CNN had this post on the Association behind the popular lottery game, Powerball, announcing that, starting January 15, 2012, the price of a ticket to play Powerball would be doubling, to $2 a ticket. If you read the article, you’ll notice several things.
- The starting jackpot will also double, from $20 Million to $40 Million
- The second prize (all the white balls without the red “powerball”) will increase from $200,000 to $1 Million.
- The Power-Play option, which allows you to pay $1 to double any prize (except the jackpot) will remain at $1
![[326/365] Lottery Money](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3245/3047006771_a9cbf5d2e9_m.jpg)
There are a couple other things that you should also notice, but probably won’t. But, they are likely the more important ones. First, the number of red “powerball” balls will be decreased from 39 to 35, which will “decrease the odds of winning the jackpot slightly.” To me, decreasing the odds translates to less chances of winning. But, that doesn’t make sense. If there are less choices in the “powerball”, doesn’t that make it more likely to get that match, thereby increasing your odds of winning? Maybe that’s just a typo. If it’s not, then I obviously need a new class in statistics and chance.
Second, because the starting jackpot is increasing, and the price is increasing, they estimate that the average jackpot will increase to approximately $255 Million which is a bit more than the average jackpot of $141 Million now.
Finally, the last thing that you should notice is the remark that “We know that most folks play for the big jackpots and this game will have more of those more often.” I know several people who only play if the jackpot is over a certain value. Say $100 Million. The association has obviously noticed that as well. Heck, it probably didn’t even take a statistics genius to pull the sales numbers and see the spike when you hit a certain amount. So, rather than find a way to get people to play more often, (North Dakota has a subscription option) they just make it more certain that the jackpot will reach the higher numbers faster, thereby getting those people to play more often. I wonder if those people who wait until the jackpot is higher in order to save money on lottery ticket costs will realize that they’re buying tickets more often? A few might, but I bet the majority don’t.
My personal stance on Lottery games is that if you’ve planned for the expense as a “fun” entertainment expense, then, go right ahead and buy those tickets. But, if you’ve got bills to pay, food to buy, and no budget for the tickets, you really should avoid them at all costs. I’ve played off and on over the years, and I am one of those people who generally only buy a ticket when the jackpot is really high. Will I buy tickets more often now that the jackpot is going to be higher, faster? Probably not. It just means that the number will have to be adjusted a bit. Maybe I’ll wait until the jackpot hits $200 Million now…
What about you? Do you play lottery? When? How often? Will an increased cost per ticket change your habits?
photo credit: Lisa Brewster
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I don’t play myself, and it’s not due to being frugal or anything like that. I just have no interest really. Plus I never even think of it so when I’m at a store that sells tickets I don’t stop. I used to play in my old office where everyone would pitch in a couple dollars one a week buy since I’m still working and hustling with the blog, you could probably guess I didn’t win.
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I very rarely play anymore. I used to play on my own a bit, more when I was single than now. I also played in an office pool. I quit, and less than a year later, they won the 200k! Talk about bad luck. Haven’t bought a ticket since.
Lower odds are better odds. You have a better chance of winning at 2-1 odds than at 3-1 odds. People use odds of winning and chance of winning interchangeably and that causes the confusion. If you have lower odds you actually have a better chance of winning.
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@andy That must be where I’m getting confused.
C’s mom used to play the CA lottery every week when he was a kid. He is morally against it because he sees the lottery as a tax on the poor- money made from the lottery goes to education (and other good causes) but very few people in the middle class and up play. The poor play. Unlike property taxes, lottery money isn’t divided up among the schools based on the locations tickets were bought at, so we’re in essence asking the poor to fund education for the rich kids, but the rich don’t have to fund education for the poor kids.
I occassionally buy myself a ticket anyway. But that’s really rare, because I’m not allowed to carry cash, and I just can’t bring myself to buy a lottery ticket on my debit card.
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@shanendoah Yep, I’m the same way. I rarely carry cash, and dislike buying tickets on debit cards, so rarely buy one.
I’m waiting for a winning ticket to blow across the sidewalk in front of me. Then I’ll be rich.
I don’t think this will generate much more revenue. Most people spend $50 in lottery, they aren’t buying 50 tickets, as such.
I knew a few people who played lottery when it was over 200m. RIght now I dont play – it’s not legal in the state of wyoming. I doubt i’d play at all/often if they did have it anyway.
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man, i can’t wait to win the jackpot! Though the price doubled, I’ll still spend the same amount as before. I normally buy 5 numbers for $5, but now I’ll probably either buy 2 number or 3 numbers.
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I don’t play. The odds are stacked so far against the player that I’d much rather save the cost of the ticket. Plus, how many people buy only a ticket when they go to the convenience store? It all adds up.
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I buy a lottery ticket once in a while, but don’t necessarily buy more often when the jackpot is bigger. The reason I buy is that I like to dream about what it would be like to win. I know that I will never win and so will probably not buy as many tickets now that the price is doubled. Doesn’t matter that the jackpots are bigger as I would not ever get one anyway.
That’s just crazy. We’re not active lottery players or anything, but if we end up having an extra buck in cash, we’ll sometimes get a ticket. This doesn’t happen very often since we rarely us cash, but now it will be even less often. If the tickets are 2 bucks, it’s not likely that we will save $1 until we get another—I’d probably just feed it to my piggy.
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I have to say that the move is a lame one in all levels. I personally do it for entertainment and because I like the odds in mathematic. saying that whoever group of people decided to pass that law probably did not think about getting a second opinion from mathematicians. The higher the price for the ticket the less odd you have to win and that explain the current spike. Like above if they are trying to discorage people from playing then the move is the right one…ticket should be 1 dollars or less…if they want to see more winners.