Power Ball begins in California today, and I know I’ll win. I looked at the odds for the set-amount prizes: 1 in 5,153,632.65 for the million dollars (5 numbers but not the Powerball); 1 in in 648,975.96 for the $10,000 (4 winning numbers, no Powerball); 1 in 12,244.83 for $100 (3 winning numbers plus the Powerball);2 in 706.43 for $4 (1 number plus the Powerball); 1 in 55.41 also for $4 (no numbers except the Powerball). True, crunching all the numbers looks good, in that my chances of winning SOMETHING are 1 in 31.85. So I open my wallet, then snap it closed.
Maybe, as people say, you can’t win if you don’t buy a ticket. On the other hand, not participating also means that I can’t lose. To me, not losing that green stuff in my wallet is a big WIN, every time!