Cash 5 Math Puzzle

Reply #3

mathbum — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 02:51:40 GMT

Hi oate, thanks for your gracious reply. I rushed and shot from the hip, just got lucky seeing that set of numbers. I was told back in grade school to watch my carelessness, guess it still gets me sometimes ;) I have seen many puzzles posted that are thought-provoking, so even without a response there is value in them. Remember the Monty Hall problem that caused some stir? Now the question is, pick your own numbers, use quick pick, use the Random site, or use a calculator (I have programs on my

Reply #2

oate — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 03:46:09 GMT

Hello Mathbum, Welcome to Lottery Post and thank you for solving my math puzzle! I don't get many takers as you can see...

You got the right answer, for almost the right reason. There are actually six sets of number that work:

{2, 3, 6, 9, 10}

{4, 5, 11, 15, 20}

{4, 6, 12, 18, 20}

{6, 7, 16, 21, 30}

{6, 8, 17, 24, 30}

{6, 9, 18, 27, 30}

they all have an equal chance of winning the top prize, but the last set {6, 9, 18, 27, 30} has more 2/5 overlaps with the other sets and... [ More ]

Reply #1

mathbum — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 22:40:29 GMT

First time posting, I couldn't resist a good math puzzle concerning our favorite topic. By brute force I came up with three sets of five numbers meeting the criteria, {2 3 6 9 10}, {4 6 12 18 20}, and {6 9 18 27 30}. The numbers 6, 9 and 18 are common are shared by at least two of the sets, but the last one has all three. So that is the one the bum should play, since he would get a 2/5 prize for sure if either of the other two came up, or the jackpot if that is the one.

Hopefully he wouldn't... [ More ]

Cash 5 Math Puzzle

oate — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 17:32:52 GMT

A bum is down to his last dollar and decides to spend it on a Cash Five ticket. In his state, Cash Five is a 5/36 game with the following prize structure

5/5: $30,000 4/5: $300 3/5: $15 2/5: free quick pick ticket

Luckily for this bum, his Aunt Betty works for the lottery. She tells him that today's drawing will be fixed, but she can't tell him explicitly what the numbers will be. Instead, she gives him three clues.

The highest number will be five times the smallest number The second... [ More ]