Powerball is the top search in the US today: is buying a ticket ever actually worth it, or is it just paying for the daydream?
Powerball is the number one trending search in the US today and the jackpot keeps climbing, and a few people at work are putting together a pool. I have never played the lottery and I am trying to figure out if there is any version of this that makes sense. Is it purely entertainment money, like buying a movie ticket, or is there a smart way people actually play it? For people who play regularly: what do you tell yourself about the odds, and has anyone here ever won anything bigger than a few bucks?
1 answer
- One ticket, entertainment budget only
The odds of hitting the jackpot are about 1 in 292 million, so a $2 ticket has an expected value of pennies. The only version that makes sense is treating it as entertainment: one ticket, cash you would otherwise spend on a coffee, and never money you need. The pool at work is fine if everyone agrees the ticket is a joke purchase and one person holds the ticket with a photo shared to the group before the draw.