Quote: Originally posted by SergeM on Aug 12, 2013
CNN Money Was Forced To Take Down This Idiotic Lottery Tips Video
Yesterday, Zac Bissonnette, author of Debt-Free U and a prominent personal finance expert, launched a Twitter tirade on a highly dubious video that hit the web yesterday.
The CNN Money video featured Richard Lustig, a self-published author in Florida who's won the lottery several times.
After the video aired, his $34.50 book—Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning The Lottery—shot up to #2,073 on Amazon.
Here, Bissonnette debunks Lustig's advice and gives his not-so-gentle take on why CNN flubbed this one big time.
First, Lustig says to "set a lottery budget," dividing your monthly household spending by ten. He also recommends buying 10 tickets of the same game at a time since "almost every single time you'll find a winning ticket in there."
Bissonnette's take: "The budget should be zero. The lottery works randomly. Unlike poker or blackjack, there's nothing you can do to gain an advantage at this. You can't make decisions to influence the outcome." It's just like roulette—there's no game of skill.
Next, Lustig tells viewers to skip the "Quick Pick" or randomized numbers to better their odds.
Per Bissonnette: "I hesitate to even say this, but if you do buy lottery tickets, picking random numbers is the way to do it. Using random numbers you pick means you're more likely to pick numbers someone else has, and then you'll be more likely to split."
Bissonnette describes the video as an epic fail for a credible and highly respected news site.