Powerball vs. Mega Millions

Powerball and Mega Millions are the biggest lotteries in the United States. This video makes some key comparisons between them while taking a look at the history and evolution of lotteries in the country.

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Company Declines:
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[gae]

One year, maybe 10-15 years ago in the CA state lottery I had four numbers PLUS the bonus. I was overjoyed thinking I had really hit it big. I knew it wasn't millions, but I was thinking I had at least $100K if not more. It was $1, 400. Paid for my mortgage for two months.

[HeisenbergFam]

"its a state operated form of gambling that targets the more desperate communities" the best description for lotteries

[arthurfisher]

One day it occurred to me that I'd have exactly the same chance of winning the lottery if i played the numbers "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6" as i would any other number combination.

Really took the shine off it and put the odds in context for me. Never played since.

[andrewm]

All you're really buying with a lottery ticket is a faint sense of hope.

[syceXD]

we all know company man is the only guy who would do this

[thefretfiend]

There are attorneys and financial managers that specialize in handling the process of taking possession of and managing large lottery winnings. The services of these types of professionals would be vital for most of us. The real challenge is getting people you can trust.

[Markimark]

I used to play Mega Millions and Powerball when they were $1 for each ticket, but I stopped playing both of them, because not only they doubled the price, but it’s actually harder odds of winning. Mega Millions should’ve stayed as $1 wager! Even with these big jackpots like a billion bucks, I still don’t find find them enticing to purchase lottery tickets if it’s already too gimmicky!

[JimSmyth]

A while back I had an internship at an advertising agency that had the Maryland Lottery as a client. One day I was tasked to follow around a market researcher with a camera as she does on-the-street interviews with random people. First stop was downtown near the Baltimore inner harbor. Absolutely no one we talked to played the lottery. Most often reasons cited being the effective impossibility to win as well as moral objections. These were largely people in suits, fancy handbags, etc. We were in an area where people from expensive apartments go to jobs in tall buildings.

Next, we went to a busy gas station near the shipping terminal in nearby Dundalk. All working class and poor. *Everyone* played the lottery. There may have been a couple that didn't, but it was overwhelming and very striking the difference. Coming from a middle class background, I was shocked that everyone said they played. When pressed on their views on the odds, the consensus was "Oh course it's near impossible to win." So then why do you play? "Because from the time I buy the ticket to when the numbers are read out, I get to dream about the possibility." Most of these people were poor and knew they were likely to die poor. This was hope they otherwise didn't have.

On moral grounds, I'm against the tax on the poor, but understanding that perspective made the issue more complicated for me.

[ARPLATINUM]

Here's some transparent data: In 2022, creating content for my scratch off channel, we spent $149, 935 on Texas Lottery scratch off tickets and got back $116, 695 for a LOSS OF $33, 240. 77.83% payback playing mainly $20, $30, $50 and $100 tickets. All my losses, and plenty more, covered by YouTube ad revenue. That said, don't have a channel to offset losses, and you're gonna lose more than you win. Playing $100, 000 a year in tickets I went on a 4 year run without winning anything over $500. Think about that. So that big jackpot winner... prob not gonna be you. Lol... but it could be! Play responsibly, folks. 😃

[Kikibrat]

My grandmother was addicted to the lottery for about 30 years. She states (without proof 😂) that she’s won and lost at least $500, 000. She was a serious addict but that opportunity to win big was just too much to pass up for a poor person who used to work in the fields. She quit years ago and thank god. 👏🏾

[editorick]

Not a lottery winner, but my wife received a few hundred thousand from a car accident settlement. We had to pick up the check from the attorney. They would not deposit the money electronically. We drove home from his office with the check and there were 3 different charties waiting at our front door for donations. They all check public records for settlements and lottery winnings. Every single 'friend' asked for a few thousand to pay off some bills, most didn't even make the offer to pay it back.

[SRQmoviemaker]

My nana hit the FL lotto in the 80s [there were 5 numbers picked] she played the same numbers and won almost 2m. Paid for her house and gave my dad and his siblings some cash and the rest went to retirement.

[zombiesingularity]

I have this weird memory as a kid of my mom claiming we won the lottery, but refusing to cash it becasue of God or something. That he would reward us for refusing to cash it. And then later she claimed even if she cashed it, it wasn't "in order" so it wouldn't have been allowed. I have NO idea if she was lying, and she died years ago, but she honestly was kinda crazy enough to have pulled something like that. But then why buy a ticket to begin with?

[cedarvalleygaming]

That Hot Lotto scandal happened in my home state of Iowa. It was interesting watching it play out, local news had been reporting about the unclaimed ticket for awhile and even more so when the cut-off date for claiming the ticket was coming.

The mystery surrounding the ticket grew and then hearing about the details of the scam Eddie and his friends were trying to pull, was just crazy. The stupidest thing about this whole deal, Eddie bought the ticket! He wasn't allowed to do this since he was a Lotto employee, surveillance video from the convenience store is how he got caught.

[Asummersdaydreamer]

Reminds me of when I was at a store counter job that involved the lottery for a year. I have forgotten most of what I needed to know, but I do remember that the people who regularly played with their handwritten list of numbers came more regularly than the three weekly new shipments.

I was not great at my job, but I still shudder of thinking of this one lady who would hand me half a printer paper/ A4 sized paper of handwritten numbers or worse tell me by memory the long number list but sometimes change her mind that she wanted played and she would get angry if I was slow. She was less grumpy on days she won some money though.

[ggdail]

Here's what I would do:
1. Set up a trust - so many people get screwed by having their identity plastered for winning. A trust keeps it anonymous.

2. Do lump sum if you're decent with money or set up the trust. If you're not great with money, do the annuity. The trust can essentially do the same thing, but that money can be invested in the meantime, earning dividends or interest.

3. It's going to come out eventually with close friends & family, so nip it in the bud by saying you've won a small jackpot at a casino. Everyone gets a small, one time payout. Anything beyond that would have to be approved by the trust - spoiler alert: they'll always decline.

4. I wouldn't quit my job, but I'd definitely move to part-time, with the ultimate goal of transitioning to my own business. I'd also move towards more charity work.

[BiasIcewing]

Heck down here in Florida someone just won the $1.8 billion ticket! The Publix he got it from was only 20 minutes away from me to, crazy stuff:0

[VintageFenrir]

I always thought these two were the same company, just different styles. I also could have sworn they'd both always been available together in the same state

[jeffreysmith]

I used to work in a convenience store, so I would sell a lot of lotto tickets. It was always really sad seeing people come in every day and blow a $100 on lotto tickets for nothing. Between that, the drinkers, and the smokers, I learned a lot about what not to do in life.

[Traysandor]

Ironically when Keno was played here recently, one of the biggest payouts ever was when a bunch of people all played the numbers 1-12 in consecutive order. Or when back to back Powerball jackpots were won in the same state (a statistical improbability)