Out Of Luck with the Lottery
I don't want to rain on anybody's parade here, but I've been reliably informed that I'm going to win the big MegaMillions jackpot tonight.
It's true. When I got the tickets at a local convenience store, I asked the guy behind the counter to give me winning numbers.
"Sure, boss,'' he said to me.
So there it is. Hooray for me.
I don't usually play the lottery. I believe, as others have said, that the lottery is basically a "tax on stupid people,'' that is, people who don't understand math.
The only reason I play at all is because of something I read years ago. Some Princeton mathematician had said it only makes mathematical sense to play the lottery when the prize gets over $100 milllion.
I don't remember his reasons for this and I think the upshot was that it was just a matter of throwing your money away a little more prudently.
By the way, when I win the big bucks, I haven't decided whether to quit my job or not.
I've always wondered how much filthy lucre it would take to live a life of leisure. How much would you need to bail out of your job?
It is true that I have a list of people who, in the event of my winning the big one, I would drop a million dollars on.
You're not on the list.
It's true. When I got the tickets at a local convenience store, I asked the guy behind the counter to give me winning numbers.
"Sure, boss,'' he said to me.
So there it is. Hooray for me.
I don't usually play the lottery. I believe, as others have said, that the lottery is basically a "tax on stupid people,'' that is, people who don't understand math.
The only reason I play at all is because of something I read years ago. Some Princeton mathematician had said it only makes mathematical sense to play the lottery when the prize gets over $100 milllion.
I don't remember his reasons for this and I think the upshot was that it was just a matter of throwing your money away a little more prudently.
By the way, when I win the big bucks, I haven't decided whether to quit my job or not.
I've always wondered how much filthy lucre it would take to live a life of leisure. How much would you need to bail out of your job?
It is true that I have a list of people who, in the event of my winning the big one, I would drop a million dollars on.
You're not on the list.
posted by Michael Riley at 9:58 AM
2 Comments:
I've always felt that if I won a large amount, certainly $100 million qualifies, that managing that money would become my job... unless I left that entirely to some "expert" which could turn out to be as foolish as entering the lottery in the first place. I dream of establishing a foundation and bestowing the money on my favorite charitable causes. So far, my good intentions haven't garnered any points with the "lottery gods."
That Princeton mathematician was right because after federal and state taxes you end up with a dollar more than what you bought your dollar ticket for.
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