Damn you, lottery

[Norm In Norman]

They tricked me. I have only bought two lottery tickets ever. The first I bought thinking it would be the only one I'll ever buy. If I won then the system works. If I didn't then there is a flaw in the system. Of course I didn't even match one number, which is all the proof I needed that the lottery is crap. I was never going to buy a ticket again.

Well, everyone in my family has been battling various viruses (virii?) for the past couple of months and of course I blamed that on luck-o-the-norm. There has been at least one person in my house sick every single day this year. Last week EVERYONE was sick on one day so I started thinking that the luck needed to balance out somewhere. On Thursday I bought a lottery ticket in the hopes that this is where it would even out. I didn't win. This is obvious proof that the system is broken. The lottery has received it's last $2 from me.

On the flip side, nobody in my house seems to be sick this week.

[Mixer!]

Come on, Norm - the kids really could use that 70¢. ;)

[BigRedJed]

Who's the new guy?

[BigRedJed]

I have played the Powerball probably 15-20 times. Generally I don't even match one number. It's insanity to keep buying tickets. However, when the number gets really high I generally think, "what the hell, it's only a couple of bucks, and what if I win?"

I'm an idiot.

[GottaHavePride]

Actually, you increase your odds of winning most by buying exactly one ticket. Buying more doesn't net you any significant increase in your odds, but you've got 0% chance of winning without buying a ticket, so there you have it. ;)

[sooneron]

Who's the new guy?

no ****!@

[BigRedJed]

I never buy more than one.

But I watched a documentary on lotteries a few years ago that makes me feel like an idiot for even buying that one. They had a stats expert explain how remote the possibility of winning was by doing this: he stood on the observation deck of the Empire State Building with a drinking glass and a dime. Then he said to imagine that he went down to street level, and without telling you where, set the glass somewhere on the ground (I think within a four block radius). Next, he would tell you to go anywhere along the rail of the observation deck, anywhere around the top of the building, and throw the dime over your shoulder. He said that statistically you had a better chance of landing that dime in that drinking glass than winning the Powerball.

[Mixer!]

pffft, Bill Nye The Science Guy did it better by showing a giant cube filled with packing peanuts, and one of them had been colored red.

[Soonrboy]

I quit after somone on here told me I had the same chance of winning if I picked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 then if I did random numbers.

[fadada1]

I never buy more than one.

But I watched a documentary on lotteries a few years ago that makes me feel like an idiot for even buying that one. They had a stats expert explain how remote the possibility of winning was by doing this: he stood on the observation deck of the Empire State Building with a drinking glass and a dime. Then he said to imagine that he went down to street level, and without telling you where, set the glass somewhere on the ground (I think within a four block radius). Next, he would tell you to go anywhere along the rail of the observation deck, anywhere around the top of the building, and throw the dime over your shoulder. He said that statistically you had a better chance of landing that dime in that drinking glass than winning the Powerball.

your odds are better if you do this off the sears tower.

[crawfish]

I never buy more than one.

But I watched a documentary on lotteries a few years ago that makes me feel like an idiot for even buying that one. They had a stats expert explain how remote the possibility of winning was by doing this: he stood on the observation deck of the Empire State Building with a drinking glass and a dime. Then he said to imagine that he went down to street level, and without telling you where, set the glass somewhere on the ground (I think within a four block radius). Next, he would tell you to go anywhere along the rail of the observation deck, anywhere around the top of the building, and throw the dime over your shoulder. He said that statistically you had a better chance of landing that dime in that drinking glass than winning the Powerball.

But what if the dime fell on somebody's head and killed them? The odds of that are quite good, I hear.

Oh, and who's Norm, and why is he an administrator?

[GottaHavePride]

Smaller city blocks?

Less wind?

Less risk of giant primates messing with the flight of the dime?

[BigRedJed]

But what if the dime fell on somebody's head and killed them? The odds of that are quite good, I hear...
http://www.marijnbosch.com/mitropafiles/MythBusted.gif

[StoopTroup]

How many people have to quit to increase my odds?

[Dio]

How many people have to quit to increase my odds?

All of them

[yermom]

hey, somebody's gotta win

why can't it be you?

i'm less lucky than Norm, so i don't even play. keep playing, maybe more $$$ will get into OK education, or something

i don't think i've ever bought a powerball ticket ever

i don't think i've even bought a scratch off in OK that i can remember

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

On the flip side, nobody in my house seems to be sick this week.

So you bought one when everyone was sick and you lost...and now no one's sick?

:les: GO BUY ONE NOW!!! DANG!!!

[shaun4411]

i walked into a circle K a few weeks ago and witnessed a poorly dressed, poorly groomed man in his 40's hand the clerk three crisp $100 bills and said "id like 300 lotto picks please."

tsk tsk, using welfare money to gamble. hey , at least he highly values education enough to donate. i hope he kept all 300 of the worthless pieces of paper and maybe even used 'em as bath tissue in memoriam.

[proud gonzo]

if you're going to gamble away that much money, you have a better chance going to a casino.

[BigRedJed]

If you are going to gamble away ANY amount of money, you have a better chance going to a casino.

[proud gonzo]

I won $11 on a penny slot machine in Atlantic City. Not that $11 is a fortune or anything, but that is a large percentage gain. :D

[birddog]

I never buy more than one.

But I watched a documentary on lotteries a few years ago that makes me feel like an idiot for even buying that one. They had a stats expert explain how remote the possibility of winning was by doing this: he stood on the observation deck of the Empire State Building with a drinking glass and a dime. Then he said to imagine that he went down to street level, and without telling you where, set the glass somewhere on the ground (I think within a four block radius). Next, he would tell you to go anywhere along the rail of the observation deck, anywhere around the top of the building, and throw the dime over your shoulder. He said that statistically you had a better chance of landing that dime in that drinking glass than winning the Powerball.

so you're telling me there's a chance.

[Vaevictis]

if you're going to gamble away that much money, you have a better chance going to a casino.

Heh, depends on how many times you play.

Nasty thing about Casinos is that as the number of times you place a bet increases, the probability of your going bust approaches one :) And that doesn't even include the fact that the games are rigged against you.

[proud gonzo]

in comparison to the odds of winning the lottery, i'll take the chance ;)