Mega Millions - 540 million and rising!

[Kershaw]

ah, i see.

[matthugie]

the math wont add up, because you just doubled the pool of tickets. so you'd have a 1 in 2 chance of winning, with you owning half the tickets.

No, your odds of winning are still 100% (assuming the tickets you get don't duplicate). The odds are based on possible number combinations, more tickets being sold won't change that. What increases is the likelihood that you'll have to split with someone else. Even so, with a pot that size there is still positive expectation.

[Kershaw]

the math wont add up, because you just doubled the pool of tickets. so you'd have a 1 in 2 chance of winning, with you owning half the tickets.

[markseven]

91 is pretty close to being underground

:nice: ;)

[craiggroves91]

Wait i'm confused. So if i had 176,000,000 dollars to spend... I could have bought 176,000,000 mega millions tickets and guranteed myself the 640 mil?
I'm probably not thinking right because that doesn't seem right.

yupp that is correct, but if you think about it, if there are multiple winners, you would probably lose money or barely break even.

Also, not too many people have that much collateral in the first hand.

It would also take 28 days to print the tickets

[Fusion]

wow a 91 year old man won it.... sure went to someone who needs it....

If I won that I would be anonymous, underground, off the grid, anywhere but the public eye.

91 is pretty close to being underground

You, sir, have made my day.

[Dermeister3]

Wait i'm confused. So if i had 176,000,000 dollars to spend... I could have bought 176,000,000 mega millions tickets and guranteed myself the 640 mil?
I'm probably not thinking right because that doesn't seem right.

yupp that is correct, but if you think about it, if there are multiple winners, you would probably lose money or barely break even.

Also, not too many people have that much collateral in the first hand.

[evandael]

Thanks guys. I've never payed the idiot tax, so I don't know. Something about multiple winners on a jackpot just doesn't seem right to me.

[navid41691]

There are 176,000,000 possible number combinations. The random number generators that print the tickets can and sometimes will print multiple number sequences that are the same. So in actuality, you chances of winning the lotto is less than they advertise.

Wait i'm confused. So if i had 176,000,000 dollars to spend... I could have bought 176,000,000 mega millions tickets and guranteed myself the 640 mil?
I'm probably not thinking right because that doesn't seem right.

[e46s54dr]

Srs?

You can pick your own numbers.... the chance that you pick a number that the computer generates, or someone else picks is pretty high.

There are 176,000,000 possible number combinations. The random number generators that print the tickets can and sometimes will print multiple number sequences that are the same. So in actuality, you chances of winning the lotto is less than they advertise.

[mamzak]

I never understood how more than one person can win. Please explain, I actually want to know.

Srs?

You can pick your own numbers.... the chance that you pick a number that the computer generates, or someone else picks is pretty high.

[evandael]

I never understood how more than one person can win. Please explain, I actually want to know.

[bestwheelbase]

"Alfredo Mora, 91, shows off his lottery ticket for a chance at the historic Mega Millions jackpot, that reached more than $600 million on Friday, March 30, 2012, in New York."

It does not say he won the lottery, it's just a picture of a guy who bought a ticket.

[FredK]

91 is pretty close to being underground

[BillBrasky]

If I won that I would be anonymous, underground, off the grid, anywhere but the public eye.

91 is pretty close to being underground