So if I took $500,000 cash & immediately put it

[Zfan]

500K, just give it to me and bend over, I'll kick you in the ass so you can get a real feel for your chances of winning.

[BERNIE MOSFET]

Only if you're going in a sequential order of some sort. Do you know the coding that dictates what quick pick values you get? I sure as he'll don't, and I would know you have alot more variable to consider when looking at duplicate numbers versus lotto odds.

I've given some thought to this, so maybe you or gear99 can help me out if I'm missing something. Given a truly random generation of numbers, you have a 1:52ish chance of selecting the same set of numbers in 500,000 attempts. You also have a 1:52ish chance of selecting the same set of numbers in 499,999 attempts. Because the probability of selecting the same set of numbers twice in a row is so remote, you could conceivably consider the first two - and the following 50 attempts as separate trials in and of themselves such that the odds of selecting one of the first 52 sets of numbers twice in 500,000 attempts approaches 1:1. You'd expect a second duplicate out of the next 52 numbers as well, and so on.

If you do this throughout the 500,000 trials, where as you approach the 500,000th attempt the probability of duplicating a number diminishes, you'd expect to see 4,840 duplicates. If the number selection isn't uniformly random, then it gets messy and the duplicates go up enormously - which is what your point is. I'm sure I'd use a non-uniform random variable for the number generator just to screw with someone who might buy more than a couple dozen lotto tickets.

[Snatch Napkin]

I have to admit, I understand the odds but I still buy a lotto ticket every now and then. I'd just have to accept getting paid in Cali IOUs if I won.

You can't seriously be playing the California Lottery...

[Cooter]

Infinitely higher, even...

a bunch of that too

[Nash B.]

your odds of winning are exponentially higher if you buy one ticket than if you buy zero tickets...

Infinitely higher, even...

[motoman]

Has he validated the plane on a conveyer belt answer yet?

That's next weeks episode.

[War Machine]

Every night before the drawing, I figure out how much I will win after taxes, what houses Im going to buy, how many exotic cars I will need, pick out all the rolexes Im getting, and how Im going to sneak out of the house and leave my ol lady as soon as I win. I might even insult her before leaving, Im not sure yet.

I get let down all the time, but I know Im due to win anytime now....

[Chili]

Rob Dyrdek proved this theory doesn't work, just like the don't buy gas for a day thing

Has he validated the plane on a conveyer belt answer yet?

[Wicked98Snake]

Don't get me wrong, if I had $500K in disposable cash, one of the first things I'd do is hit up the RaceTrac and unload it on the lotto.I'd just like to hear other people's opinions on how they can increase their wealth with a measly half-mill.

And I'm sure I'd be behind you in line trying to buy gas, lol.

[Grape]

Rob Dyrdek proved this theory doesn't work, just like the don't buy gas for a day thing

[Chili]

That's the easy part. You also have to take into account all the non-jackpot winnings: 3 numbers, 4 numbers, etc.Why the fuck would you play the same combinations more than once? If you hit the jackpot with 3 tickets, you get to split the jackpot 3 ways, with yourself.

I agree, just pointing out that to insure that you got all unique combinations on your tickets you could not rely on quick pick. Therefore you would have to fill out 500,000 slips.

And yes, QP duplicates combinations, that's why you see multiple people winning the jackpot. Granted, it may not happen very often, but it would still decrease your odds.

[RWhite]

Didn't some Australians do that a couple years back... Spend enough money to buy one ticket of every possible combination?

Look on Wikapedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lottery_(Ireland)

They discuss a group that did this.

"A 28-member Dublin-based syndicate, organized and headed by Polish-Irish businessman Stefan Klincewicz, had spent six months preparing by marking combinations on almost a quarter of a million paper playslips. In the days before the drawing they tried to buy up all possible combinations and thus win all possible prizes, including the jackpot."

[TexasDevilDog]

Tax on poor people.

Even if you win, 90% of the people are broken in a year. So you still lose.

[Ruffdaddy]

54!/(6!48!) = 25,827,165, which is the number of unique combinations available when selecting 6 numbers from a lot of 54.

I'm not convinced that randomly selecting 6 numbers 500,000 times will produce a significant number of duplicates. The probability of selecting the same set of numbers twice is the same as winning the lottery.

Only if you're going in a sequential order of some sort. Do you know the coding that dictates what quick pick values you get? I sure as he'll don't, and I would know you have alot more variable to consider when looking at duplicate numbers versus lotto odds.

[Cooter]

you gotta be in it to win it!

your odds of winning are exponentially higher if you buy one ticket than if you buy zero tickets...

however, your odds of winning aren't really that much higher if you buy a thousand tickets than if you buy one ticket