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comment by steve
steve  ·  3023 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Powerball Simulator

I found this wildly interesting. Thanks for posting. It's amazing how powerful that little "what if?" voice is in our heads. Having never played the lottery, I can't speak from experience, but watching my co-workers contribute to a pool week after week sort of boggles my mind. because... you know... what if?





kleinbl00  ·  3023 days ago  ·  link  ·  

This is why my uncle gives them as stocking stuffers. They cost little, provide a moment's thrill, and can be discarded with no guilt within a few days.

And hey. What if?

mk  ·  3023 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Well, I might have the answer:

    You've played the lottery 532,416 times over about 5,106 years and spent $1,064,832, but won $93,892. You're in the hole $970,940.
user-inactivated  ·  3023 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I had to quit when I was down 2,000,000 but it literally took me 5 hours to play that much. I lost less than I thought I would actually. I was only running about 95% losses by the time I stopped.

steve  ·  3023 days ago  ·  link  ·  

BUT YOU WON $94k!!!!!

mk  ·  3023 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Still running:

    Spent $1,553,986

    Won 137,551

    Win/loss $-1,416,435

    Balance $554,505

It looks like the expected ROI falls around 0.09.