Feeling Lucky? Get Your Mega Millions Ticket Now!

[jtbell]

The jackpot for tonight's Mega Millions lottery drawing in the US is at least $1.6 x 10⁹. It might go higher before the drawing. Have you bought a ticket? I might stop on my way to lunch today and do it, for the second or third time in my life.

I know the odds are silly, which is why I don't normally buy lottery tickets, but it's tempting to be part of a "big event."

 

[Borg]

I bought two so that I could cut my odds in half.

BTW, you should have named the thread "Who wants to be a billionaire?".

 

[russ_watters]

I know the odds are silly...

You do, however, get two things with the ticket:

1. A license to fantasize.
2. Insurance against the small but scary prospect of being the only person in your office who shows up for work tomorrow.

 

[Bandersnatch]

I don't often buy lottery tickets. But when I do, it's to reduce my neighbour's chance of winning.

 

[Borg]

@jtbell Hmm, initial reports are that somebody in South Carolina won.

 

[jtbell]

Er... uh... um...

No, it wasn't me. Exactly one number matched, out of my five tickets.

I knew pretty quickly, because the TV station that shows the World Series locally also shows the lottery drawings. At least normally. This time they didn't want to cut into the game, so they scrolled the numbers across the bottom of the screen.

I wonder where the lucky ticket was sold, exactly. Usually reporters are swarming the store by now.

 

[Borg]

Zero hits for me on two tickets. Oh well, I have to wait until it builds again.

 

[jtbell]

I wonder where the lucky ticket was sold, exactly.

Simpsonville! It's about a half hour drive from here. I've been through there many times. The local TV stations will be all over it tonight.

Hmmm... a number of faculty and staff at the college here live in Simpsonville. I wonder if any of them didn't show up for class or work today.

It would have been nice for it to be somewhere in the lowcountry around Myrtle Beach, Conway and Georgetown, which got hit hard by the hurricane and floods last month.

 

[ChemAir]

The early Florida lottery was originally 5 numbers drawn from the same bucket. Since then, they have added more games with larger buckets, and a second bucket for a single ball. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Lottery

When they made the games harder to win, revenue increased, not from cost savings, but more ticket volume, among other things. Try and test that marketing concept with any other product.

 

[Matterwave]

I didn't win...I'm so disappointed. :(

 

[russ_watters]

When they made the games harder to win, revenue increased, not from cost savings, but more ticket volume, among other things. Try and test that marketing concept with any other product.

It does, in fact, work with other products in similar, if not identical cases. While I think it was already widely known, JC Penny proved a few years ago, via spectacular failure, that shoppers prefer higher base prices with sales to lower every day prices at the same price point as the sale.

There are also many products for which price is seen as a sign of quality, causing people to choose the higher priced of two identical products.

People often prefer the illusion to the reality.

 

[Tom.G]

When they made the games harder to win, revenue increased, not from cost savings, but more ticket volume, among other things. Try and test that marketing concept with any other product.

Another "success" marketing story.
Many years ago I was manufacturing electrical accessories for motorcycles; with something new: a 30 day warranty, thru 'return to place-of-purchase'. We had a few percent returns. Then I tried something counter-intuitive, upped the warranty to 90 days. Returns dropped to almost zero, and the dealers loved it!.

Go figure!

 

[nitsuj]

Can you pick your own numbers with this lottery?

What really puts the odds into an easy to understand perspective is playing two sets. Sequential, say 1-2-3... and the previous draws winning numbers. Imagine such a silly thing ever happening; those being the winning set...that's as likely as it is for me to win...

 

[jtbell]

Can you pick your own numbers with this lottery?

Yes. You pick five numbers in the range 1-70 and one number in the range 1-25. You can either pick them yourself by filling in bubbles on an optical-scan card, or you can fill in a single bubble which indicates that you want randomly-generated numbers. The optical-scan card goes into a machine that prints the actual ticket.

 

[jtbell]

I was driving up that way today, so I made a detour to Simpsonville. The store is actually a few miles outside of town, in a rural area that is now being swallowed up by the suburban sprawl from Greenville. New housing developments line the road in both directions.

 

[Rive]

Do you feel lucky today?

Well, regarding lottery - when I occasionally buy a ticket it is because it's already a really bad day so if Fortune wants to make up to average, then maybe...

But the only conclusion so far is, that Fortune does not favor average.

 

[CWatters]

Now we know where the ticket was sold do people buy more tickets there because its "lucky" or fewer tickets because the probability of one store selling two or more jackpot tickets is very small?

 

[nitsuj]

I was driving up that way today, so I made a detour to Simpsonville. The store is actually a few miles outside of town, in a rural area that is now being swallowed up by the suburban sprawl from Greenville. New housing developments line the road in both directions.

In Canada I believe the ticket retailers cut is significant for "jackpots". Hopefully it's true for the store owner too...

no offence to "random place" America convenience store; where I'm from has it's own "economic vices"...but omg the advertising is hilarious and very "stereotypical" imo.

The offence is to humans in general when provided "too much" freedom in the pursuit of profit

Good thing it's common knowledge that children in particular are really good at not being influenced by their environment; and the advertising is helpful for adults unaware that such things are sold at a convenience store.

 

[Matterwave]

Now we know where the ticket was sold do people buy more tickets there because its "lucky" or fewer tickets because the probability of one store selling two or more jackpot tickets is very small?

By probability theory, there is no chance to the probability that the store sells a winning ticket just because it sold a winning ticket in the past. Winning events are independent! However, if that place does sell more tickets it does increase its chances of selling a winning one...So maybe a store which is lucky in the past and attracts more customers will be more likely to be lucky in the future because it attracted more customers?

 

[jtbell]

In Canada I believe the ticket retailers cut is significant for "jackpots". Hopefully it's true for the store owner too...

IIRC according to news reports the store owner received $50,000. Not too shabby for a few seconds' work!

Still no announcement from the state lottery board that the ticker-holder has claimed his/her winnings. they have 180 days to do it. We'll probably never find out who it is, unless there's a leak. In SC, lottery winners can remain anonymous, and have a representative appear at the public ceremony with the big cardboard check.. With that much money, I'd certainly want to insulate myself with a few layers of lawyers!

 

[Helios]

This reminds me of jokes that were going around Charlotte when the Loomis Fargo robbery occurred. The jokes were about what the clues to look for to find that unknown rural fellow who had acquired an unaccountable large amount of money. You gave examples of extravagance coupled with poor taste, such as a solid gold pickup truck. Similar humor was used for Jethro of the Beverly Hillbillies.

 

[WWGD]

Simpsonville! It's about a half hour drive from here. I've been through there many times. The local TV stations will be all over it tonight.

Hmmm... a number of faculty and staff at the college here live in Simpsonville. I wonder if any of them didn't show up for class or work today.

It would have been nice for it to be somewhere in the lowcountry around Myrtle Beach, Conway and Georgetown, which got hit hard by the hurricane and floods last month.

I thought Springfield ( whichever one) was Simpsonville. But then again after reading the title of the post I was expecting to read something like : " Well, do you, punk?".

 

[WWGD]

It does, in fact, work with other products in similar, if not identical cases. While I think it was already widely known, JC Penny proved a few years ago, via spectacular failure, that shoppers prefer higher base prices with sales to lower every day prices at the same price point as the sale.

There are also many products for which price is seen as a sign of quality, causing people to choose the higher priced of two identical products.

People often prefer the illusion to the reality.

I have saved plenty buying generics instead of brand names. The ingredients are identical, but, somehow many prefer to pay substantially more for brand names. Go figure.

 

[Klystron]

When I was a child out walking with my mother, we would make a short stop at the local church where mother would offer a small prayer for the well-being of our family and others. Why? "Makes me feel connected with others."

Decades later out walking with my sister, we step into a 7-11 (common convenience store in California) to buy a lottery number. Her reason for buying the lottery ticket was essentially identical to our mother's chapel visits.

 

[WWGD]

When I was a child out walking with my mother, we would make a short stop at the local church where mother would offer a small prayer for the well-being of our family and others. Why? "Makes me feel connected with others."

Decades later out walking with my sister, we step into a 7-11 (common convenience store in California) to buy a lottery number. Her reason for buying the lottery ticket was essentially identical to our mother's chapel visits.

Me, I just want to become one with the jackpot.

 

[jtbell]

Still no word about the $1.5B winner...

 

[Mark44]

I keep hoping that I will win the lottery, but not so much that I actually go out and buy a ticket. I figure my odds of winning are only ever so slightly less than those who have plunked down the money and bought a ticket.

 

[jtbell]

Someone finally claimed the prize!

https://www.megamillions.com/News/2019/Winner-Claims-$1-5-Billion-Mega-Millions-Jackpot-i.aspx

He or she will remain anonymous, and has hired a lawyer from New York as a representative, who will formally receive the big cardboard check for the lump sum payout of nearly $878 million, sometime next week.

And the store owner will finally get his $50,000.

 

[jtbell]

The South Carolina state legislature decided to use the $61 million in taxes from the Mega Millions jackpot to send a $50 rebate to every household in the state that paid at least that much in income tax for 2018. Checks are supposed to be sent out by December 2.

https://dor.sc.gov/rebate
So I will recoup the cost of my unsuccessful tickets in that drawing.

 

[davenn]

The South Carolina state legislature decided to use the $61 million in taxes from the Mega Millions jackpot...

It sux that you guys have to pay tax on lottery winnings
Here in Australia and I think, still so, in NZ, you get to keep every $$, tax free