Stop staying, 'Lower the odds'. It's the JACKPOT that matters!

Reply #11

TotallyDavis — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:59:07 GMT

I know, the Pick 3 and 4 payouts are one of the things in the lottery that make my blood boil.

I would play a Pick-X game where the returns were 75%, but at 50%? Forget that; that's the worst return out there. Even the most worthless scratch offs have better odds than that.

Reply #10

jr-va — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:50:25 GMT

I see good points on both sides.

On one side, it is important to have big jackpots for the people who want to see them (not necessarily win them). Under this form, the odds can get too high, though, that only a few people of the planet would win each year. Personally I haven't played these games for more than $40 a year, most years just $20 or even none.

On the other hand, I understand what people mean when bad odds are discussed. The odds are definitely terrible all the way f... [ More ]

Reply #9

ThatScaryChick — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:45:08 GMT

Again, it matters to some people not everyone. We're not going to agree that the jackpot is the only thing that matters in a game. Some of us would like to have an actual chance at winning a jackpot, some us don't care if the odds are a billion to one. And really, I don't care what most people think. It's what I think that matters to me.

Reply #8

TotallyDavis — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:28:59 GMT

It's not about what matters to me.

Powerball themselves have said that ticket sales explode once the jackpot gets way up high.

So it obviously matters to most people.

If it didn't, games with much better odds but much lower jackpots (like only a million or so) would be nationally famous, and not the 2 juggernauts that we have today with ridiculous odds and massive jackpots.

Reply #7

ThatScaryChick — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:55:02 GMT

Stop staying, 'Lower the odds'. It's the JACKPOT that matters!

To you that's all that matters. I would like to have decent odds, so I actually have a chance to win a jackpot. I'm one of those few people who don't care if the jackpot is 12 million or 300 million. I would love to win any size, but the more the odds go up, the less likely that will happen. Hey, if you don't care if the odds are so high you probably won't win anything, fine. But we all don't feel that way.... [ More ]

Reply #6

KY Floyd — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:35:06 GMT

Nobody needs it, but it's a question of what you could do with it. That $105 million they advertise is about (for me) $38 million after taxes. Right now, putting that in a safe investment might result in an annual after tax income of only $660,000. I've got no use for extravagance, and even indulging in a goodly amount of travel I can't imagine actually spending more than 250 to 300k, but there are plenty of other things I'd like to be able to do.

It wouldn't take an hour to think of charitab... [ More ]

Reply #5

dvdiva — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:46:18 GMT

You obviously aren't handling the government bailouts.

I personally don't play Powerball until it breaks $300 million. Until prizes match their after tax cash prize they have to be very high for me to play.

Reply #4

justxploring — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:09:06 GMT

Not needed. Who needs $105 million

Reply #3

Todd — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:31:39 GMT

Reply #2

BuyLow — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:30:31 GMT

What's your thinking on not wanting 60 - 200 million? Too much to worry about? Not needed? Too much responsibility

Reply #1

justxploring — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:21:11 GMT

I do agree with the statement require a miracle to hit.

But to me $60 million or $200 million is about the same. I don't really want to win more than a million or two, so the main difference would be how much I'd have to give away.

Stop staying, 'Lower the odds'. It's the JACKPOT that matters!

TotallyDavis — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:50:18 GMT

What's the difference between 1:140,000,000 and 1:190,000,000? Realistically?

Not much. They are both still odds that require a miracle to hit.

But what's the difference between a 60 MILLION DOLLAR and a 170 MILLION DOLLAR jackpot?

Enormous. All kinds of people come out of the woodwork to buy tickets once the jackpot breaks 100 MIL. People buy multiple tickets that usually only play one ticket. It gets crazy.

If the jackpot gets above 200 MILLION things get crazier still. And if... [ More ]