Hi, Todd. Are you the man who is fighting against computerized drawings? I loved that debate. I, too, hope that it never comes to pass. There's too much riding on allowing players to be a witness to their own luck, good or bad. It's a matter of trust and being on the up and up. Those balls mean something that a computer print-out never will.
As for people being fans of the lottery... nah, it's just straight greed. A lottery can only go up and up and up so high. Yes, it's fun to watch the numbers get higher and wonder whether the next drawing will bring a roll over, a single winner or multiple winners. But a real fan, I think, should be happy just watching it grow -- and watching more people win. It's already hit a record, there's no reason to grumble at it not being even more of a record. After a while the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Look at what happened to what used to be the 100 million dollar barrier. Oh joy, Kenneth and Lacey in Podunk, North Dakota have won 1.75 billion dollars. Wake me when it reaches 2 billion.
Meanwhile, how many people have done some very foolish things in order to have a piece of that pie? I like the concept of record setting jackpots, but like you I don't think that every jackpot should be a record setter. I don't believe it should be so only because people tend to get ugly and do things they normally wouldn't do in order to have a piece of the pie. A lot of people will play the lottery when it hits a record... but a lot of people will also spend much more than they normally would, or should, when it gets that high as well. Spreading it out lessens the chances -- I think -- of temporary irresponsible gambling.
I say all this also agree with you that it shouldn't be split to the point of irrelevance once it reaches that high. People don't play powerball to win a jackpot of a million. They play it to win a jackpot of multiple millions. Powerball is a nice game to watch because it does get higher than the average game. So have your super duper winner, but it's ok to spread the rest of the love around, is all.