we share... oh no the 4% cometh by hare. the statisticians flailing arms... we down cloddened to the very bright...a 4%, our mistakes like wise.

Comment #13

TheGameGrl — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 04:45:08 GMT

well since it takes 6- 8 weeks to even see the funds materialize for the winner I tend to think asking them to update daily is a stretch. When data and updates are literally a keystroke away, the entire system relies on accurate forecasting. 4 % is within acceptability. Most statisticians would not be up in arms of that pt percentage.

Comment #12

Quanchill — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 02:51:58 GMT

SC ticket holder is the top single winner of a jackpot though. Power ball was split by 3 when it was the record highest. I'd rather be the sc winner then be oe of the 3 record powerball winners. Don't think about it too much people. brain hurts fine wine..cigars boat club golf shoes missed the hole in one sc gettin the boogey on.

Comment #11

weshar75 — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 02:08:51 GMT

I would rather the jackpot be low and then be surprised when they draw and say the new amount then over stating the jackpot. But that is just me.-weshar75

Comment #10

oate — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 01:24:54 GMT

Yes, especially considering they always advertise the inflated annuity value rather than the much lower lump sum value, the latter being what winners almost always opt for.

Comment #9

beret32 — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 00:20:54 GMT

Why can't they just update the number every day, or multiple times a day? I'd favor regulation that would require them to behave that way instead of trying to guess the final number days ahead.

Comment #8

KY Floyd — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 23:45:20 GMT

The estimate doesn't sound so wrong if you frame it as being off by about 4 percent.

How about when the estimate is off by a bit more than 10%? The previous jackpot was $1 billion, and they advertised an increase of $600 million and only got $537 million. That's their actual error. The fact that they can never be absolutely sure what the final jackpot will be is completely irrelevant. They could have done what MUSL did with the record PB jackpot and started by advertising the jackpot at 1.3... [ More ]

Comment #7

LottoMetro — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 22:09:50 GMT

Switching over to a centralized system advertising a 'progressive' jackpot, such as casinos use, would eliminate the need for proper estimates and embarrassment from lack thereof. But, this probably won't happen given the lotteries' inability to ever agree on something.

Comment #6

savagegoose — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 19:28:34 GMT

Bu , is the winner richer than elon musk? i'd give it a year lol

Comment #5

OldSchoolPa — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 17:05:10 GMT

Technically, the SC winner is actually the largest lottery jackpot winner since the previous record-breaking Powerball jackpot was split by 3 winning tickets. This one is the largest single ticket winner.

I would take it and actually turn it into true billions as I would focus on investing rather than spending, avoid any vices (playing the lottery and traveling first class would be my only vices), and only investing in business I know the fundamentals of.

Comment #4

Raven62 — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 15:45:16 GMT

They had High Hopes, but That's Life

Comment #3

CDanaT — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 15:33:49 GMT

I don't know about a bait n switch but prestidigitation comes to mind

Comment #2

Coin Toss — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 15:23:58 GMT

Sounds like a bait switch, doesn't it

Comment #1

CDanaT — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 15:22:39 GMT

While atty Kramer is probably correct about it making a difference in the grander scheme of things.... Being off $63 Million/almost 4% ??? ehhhhhh, IMHO they could do smidge better and consider it a lesser number for more of an fluctuation factor. ALMOST nobody would be complaining one bit if the jackpot was advertised at $1.5 Billion and you won $1.537 Billion... yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, bigger numbers sell more tickets and the jackpot is an estimate. I hear ya on that one............... just

Why the world's biggest lottery jackpot wasn't

Lottery Post — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 14:46:38 GMT

Call it the world's largest lottery prize that wasn't.

The Mega Millions jackpot that had been announced as the biggest ever at $1.6 billion ended up being the second-biggest at $1.537 billion. It's a difference that likely means little to the lucky person who bought the ticket in South Carolina and won Tuesday night's drawing, but it raises questions about how lottery officials make estimates and whether they were influenced by a desire to claim the jackpot amount surpassed all others.

Ho... [ More ]