Every news site that you visit is covering tonight’s record smashing $1.5 Billion Powerball.
So I figured it would be interesting to know if my reader’s are participating in the fun.
Loading ...Yes, we all know that the odds of winning are nil. But there are perhaps no bigger dreams that $2 can buy in 2016.
I do admit to being perplexed at the person in front of me in line who spent $100 on Powerball tickets. Whether you have 50 tickets or 1 ticket the odds of winning are statistically insignificant. The dream I have with my 1 ticket is the same dream that he will have with 50, no?
The LA Times does a good job illustrating just how long the odds are with their Powerball simulator.
I chastised the DDF pool for buying 40 tickets for 40 people. Statistically speaking, they won’t win the prize with 40 tickets just like they wouldn’t have won with 1 ticket. As far as divine providence is concerned, does Gd need you to buy more than 1 ticket for the pool to win? Or perhaps if the extra $78 was spent on charity the “divine providence odds” would actually increase…
Then afterwards reports surfaced of a school in Lakewood, NJ buying 477 tickets, so perhaps my line of thinking is flawed? Or would they have been better off buying 1 ticket for their staff and raffling off the other $952 for a staff member to use?
Is my logic flawed? What would you do with $1.5B?
Vote and hit the comments!
How else would I have spent my Visa Gift Cards now that Serve is dead?
@Josh:
Lol, cash only where I live at least.
But I did buy $2,500 of money orders with my $2 Powerball.
Bought 4. Why not? Gotta buy one to get some!
@Banana:
Gotta buy 1 to win, true.
But what does 4 do? Your odds are still statistically insignificant, but you now have $6 less than had you bought just one.
Totally agree with you dan
I’d buy out your website, @Dan.
You’re right about the chance of winning being close to nil. However, the more tickets you buy, the more chances you have of winning. If everyone thought they couldn’t win, there wouldn’t be a game.
@Ari:
For $1.5B?
Sold! 😀
@Oren:
Whether you have 1 ticket or 10, you will not move your odds away from being statistically insignificant.
So what was gained other than losing another $18?
You should all read “Garden of Emuna” by Shalum Arush. Buy one ticket. If HaShem wants you to win, you will!
Consider this: Lottery winnings are now sitting at an estimated jackpot of $1.5 billion, to close the poverty gap, divide that over the total 300 million people+/- living in the USA, each person would actually net about $5 million before taxes.
Anytakers?
@Shlomo:
Exactly why anything more than 1 ticket seems wasteful to me.
@Anonymous:
Math isn’t your forte I take it?
I feel like buying more than 1 ticket is a lack in emunah. If Hashem wanted you to win you would win with 1 ticket just as you would with 10. Same applies for Chinese auctions, etc. Just my two cents…
Full disclosure, I bought one ticket. However, from a perspective of divine providence, does Gd need you to buy a ticket? He can figure out how to get you the $1.5billion.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156426452705300&id=866925299
@yyk:
That sums up my position.
Amazingly though I took a lot of heat for that position on that DDF thread.
@R’Abe:
Can he find another way? Sure.
But making a $2 vessel to accept the blessing doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me.
Need to work to make a living, no? Can’t he provide a living without needing you to work?
I bought a few !
We made a group of 300 people so I bought a few shares and then I bought myself 1 ticket so if I have luck I’ll get it myself if someone else has luck I will get something…
The school that bought 477 tickets wasted mamon hekdesh.
@Anonymous: Check your math
[1 in 4 car accidents are caused by texting and driving]
People: “Won’t be me.”
[1 in 292 million chance of winning the Powerball]
People: “You never know.”
While I agree with you, people can dream. My husband and I spent $10 on 5 numbers. Naturally, it’s $10 that we didn’t need for something truly necessary (i.e. bills, food, etc.). I do feel terrible when people who don’t have much, and who likely need the money the most, spend their hard-earned money on the lottery. It’s a terrible business decision… But again, today’s Powerball is unique because the it’s the largest in history. In my head, I’ve already shared my winnings with family and causes I care deeply about. The first thing I would do if I won would be to get some really good lawyer/wealth management advice. I’m still debating whether I’d take the annuity or just get hit with the huge tax bill and take the entirety. I think the annuity is the way to go… Back to reality now. 🙂
@Anonymous: Um, check your math, it’s $5 (5 dollars) per person.
@Anonymous:
You mean 5 dollars, not 5 million…
@Anonymous:
Your math skills are impressive. 1,500,000,000/300,000,000=5. Somehow, you multiplied that by a million. I guess I’m Bill Gates.
I was surprised that I saw a jewish person picking out His numbers, I thought that was really odd like he belived in lucky numbers and not that god picks the winner!
Some may argue that 1 in 7.3 Million (292 Million/40 Tickets purchased) is ‘statistically speaking’ not nearly as bad as 1 in 292 Million…
Wadaya think?
Dan, With $1.5B I would play credit card miles FULL TIME ;))
I agree the, under the same logic of buying one you can buy 2 or three as it increases your minute odds twofold ore threefold. Also you can winn smaller amounts of cas if some of your numbers match up and those adds aren’t insignificant.
@Eli:
Plus your odds are lower if you pick numbers.
@AM:
Nope, both of those odds are statistically insignificant.
@Eli:
Increasing odds that are practically 0 doesn’t help anything.
And the smaller prizes are nothing, maybe you’ll win $4 if you buy 40 tickets. That doesn’t make it worth spending $80 on tickets.
Bought 1 but not for me for a friend in Israel
I don’t believe in that.
The question is if it’s the winning ticket will I give it to him?
@Dan, creating a vessel is one thing but not through gambling. The lottery is a form of gambling. But I totally agree, $2 for a dream, why not?
No. If it was for 1.5 Billion miles I’d be in.
@R’Abe:
Of course He can! But we still need to do our own hishtadlus. You can’t just sit on you lazy a.. and expect money to get thrown your way
@R’Abe:
I didn’t spend $2 to gamble, I spend $2 to dream.
Gambling is flipping a coin and playing a hand of cards and knowing your odds are about 50/50 to win or lose.
This is a sure loss, but with great dreams in the meantime.
@Dan’s the Man:
Tell you what, give me $1.5B and I’ll get you 1.5B miles 🙂
5 for me and 80 people at work went in $10 each so 400 more
Another option should be if you participated in a pool which makes the most sense in my opinion.
Honestly, I fargin someone buying a ticket, but just know that it’s at least stupid if not a waste of money and therefore wrong. Anything more than 1 ticket is beyond ridiculous. And when I saw the viral photo of the yeshiva in Lakewood buying tickets for their staff, I was pretty upset. They even had the chutzpah to reference hishtadlus in the letter. I’m not by any means a yeshivish or what anyone would consider a frummy. But the idea that this is what G-d wants a person to do is insane. Even if you think it’s a reshus, to link it with hishtadlus and Harbei shluchim lamakom reflects a deep misunderstanding of the topic of hishtadlus. I also read a great piece today by Ben Shapiro (a frum Jew and political commentator) that I figured I would post here if that’s ok. If not, feel free to delete it.
dailywire dot com/news/2577/powerball-nasty-corrupt-and-downright-immoral-ben-shapiro#pq=eVJmvI
@Dan:
Why are your odds lower if you pick numbers? From what I’ve heard, 80% of winners are from quick picks, and 95% of tickets are quick picks, which would make quick picks less likely to win.
It was definitely worth it to by tickets just to feel part of the action !
I usually don’t post comments online but this conversation is fun!!
Someone said that buying even one ticket is a lack of Emunah. If Hashem wanted you to lose $2 he would have found a way.
@Dan
If you want to speak strictly hashkafically Dan. Then yes Hashem can make a miracle and cause you to win with only one ticket. However, we find a concept that hashem performs miracles as close to natural order as possible. Meaning, yes Hashem can do whatever he wants to happen. But it is “easier” (or “more likely”) for Him to do it if He doesn’t have to make as big a miracle. 1 ticket is 1 in 292 million odds. 10 tickets is 1 in 29 million. Winning the lotto would be a huge miracle. Id contend the person who does buy more tickets makes it easier for Hashem to choose him to win
To those of you who bought a ticket, thank you! The more you buy the bigger my jackpot!
😀
@David:
Source please?
I’ve read several reasons for using quickpick.
@Anonymous:
I’m sorry but that’s rubbish.
There’s no practical difference between 1 in 29M or 290M. They’re both impossible for all intents and purposes.
Is your Gd so small that he can only pull off a 1 in 29M miracle but he can’t pull off a 1 in 290M miracle?
That he needs you to spend $20 instead of $2 to win?
I bought 2 figuring that my odds of winning double. More than that I can’t justify.
Consider this as a way to correct poverty:
The Powerball jackpot of $1.5 billion spread over 300 million people +/- living in the USA, would actually net each person about $5 million.
@Mark:
What is 2 times 0?
Yes, technically your odds are doubled. But double a statistically insignificant number isn’t something worth investing more money in.
@Barry D:
See comment 11.
I’m going to buy a small island nation and establish a frum community there, I’ll have to get my gift cards by mail once resettled on the island. Of course I’ll still be a Dansdeals follower.
If what you want is to be able to dream for a couple of days, find 19 other people. You can each put in 10 cents and dream about $12.25 million.
“The dream I have with my 1 ticket is the same dream that he will have with 50, no?”
Almost, but not quite. Because if there are multiple winners his dream is to have to shares in the divided pool rather than just one… ;D
I bought a quick pick ticket this morning and then found out that all combinations were already taken as of last night, which means I would need to share the jackpot with at least one other person. So I bought 3 more tickets with those same numbers. Now if my numbers win, instead of splitting the pot 50/50, I get 4/5 🙂
@Barry D:
This first time was funny. Now it’s just annoying.
@Dan, have to disagree with you on this one.
1. From an hishtadlus/emunah perspective, there IMO is a difference between buying 1 and buying 100, despite the fact that your odds of winning significant money still are near zero.
2. As an investment, both 1 and 100 tickets provide poor returns; that’s not why people buy them. People buy tickets for entertainment. People buy tickets to dream. People buy tickets because there aren’t many other ways to get rich with just $2, even if the chances of doing so are near zero.
3. From my perspective, I’d actually prefer to win $15 million than $1.5 billion. It would be a lot easier to live a normal life with a smaller winning, so if I my expected returns were the same, I’d prefer to pool. If you win the big jackpot, first find a lawyer. Then, get a good kidnap and ransom policy.
@dan I buy 10 tickets with the same numbers so just in case someone else also wins I get 10/11 of the prize
@Dan: as I said Hashem can do any miracle big or small. Anything. But He’s more likely to preform a seemingly “smaller” miracle than a “larger” one. So yes even if the odds were 1 in a billion Hashem can make it happen. But it’s more likely He will preform if the odds are 1 in a million. 1 in 29M is much better than 1:292m making it a smaller, hence easier to preform.
Like I have said from the beginning…
Its all about the entertainment. Everyone would agree that a DDF Thread with 20+ pages and a fast growing DD post is worth $2/person… Hatzlacha Rabbah To everyone!! (if that’s even possible??)
A Jolly Chabad Rabbi announces to his congregation that he has won the lottery.
A member asks, so Rabbi, what are you going to do with the money? To which the Rabbi replies, I am going to pay off my creditors.
The member further asks, and what are you going to do with the rest?
To which the rabbi immediately responds, – ” they will have to wait” 😜
@Dan “Yes, technically your odds are doubled. But double a statistically insignificant number isn’t something worth /investing/ more money in.”
This obviously isn’t an investment. It’s not even a gamble (Even though after taxes your $2 ticket is worth $3.5 or so.) But doubling your odds is the biggest logarithmic gain you’ll get.
Also, the odds are very clearly not 0% (odds of winning a prize are ~4%). It seems clear to me that if you are in it to buy 1 you may as well buy 2.
@Dan:
No sources worth quoting. Anything i know about the lottery is from the garbage called media and news, or from people quoting their observations and misunderstandings picked up from the news. I’ve heard various illogical reasons why both are better. I don’t think it really makes a difference. Whatever you enjoy more.
@Dan: Not exactly true, as per powerball.com about %75 tickets sold are quick picks and %75 winning tickets are quick picks.
1.5B into 300M is 5 dollars. Way to solve poverty my friend
I have it all! Figured out what I would do . Family tzedakah … All figured out . Now just have to win:)
“Buying a ticket is a lack of emunah. If Hashem would have wanted you to lose 2 dollars, He’d have found another way.”
What do you guyz think ?
Dan dont you think Palm5 should get a Hat Tip for starting the DDF Thread which led to all this good action..??
@Dan
I agree with you and I told my wife the same when she showed the note of that Lakewood School.
I am just thinking that if its worth for me to spend $2 to have a opportunity (and dreams) of becoming rich, does it have to be 1.5 billion wouldn’t I do it for 50 Million as well, for some reason everyone is running to buy the lottery now you can think that for all these people 50 million is not enough, I think that for most people 50 million would be better and safer then 1.5 billion.
I would like to hear your opinion.
$1.5B, I guess I will do prenup
@EJB:
I don’t know if you realize that you contradicted yourself. You have the same dream for one ticket and for 100. The only thing you’re increasing is your disappointment. Sure, mathematically, your chances are multiplied by each ticket, (there was a hysterical conversation on ddf if this is true), but as you said, either way you have no chance. Toy don’t dream bigger after you wasted $100 in this, unless you’re delusional enough to think that you have a real chance now that you bought 100 instead of 1. In that case, I’d suggest some good hallucinatives instead. You’ll get better bang for your buck.
@AM:
No, that’s wrong. Your odds are NOT 1 in 7.3 Million. Your odds are 40 in $292 Million. Big difference.
@David:
@Dan: Respectfully I think you’re wrong, as per powerball.com faq’s: WHICH HAS THE BETTER CHANCE OF WINNING: COMPUTER PICKS OR PLAYER PICKS?
About 70% to 80% of purchases are computer picks. About 70% to80% of winners are computer picks. Perhaps just one of those weird coincidences?
Would that much money really be a blessing or a curse? I can’t imagine how it would change people’s lives! You would learn a lot about yourself and others. I do see it as gambling and not sure that God is really behind it, but people sure want to think so. Don’t forget, the evil one is out to destroy you and looks for every opportunity.
Haha @naphtali you read my mind……. I think You should get one as well
@Mat: bought one for a friend in Montréal, having the same dilemma.
1,400,000,000/300,000,000 = 14/3 = $4.67 not 4M <- yeshiva math skills
@Emunah: nope. Kind of dumb, actually.
Ever heard of hishtadlut?
If Hshem wanted you to have an annual salary of 75k, why work? You’ll get it somehow…
Your logic is flawed sweetheart.
“As far as divine providence is concerned, does Gd need you to buy more than 1 ticket for the pool to win? Or perhaps if the extra $78 was spent on charity the “divine providence odds†would actually increase…”
AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHSHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Omg I need to breathe. So does God need you to claim so that the divine providence can help you get Microsoft Office for less or perhaps divine providence nice view to use cash cards in ways that the terms and conditions specifically stipulate you not use them in order to shower the shefa brachs upon you.
After all, your Rav said it’s muttar. Lolol.
The reason people play this lottery at all even though the probability of each ticket winning is infinitesimal is because:
1- The jackpot is high enough so that the expected return of each ticket is now $3.13 – an expected profit!. [Spend $2 for a 1/292,201,338 chance to win $1,500,000,000 — Expected Value=$5.13 minus cost of $2 = $3.13]
2- In general, we are often willing to pay much more than $2 for entertainment that has no monetary payback to us; we pay for the thrill or the enjoyment. Someone who gets actual enjoyment *today* knowing that they have double the chance of winning than if they had bought only one ticket is paying for the enjoyment that the dreaming and hoping gives them. It’s no different than if someone is willing to pay premium prices for a better seat at a show or for a singer they enjoy more than others.
3- We are playing the tail of the distribution of outcomes. There may not be a difference in expected value between spending $2 to try to win $1.5B with the above odds and spending $1 to win $1,000 with a 1 in 242 chance — both have an expected return of $3.13 and a large probability of losing — however even if you beat the odds and win the $1,000 you still have to go to work the next day, you cannot use your winnings to buy a bigger house, and you will not be famous. But *if* your ticket is *the one* of the 500,000,000+ sold that beats the odds (and the expected # of winning tickets is > 1) then your life would be changed forever in what one would hope is a positive way. That last statement is worth $2+ to many people.
@Anonymous:
That’s a stupid thing to say. Door
Doing those things make sense from a mathematical standpoint, and can be described as included in hishtadlus. Buying multiple tickets doesn’t.
The last 43 draws resulted in red Powerball numbers which were under 27 (not the 5 white balls, the actual Powerball number)
What does that mean? Technically, nothing… but if you’re picking your own numbers, maybe take that into account
@Dan: I totally agree, if anyone buys a ticket as a form of investing/betting to win, is just unrealistic, if you do it for the thriller and suspense of playing, than the game might be worth $2.
@Anonymous: had this talk last night. If I would win I would do this because even a winning of a million per person in the United states would solve a lot of student loans! Lol
@Yossi:
Mathematically, that makes perfect sense. I don’t believe statistics i read in the tabloids. 72.6% of statistics are made up.
Bought 300 tix today
@Palm5:
Definitely. I don’t think Dan would’ve heard of this Powerball drawing if you hadn’t started a DDF thread about it. There probably wouldn’t have been any discussion about it either. Thank you for your service.
Poll : What is the one word that will be said the most amount of times at 10:59 PM tonight?? LOL
@Anonymous:
Maybe if u knew math u would realize that it’s only $5 per person and not 5 million the lottery is for 1.5 billion, not trillion
Joined a pool @ work for $5, more for the comradarie.
@Pinny:
-1. You’re not taking into account taxes, time value of money, and the probability of multiple winners@David:
@Pinny:
You’re rate of return figures are flawed, because you’re not thinking of lump sum value and not taking taxes into account (besides for the likelihood of a split jackpot). What you said about paying $2 for the dream and conversation/entertainment opportunity has been said by everyone. Nobody is arguing on that.
The way I see it, it is a question of how much you are willing to pay for a little thrill. For me, paying $2 for the thrill of dreaming, even just a tiny, insignificant bit, is worth it. As a rational person, there is no real way you can actually win. It is purely for entertainment. Not an investment. If we are being frank – and please don’t shoot me for saying this- it is barely even a “hishtadlus” or “keli” since it is virtually impossible to actually pan out.
As such, I wouldn’t pay any more than $2 because for me the thrill would be exactly the same. Would paying double price to get into an amusement park make your thrill on the roller coaster any better? Quite the contrary…
@Anonymous: The sad thing is, that’s just factually wrong, if you divide the 1.5B for all US residents, everybody would get just “$5”.
The real question is. What is a bigger nisayon beeig rich or poor??
Dan, I love all your posts and deals, but I gotta disagree on this one…
I spent $10 on 5 tickets. In terms of the game as a whole, my 5 tickets are insignificant. But in terms of my own wallet, my tickets make me 5x more likely to win than you, since you bought 1. Maybe I’ll send a few $$ your way if I win… but I know I’ll still be using this site for deals and glitches, even if I was a billionaire….
For those of you who say “IT’S JUST NOT WORTH IT TO PLAY”, I urge you to check out where a part of your $2 goes if you don’t win:
http://www.naspl.org/UploadedFiles/files/new_cumulative_lottery_contributions_to_beneficiaries.pdf
Think of it as an optional tax 😉 Democrats should love that
@Gav:
What if G-d’s plan is not linear? What if his plan is conditional: You work x hrs at a productive job and you will earn $Y. You work 2x hrs at a different career you get $Z?
And I believe that G-d is, kehaveh yochol, like a philanthropist. Build up a track record of doing good and giving money to and helping the poor and demonstrate to him a specific business plan about how you would expand your mitzvah enterprise if you had more money and more opportunities and he will be more likely to help you achieve it. It may not be in the way you expect (e.g., by winning the lottery) but it will be more like to happen in some way.
you guys could just give up , i just bought 2000 tickets now its only natural for me to win!
I proudly did not buy a ticket even though I was/am tempted. I am not able to justify spending $2 on a zero percent chance of winning $1.5B when I oftentimes turn down a collector in shul because I don’t want to break a twenty. I know the merit of a mitzva is way greater than $1.5B and I have a 100% chance of getting that merit, and yet I would happily spend $2 on a 0% chance of hauling the big prize. For this reason I am holding back. One more point, anyone that bought a ticket would happily bet $20 that they are going to lose the lotto and that same person would bet $20 that they would get merit for their mitzvah of tzedaka. #Happilywithoutticket
if i win i will keep all the money for my self! all of you should have bought more tickets!
Some advice from billionaire Mark Cuban (who became a billionaire overnight after selling his broadcast com to yahoo for 5.7 billion dollars) in case you win the Powerball.
Hire a tax attorney first.
Don’t take the lump sum. You don’t want to blow it all in one spot.
If you weren’t happy yesterday you won’t be happy tomorrow. It’s money. It’s not happiness.
If you were happy yesterday, you are going to be a lot happier tomorrow. It’s money. Life gets easier when you don’t have to worry about the bills.
Tell all your friends and relatives no. They will ask. Tell them no. If you are close to them, you already know who needs help and what they need. Feel free to help SOME, but talk to your accountant before you do anything and remember this, no one needs 1m dollars for anything. No one needs 100k for anything. Anyone who asks is not your friend.
You don’t become a smart investor when you win the lottery. Don’t make investments. You can put it in the bank and live comfortably. Forever. You will sleep a lot better knowing you won’t lose money.
Be nice. No one likes a mean billionaire.
@David:
I don’t think you understand game theory, statistics, or probability. Or logic, for that matter. Don’t have the time to respond at length, but a few quick points:
1. I realize what I wrote.
2. I didn’t contradict myself.
3. I didn’t say that there’s “no” chance of winning with 1 or 100 tickets. If you think there’s no chance of winning, would you be willing to pick a number between 1 and a 1,000,000 and bet $2 that I can’t guess it, with 1:1.5 million odds?
4. I wouldn’t be increasing my disappointment. To the contrary, with the same investment, even though my expected return stays the same, the probability that I win something goes up (even if that something ends up being a net loss).
@Pinny: read chovos halevovos shaar habitachon (i forget where) where he specifically deals with your question.
Jewish thought and philosophy has been dissected down to the smallest minutiae. The baalei mussar have much to say on the subject.
In case you don’t get a chance to read it the answer is that the appropriate understanding of hishtadlus is that it is a result of a mitzvah, which is given to us as part of the punishment of Adam’s sin.
One of the outcomes of this is that one needs to divorce his view of reality from the idea that results are connected to hishtadlus – thinking otherwise is dangerous and can result is slipping into thoughts of “kochi vadim yotzy” (my efforts led to my success)
This is all from shaar habitachon – he notes that God can provide you with man, he does not need your input at all. He commanded you to do productive labor because he desired you to do so. Recognition of the truth – that your efforts do NOT lead to results, but you have to do them anyways as a servant of hashem – is one the prime nisyonos of life.
Good luck.
If I win I plan on buying the largest diamond that money can buy. I will crush it into powder and pour it into a vat of bleach.
Then I will pour the bleach into an incinerator.
This will be done on video and uploaded so the world learns that money CAN NOT BUY HAPPINESS.
@Yaakov: still got 30 minutes left!!
@bleach it. your a idiot! and a bitter person!
@EJB:
1. I couldn’t disagree more. You’re not talking about something that is likely and unlikely.
You have 2 impossibles. Except with one ticket you profess faith that it only requires one to fulfill the dream. The other places Gd in a smaller box. And wastes money IMHO.
2. The dream of the person who spends $2 is the same dream as the one who spends $100. Same entertainment value at 98% off.
3. I don’t have anything against the pool, but it should have been 5 cents per entry, not $2.
@Anonymous:
No, both of those are statistically insignificant numbers.
@Mark:
Why stop at 2? Go buy 4. Why stop at 4, go buy 8.
The smaller prizes are meaningless, you’re not playing to win $4.
And you’re not actually improving your odds at the jackpot. It’s impossible whether you have 1 or 2 or 4.
@Yossi:
Even so, QP are less likely to be replicated then user generated numbers.
@Naphtali:
No. It was one of 10 lottery threads and you decided to stick the pool in it for reasons that are still beyond me.
If anything you should get it 😛
@Spend On Savings:
$50MM becomes $12MM after lump sum and taxes.
I’d like to imagine one could do a lot of good with $1.5B…
@Yossi:
Either way, less chance of split pot with QP.
@Lynn:
It’s a fair question. But I see buying 1 ticket as the price of a dream more than gambling.
@Divine Prophecy:
Why is it wrong for teachers to get Office at a discount Mr Sanctimonious?
@Big Yoss:
I hope this is a joke.
@Aviv:
Remind me what 5×0 is?
Because the odds of winning this thing are zilch. It’ll take a miracle to win, but I’d rather spend $2 than $10 to make that happen.
@Big Yoss:
The lottery is a tax on those who are materialistically challenged.
@bleach it!:
Money can’t buy happiness, that is definitely true.
But would you rather be poor and miserable or rich and miserable?
@bleach it, did you ever buy a new car? chocolate? ice cream? new house? new suit? how about make a bracha that you could only make if you buy a item that brings happiness?!! maybe give some money to charity? buy cheap tickets on dansdeals? etc.. well all of these things require MONEY and yes makes one happy!
(i understand that if your in pain because you have a stomach ache then it wont help to get rid of pain, but you could definitely buy happiness!)
Chaim:
I’m not bitter but I wont rule out idiocy. I don’t know if you are bitter, but you are a raving fool for believing my drivel.
doovid: I disagree. Money can not buy happiness. It can only buy things. Happiness is a state of mind. If you have it, you will always have it. People who think they will be happy…..when I make a million bucks are never happy. Speak to wealthy people.
If I bleach it, I will be super famous. Maybe that will make me happy………
@bleach it!: That’s why Mark Cuban said: If you weren’t happy yesterday you won’t be happy tomorrow. It’s money. It’s not happiness.
If you were happy yesterday, you are going to be a lot happier tomorrow. It’s money. Life gets easier when you don’t have to worry about the bills.
i bought one for myself one for my shul one part of a grou p of 5 it doesnt hurt to have some fun i enjoy all the hock this is causing but i believe there will be more than one winner i wish everyone good luck and i wouldnt mind flying first class a few times and a few extra vacations its good to dream sometimes
@Yossi:
Winning the lottery is NOT going to make your life easier. That much is certain.
@sy:
Don’t need to win the lottery to do that!!!
I believe that it’s not good for me to have 1.4b even though I want it therefore Hashem does not want me to have it so I am not buying a ticket!!!!!
@Dan: Why are QP less likely to be replicated? I assume there’s more than 500M tickets sold, in that case the probability of every possible number combination being printed twice is very high.
@Dans guy:
Or buy a ticket and give all the winnings to your favorite charity 😉
@Yossi:
Because humans are more likely to pick birthdays (1-31), patterns (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, etc).
Far more likely for duplication.
Or fortune cookie numbers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lottery#Fortune_cookie_payout
Though mine tonight bodes well 😉
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=59828.msg1383377#msg1383377
@Dan: How so? Did you read the ENTIRE comment?
@Dan: if I win that probably won’t happen
@Dan
BTW, it occured to me that dansdeals is likely the most visited blog in the frum world. While you probably never imagined that or intended for that to happen back when you started ctownbochur, it is pretty amazing that it became that… I guess a good metziah is the best way to unite yidden…
@Dave:
If you told my 20 year old self that ctownbochur.blogspot.com would become one of the most visited frum websites I’d have laughed you right out the door.
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/79326
@Dan:
The alternative I’m referring to is a pool. Both options cost the same.
If I was donating money to your school would you rather $2 cash or a Powerball ticket?
Am I missing something, but the chances of the same numbers being drawn tonight as last drawing is no different than any other combination. The winning numbers can be 1,2,3,4,5,6. Statistically, why are your odds lower if you pick numbers?
I understand there is data showing a higher percentage of winners because of quick picks, but picking numbers based on that would say there is a method to the madness (and statistically that is not the case)
@Odds:
For starters, you’ll probably have a pot split 10,000 ways if you use 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
@bleach it! well how could you make a bracha if you buy something, the halacha should be, If you weren’t happy yesterday you won’t be happy tomorrow so if you by a new suit tomorrow you cant make a bracha because you weren’t happy yesterday?!!
@Odds: Your`reservation right statically your odds are not lower, view my comment earlier @Yossi.
@Dan:
That is only assuming 10,000 people pick that. The same thing woudl happen if 10,000 people picked 3,12,22,43,52,9.
That has nothing to do with picking the winning numbers.
@dan well if those are the winning nummbers you cant help but split it. you cant punish anybody by choosing numbers that nobody else choose if its a losing ticket.so i’m going with mr odd
@doovid:
If I offered you a ticket now that was 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or one that was randomly generated, which would you pick?
If 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 wins you split that pot with tons of other people.
If the random ticket wins then you have the pot all to yourself or maybe you’ll share it with a couple people.
For the record I did not buy a ticket, I’m having quite the entertainment as it is. though I did try to create a pool with 1,000 people for 1,000 tickets, you can send an email to “1.3Bpot at gmail dot com” I explain my theory, sadly? I couldn’t get as much people as I wanted.
@bleach it! i just spoke to some wealthy people they told me they are very happy they are rich! And your probably just jealous. (you dint mean this one either right?)
@David: Odds are not lower, but people tend to pick numbers that are meaningful to them, which means that they will likely pick lower numbers or numbers that other people might pick. Therefore, the odds that you’ll be sharing the jackpot with one or more people is going to be greater.
@dan (thanks for responding!) In all honesty it doesn’t make a difference all that counts is the winning ticket.
@doovid:
And you know what ticket will win?
All I know is that 1-2-3-4-5-6 ticket would be worth $150,000 in 10K people chose those numbers while a random ticket would be worth $1,500,000,000 if nobody else chose those numbers.
The answer of which ticket you should choose is obvious.
@dan now one for you- If i offered you a ticket in a raffle that you had one in million chance to win 1 million dollars, or a raffle ticket one in 10 million to win 100 million, which one would you pick?
@doovid:
Obviously the latter.
@Dan:
That fact would not determine which combination to pick. That fact would only determine if you are willing to buy a ticket and bet those numbers. If someone gave you a ticket for free, then why would you choose a random number over 1,2,3,4,5,6?
@dan I totally disagree there is only one winning number and the chances are the exact same, so how could it help you if the amount you win is more? am i missing something?
Btw. Think that the miscalculation of $1000000/person is based on the British way of calculating 1 billion which is one million times one million. What we call one billion is called one thousand million. Is a mistake but not in calculating. Mistake in reference.
Regarding the school, really believe it’s just a way to give the enjoyment of the dreaming everyone is referring to, to the staff who are strapped and wouldn’t participate otherwise, the letter notwithstanding.
@dan 131 why? you rather get something then get nothing?? and your chances (ya i know that its insignificant)are higher in the smaller lottery ???
@Anonymous:
Because the expected value is higher.
@doovid:
Because the expected value is higher.
@Mordechai:
British billion? What in the world?
And the school would have had more dreaming by buying a single $2 ticket and giving away the other $1,000 in a staff raffle.
@doovid:
Because the expected value is higher.
@dan so there you go not one high number! ill go split it
Where are the winning numbers posted
Google British billion. They used to do it that way.
You’re correct mathematically about the school, but now every person who is not mathematically inclined, will feel directly linked to the dream. Its just a small way to give to employees on a limited budget.
@dan last one. 1 in 2 chance to win 1000 dollars, or 1 in a million to win 100 billion? who cares about the expected dollar your not getting it (pun intended)
urgent dan! please answer me quickly, if the numbers are the same does that mean you win?
attention people
lets keep in mind one thing.
someone is bound to win the lottery. you CAN win. why not play
@AM: 40 tickets doesn’t make your chance divided in half times 40, you got 40 chances in the same number! figure that out
anyone have a 30 minute time machine I can borrow?
I think that if all of us are so into this whole business of the lottery, so why not use the idea for a greater benefit rather than an imaginary $1.5 billion prize: if every Frum Jew in the world would donate just $10 for the “Tzedaka power ball”, we will end up with probably close to $30 million, which can probably save (in reality, not theoretically) all Jewish lives who are seriously ill and can be cured with a large sum of $ they don’t have.
Isn’t that a better idea than spending it on the lottery ticket?
@doovid if you really believe then you go with more money, its the same hashem whether it’s 1 in 2, or 1 in a million
@Anonymous: your math does not make sense, $1,500,000,000÷300,000,000 people would be $5.00 per person
I joined the pool at the office … because if I didn’t, I might have had to do ALL the work alone next week 🙂
@M.K.
No. you only win if all your numbers are not the same.
I’m selling my tickets at a discount
I’m selling them for $1.99 a ticket
any buyers?
Please all DDFers CONTINUE TO DREAM!!! Life was so much better these couple of days. And listen ro what chaza”l teach us, after all
×”×™×™× ×• כחולמי×!!!
I won just enough to pay me back for the ticket investment; )
If one wins and moves to Florida or another state of no income tax immediately does that absolve them of the income tax? If it doesn’t then that would be a good reason to take the annuity.
If everyone were to follow your logic of just buying 1 ticket, then everyone one would have a 1 in 292,201,338 odds. Just the feeling of knowing that I had 2x or 10x everyone else in the nation of winning, as “statistics” would have it that this time around someone would win considering the amount of tickets bought, would make it worth the extra tickets I would have bought “with in reason of what I spend on entertainment”. Every single person is different and to assume that “The dream of the person who spends $2 is the same dream as the one who spends $100. Same entertainment value at 98% off.”, is wrong because if that were the case then everyone would have just bought 1 ticket. How you put it makes everyone who bought 2 or more ticket seem stupid and simple minded…That person that bought 2+ more tickets wanted to dream bigger and risk more in life to have even the most minuscule chance to win it no matter how small. After all their friends and family read their 1st ticket and lost they wanted to have that same feeling again that their friends and family had a second before, that their next ticket could be the one to win, for some people those extra seconds of joy and excitement are worth the extra whatever dollar spent. People around the world always fight ridiculous odds health wise, education, and such. I wonder where this world would be if they weren’t people who took those extra extremely minuscule odds that others scoffed at and always went by “statistics”. I would give whatever the odds no matter how small in the world to have my family safe and healthy by my side!
@Anonymous: $1.5 billion ÷ $300 million =$5…so…nope, not really
I’ve never heard of Chino Hills, CA until my new best friend there won the jackpot!
If anonymous (mis-)assumed a different interpretation of “billion”, 1.5 of them divided by 300 million would leave $5000 for each of us.
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion
A billion is a number with two distinct definitions:
-1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or 10^9 (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now generally the meaning in both British and American English.[1][2]
-1,000,000,000,000, i.e. one million million, or 10^12 (ten to the twelfth power), as defined on the long scale. This is one thousand times larger than the short scale billion, and equivalent to the short scale trillion.
In Mexico they refer (in the corresponding Spanish) to our “billion” as “a million millions”. I would imagine there are other places which do the same.
Won $7 (three matching numbers)! Woohoo! Of course being that I spent $10 I’m still in the red $3, but since I didn’t expect to win anything I choose to see it as a $7 profit ;-). Slightly annoying thing is that the number “4” was in all my other four entries except that one. But after a second of thought I’m actually so incredibly glad I didn’t include it on that entry – even though it would have meant a payout of $100 for four matching numbers – because if I had included it, the realization that I was only one number away from winning $1,000,000 would have been too much to bear.
H-shem has many more ways to have you lose $2 w/o you going out of your way to waste it on a powerball ticket…sheesh….
@In (very partial) defense of Anonymous – Did you go to the same school as Anonymous, just with a different teacher?
I am agnostic, therefore I only gamble on sports.
@Anonymous: First off, it comes out to about $5 per person. Second, Even if that where true that it came out to $5 million, it wouldn’t help close the poverty gap as Inflation would skyrocket
Old joke:
Every night since he was 30 years old Izzy has prayed before bed to win the lottery….”Please God, let me win the lottery” he prays. Nothing. Next night, “Please God, let me win the lottery” Still nothing. This goes on and on for years and years and one night, when Izzy is in his 80’s…”Please God, let me win the lottery”… God finally says “Izzy, meet me half way, buy a ticket!”
http://www.thelakewoodscoop.com/news/2016/01/breaking-employee-of-shlomo-yehuda-rechnitz-one-of-3-powerball-jackpot-winners.html
@Dan: Hahahaha! This was a Meme going around on social media as well. It’s amazing to me how many people cannot do basic math.
You gotta add the option “did you buy 18,000 powerball tickets” for shlomo yehuda rechnitz who bought for all his employees. 🙂
http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8345263cd69e201b8d191f6ad970c-pi
Add up the winning numbers in the $1.5 Billion Power Ball Lottery this week and you get 102, the exact gematria (numerical value) of emuna.
Do you realize what Hashem’s message is here? If you have emuna, you’re a billionaire, much better off than if you won the lottery. Why? I guarantee you that the lottery winners have lost their peace of mind – their worries are only beginning. Wait and see how many long-lost friends and relatives come out of the woodwork with extended palms. But with emuna, you go through life with a smile on your face, no matter what. So if you have emuna, congratulations! You’re the big winner. Blessings for a wonderful Shabbat!
Tremendous thanks to our cherished friend Nachum Kligman of Ramat Bet Shemesh Aleph for initiating this post.