Originally posted by: PerryD
Being an engineer, I don't play the lottery (either state or megamillions) until the jackpot reaches the odds. So, if the odds are 175M:1, I'll wait until the jackpot reaches that amount before putting my couple dollars down.
You fail to take into account that a $175 million jackpot doesn't really mean the jackpot winner gets $175 million. Rather, he gets a lump sum payment of around $93 million (or an annuity totalling $175 million, which works out to a present dollar value of the same $93 million). Minus - call it a third - for taxes. That comes out to a top prize of around $60 million or so.
So you're actually saying that as an engineer, you won't play at 175M:1 odds, until the jackpot reaches 35% of those odds.
BTW, the only way they get away with giving such highly misleading jackpot figures is because it's the state who pockets the profits. Believe me, I couldn't advertise "FREE COMPUTER! Buy this computer for $1200, and receive a $1200 mail-in rebate!" if I intended to pay the $1200 rebate not in a lump sum, but as 20 annual payments of $60 each.
But to the lottery people, 20 annual payments of $8 million = "$160 million jackpot."