I buy a few lottery tickets when the cash payout gets very close to the odds of winning, multiplied by the ticket price. Under the almost-true assumption that there will be at most one winner, this gives an expected value of about a dollar to the pending dollar ticket. Note that when the payout gets much above the odds multiplied by the ticket price, the chance of two winners goes up dramatically.

The lottery is for those who don't understand statistics, not merely those who don't know much mathematics.

I'm a half-fast mathemetician, another two years, I might be able to get a bachelors, but I'm still willing to spend a couple bucks once every few weeks on it.

About 8 years ago, I had a ticket and I checked the paper -- the way I usually do it is to get the first 3 numbers on my brain's desktop, then look at my ticket. This day the first 3 numbers on one ticket matched. :eek:

Oh mah ghod, my heart rate must have doubled. Jeez, am I a sucker or what. Of coure, none of the rest of the numbers matched. I got $5 for the 3-fer. Woo - Hoo!!

Anyway, I still buy 'em now and then because of the long, long odds that I would experience that kind of adrenaline rush for real -- that and the ranch I'd buy.