AP, Free Press reporters mis-quote lottery winner
Mega Millions jackpot winner David Sneath said he indeed will buy Ford cars for himself and his family with his new fortune, after working 34 years for the company.
And he said he's thinking of getting back together with his ex-wife, Deborah, adding, "I love that girl." [Ed.: I'll bet she loves him now too.]
A Free Press story incorrectly quoted Sneath, saying he would not buy a Ford product when asked if he would by a luxury car. In fact, Sneath, who spoke to reporters at a news conference Thursday, had said he would not buy a foreign product, but his muttered remark was misunderstood by reporters for both the Free Press and Associated Press, which also misquoted Sneath, 60.
Indignant Ford workers called the Free Press to complain about what they thought was Sneath's lack of loyalty to his employer and fellow employees. Sneath said he got calls from miffed coworkers as well.
Sneath, who lives in Livonia and drove a hi-lo at a Ford parts warehouse in Brownstown Township, said he's no traitor. He said he plans to buy a Lincoln Navigator for himself. He said he'll buy his 22-year-old son a Ford Explorer. He doesn't know what he'll get for his ex-wife; he said they've been divorced for five years.
"My daughter is hung up on a Chrysler product. I'm trying to convince her otherwise," he said.
Editor's note: When I posted the original AP story I did think it was strange that a long-time Ford worker would not buy a Ford product, but that's what the reporter wrote, so I reported it. In my lifetime I have known several Ford workers, and I know them to be fiercely loyal employees, and loyal to their product, so I'm happy to set the record straight.
Quote in the original story made no sense, thanks for the correction!
Well since he got the money now he can afford to fix the problems he is going to have with his cars....haha
While all our domestic car companies are "all american" I wish they took some lessons from the foreign companies. Because of their ever increasing losses in market share our states economy is pretty much a mess.
Brad
American cars companies get a bad rap. There are bad cars out there — both domestic and foreign cars. The one this guy is looking to get — the Lincoln Navigator — is an incredible car, as good as any foreign car out there.
I wonder if he gonna persue one of those kustom lincolins I'd seen and heard tale about
http://www.disappearing-car-door.com/
I've seen that before and at this point I think it'd be more of an annoyace than anything with how slow it is. That is unless that's changed... If he did have something like that done I think it'd be rather telling...
And he said he's thinking of getting back together with his ex-wife, Deborah, adding, "I love that girl." [Ed.: I'll bet she loves him now too.]
I think she would be happy to get back with him also.
I have a Ford "product". It probably won't last forever but it did recently cross 200,000 miles. My only complaint for now is it's no good in Winter and the fan motor quits sometimes, but I think Ford products are OK.
Really, a Lincoln Navigator?? Just don't be parking it at the Pink Pony, and be careful going through those narrow toll plaza lanes!
[LL Note: the odds are only 175 million whatever if you buy *one* ticket for *one* drawing ever. Otherwise, it's much less than that.]
With that much money, I would defintely buy a best Ford for everyday commute. I want to help the domestic product.
In addition, I will help Italian car producer also; get my hand on a Ferrari. It's my dream.
LckyLary wrote:
[LL Note: the odds are only 175 million whatever if you buy *one* ticket for *one* drawing ever. Otherwise, it's much less than that.]
Sorry pal- Odds don't work that way. The odds are the same for every ticket, no matter how many you buy. It's a function of the number matrix. Since only one combination is selected, each one has the same chances of being the *one*.
Of course. If he hadn't won, she'd be like "ya right". Now she'll be like "Sure!".
My little editorial on Ford products:
I own a 2000 Lincoln LS - the odometer just turned over 232,000 and she still purrs like a kitten.
Sure, I've had a few minor difficulties, but I would not be scared to get in that car and drive cross country.
I would buy another, but Lincoln has discontinued this model.
Congrats Mr Sneath!
Sorry Captain- The odds do work that way, in fact the only way to
lower your odds is to buy more unique tickets. Try making your case
to the Washington State Lottery, see . . .
http://www.walottery.com/sections/LotteryGames/Lotto.aspx?Page=FAQ
Oh WOW--No matter WHAT the WA State Lotttery SEZ--in the area of mathematical statistics and probabilities, Capatain is correct--each number is considered its OWN unique universe and therefore subject to the statistical laws governing THAT universe (I remember explaining this concept to a class of bored 8th graders until one kid figured out--even at 13 1/2 some of these kids are already showing gambling tendencies--what that meant in terms of the lottery--asked a question and sparked a debate that lasted all morning--finally coming to the conclusion that state lotteries are a rip off--still . . .I play--just a glutton for punishment,I guess)
If the odds of winning a tkt are 1 in 175,000,000--then the purchase of 10 tkts does not reduce the odds to 1 in 17.500,000--the odds remain the same--but now can be stated that you have 10 chances to win, each at 175,000,000 to 1. Each number resets the statistical universe to 0. I know--I know--it doesn't make common sense but shortly after the above mentioned year I went back to school and decided to get my nursing degree--and have found that medecine is another area where people try to apply the Laws Of Common Sense--only there they are frequently wrong--sometimes disasterously so.
Well, no, you're wrong about that.
Using your argument, one can deduce that the odds are 1 in 175 million that ANYONE will win a drawing, because the odds do not increase as the number of purchased tickets increases.
And we all know that the odds of someone winning in any drawing are NOT 1 in 175 million. They are 1 in 175 million divided by the number of tickets purchased.
And if YOU buy more than one ticket, your odds of winning are similarly increased.
Therefore, if you buy 10 tickets, your odds of winning have been increased from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 17.5 million.
If you want to look at it another way, your odds are 10 tickets (combinations) out of 175 million possible combinations, and any 4th grader who knows their fractions can reduce that to 1 in 17.5 million.
See my previous post.
Yes, each ticket has a 1 in 175 million chance of winning, but when you buy 10 tickets you don't look at your total odds of winning by examining each ticket independently. You have 10 tickets (chances) out of 175 million, not 1 chance.
Each ticket has exactly the same likelihood of winning, but YOU -- the person who owns all 10 chances -- have 10 chances to win, not 1, so your chances (odds) of winning are 10 out of 175 million, which means your odds are 1 in 17.5 million.
...suitable only for climates where your car windows don't freeze. Michigan has some cold winters.
Interesting. Thank you. I hope what I posted on April 5 now makes a lot of sense. I knew people at Ford would be upset. I worked for a manufacturing company for 21 years and you become a family.
(If Ford didn't sell Jaguar last month he could get that foreign sports car and still be a loyal Ford owner.)
I liked reading that he might get back together with his ex-wife. See? Who said money can't buy you love?
Shame on the editor for his comment about Mr. Sneath's wife. Did anyone stop to think that maybe she loved him before he hit the mega millions! Give the girl a break!
Or your doors freeze shut..... Can't tell you how many frustrating, freezing minutes I've spent trying to open a door that's frozen. It ain't fun. I learned to get auto-start so it could warm from inside out. Still takes a lot of time.
No way an automatic door will open if it is froze shut. Most likely you will burn the motor first.
"D" have been trying to get ahold of you but son has been protecting like crazy. need to come plant some plants for me. haha guess your not available. Please come say hi before you go. have wanted to give you congrats hug! even went and saw your dad and congradulated him, but dont think he noticed who I am with all the chaos. Anyway I know the kids have been there with you and have sent my best. Please take care of them some god knows they need it. and come say hi. please. we will BBQ . The plants in side yard should clue you enough who this is!
Oh, I really like the way you think, girl! I have gotten into many debates about this in the past.
It was a tongue-in-cheek comment, relax. Anyone who follows lottery news day after day recognizes the cliché situations and it's OK to have a little fun once in a while.
Why are the odds 1 in 175 million? Because the number matrix has 175 million different combinations, right?
So let's say you get 175 million people and each one represents 1 of the possible winning combinations? At that point, SOMEONE would have to win, right?
Well, if I choose 10 of the possible combinations, then my odds of increased.
Sure, each number, in and of itself, is a 1 in 175 Million chance, but since I am playing (and can therefor possibly win) on any of the ten chances, then my odds have increased.
It's simply a mathematical equation.
If you purchases 175 million tickets (assuming different number combinations), you have a 100% chance of hitting.
If you purchase 87.5 million tickets, you have a 50% chance.
If you purchase 10 tickets, you have a .000005714285714% chance of winning. Ten percent better than buying only one ticket.
iwillwin
By your logic above;
175 million tickets = 100% - ok so far (Actually, it's 176million +, but ok)
87.5 million tickets = 50%
10 tickets = 10 % - NOPE
In no way, shape, or form does .000005714285714 equal 10% of anything.
Another flaw in such is examples is that no one with $176 millioin or $87.5 million would shoot the whole wad on going for a lottery jacjpot - and even if they were crazy enough to do so, nobody can guarantee it would not be a shared jackpot, think about that. So much for a "guaranteed win".
Every ticket purchased reduces the odds of the purchaser hitting by one, and only one combiation. Anyone who tells you anything different is involved in either selling tickets, selling systems, or both.
Whenever this subject comes up we can always count on you to completely misunderstand what people say. iwillwin says very clearly and plainly that " If you purchase 10 tickets, you have a .000005714285714% chance of winning. " iwillwin never said that it gave you a 10% chance of winning. As always happens in these arguments, you come up with something competely delusional. His only reference to 10% was in saying that 10 tickets is 10% better than one ticket. 10 tickets is actually 1000% better than 1 ticket, but apparently your grasp of math is insufficient to catch the one thing that actually was wrong.
"In no way, shape, or form does .000005714285714 equal 10% of anything."
Anyone with an elementary school grasp of percentages would know that .000005714285714 equals 10% of .00005714285714, but I guess that's too complicated for some people.
We can also count on you to display your inability to understand simple logic. The example of buying all 176 million - (you got that wrong, too, but ok) is a simple example of percentages. Buying 100% of the combinations definitely results in a guaranteed win, and that's the logical argument that was being made. That it doesn't guarantee a profit is a completely different point.
Since you're so fond of casinos, let's see if you can be right about a truly simple game of probability with a standard deck of cards. The house will draw a single card from the deck, and players win by guessing which card it will be. You play 1 card, iwillwin plays 4, and I play 13. iwilwin thinks he's 4 times as likely to win as you are, and I think I'm 13 times as likely to win as you. Are we right?
KY Floyd
iwillwimn said:
If you purchases 175 million tickets (assuming different number combinations), you have a 100% chance of hitting.
If you purchase 87.5 million tickets, you have a 50% chance.
If you purchase 10 tickets, you have a .000005714285714% chance of winning. Ten percent better than buying only one ticket.
____________________________________________
So he's saying while 87.5 million tickets is 50%
10 tickets is 10%, or in other wirds he just magically turned 10 tickets into
176,000 tickets. (17,711, 536 tickets - happy now?)
That's the logic he implied in his post.
There's no way 10 tickets is 10%.
I find it quite entertaining that you keep trying to take an entity like the lottery, with astronomical odds, and compare to a non-existent single deck card game.
I'd be very curious to know what casino you worked in that offered such a game, none of them that I worked in did. But I did see a lot of math whizzes and people with degrees in probabilities come into the pits thinking they knew something and leave shaking their heads, broke.
It's incrediblre that we have so many people on this board telling us how greater their chances are by playing a few extra tickets, but nary a jackpot.
Going by the logic constantly presented here, 57,000 members X's how many tickets played per drawing ( and all those "positive waves) should have produced a jackpot but nada. Ziclch. Alles verloss.
Unless of course ther's some kind of curse, yeah - that must be it.
Amazing.
Coin Toss, once I got into this same type of discussion by mentioning the mortgage crisis. Yet I was also told I still don't understand basic math. It appears to me that if you have 176,000,000 combinations, by purchasing 1/2 of the tickets or 88 million, it means your odds are now 50/50! The only way they'd be 50/50 is if there were 2 choices and you bought one of them.
Still, forgetting mathematical concepts for a minute, the idea that buying a few extra tickets really makes much of a difference when you are betting with such astronomical odds, is the way the Lottery wants people to think. "Oh, if I spend just $5 more dollars, maybe I'll win." It's true that that one extra ticket might be the winner, but it's more likely it won't. Just that fact that we live in a country with over 300 million, 8 or 9 people will win MM in 2008, and folks here wake up and say "I know I can pick the winning numbers tonight" says a lot to me, and you don't have to win the Nobel Prize in Math to understand that.
(I was going to leave that alone, but my guess is someone won't realize I was joking and will tell me there isn't a Nobel award for math which was was my point.)
I somehow changed my own meaning in my last post. Duh! When I wrote
It appears to me that if you have 176,000,000 combinations, by purchasing 1/2 of the tickets or 88 million, it means your odds are now 50/50!
What I meant is that sounds like what others are saying.
Well it really would be nice of some of these examples people attempt here to explain the odds and what have you were what the lottery used to base things on. Unfortunately, the Mega Millions lottery plays with a deck of 175,000,000 cards, not 52.
In his book The Lottery Book, author Don Catlin explains how the lotteries used the terms chances and probabilities to market the lottery, because they are so much more appeasing to the players than the true odds.
Years ago in the casinos, someone got the idea to label their dice tables "10 for 1" on the hard six and eight prop bets, as they all used to say said "Pays 9 to 1". The whole thing was a marketing ploy to attract play, and it did, as word got out Reno was "paying better odds".
The payouts are identical, 9 to 1 means the bet still stand and pays 9 dollars for the dollar wagered, 10 for 1 includes the bet, so if a player said pay me 10 they would get the bet back with the payoff and no longer have the bet in action.
Both layouts are now used, just depends on the casino.
What you've said clearly shows that either you don't understand basic math, or you're unable to say what you really mean. You've claimed it doesn't work the way I say it does often enough that I have no choice but going with the math problem.
"The only way they'd be 50/50 is if there were 2 choices and you bought one of them."
If you were to buy half of the possible combinations that's exactly the situation you would be in. You can sort the possible combinations into two halves by any number of methods, but however you've done it the winning combination will be in one half or the other. That's two choices, and you have bought one of them. If it's in the half that you played you'll have the winning ticket. The same thing holds true, whether you've bought 99.99%, 50%, 10% or .000005714285714%.
I don't know exactly why you can't understand it, but it's not rocket science. It's basic math.
The math is exactly the same for casinos using dice and cards and the lottery using millions of combinations. I try to use simple analogies because you've demonstrated that you're incapable of understanding it when there are big numbers involved. FTM, it appears that you have problems even with smaller numbers and simple examples, because you always sidestep the questions. As above, your favorite trick is to say that casinos don't play that game. The only realistic explanations I can come up with are that you have very limited ability to reason, or you're simply being dishonest.
Yeah, It did not make sense. Just did not read right, especially after the other things I read about the winner like his giving up his job so someone else could have an opportunity. Congrats and best wishes to the Snead family.