A lot of people including those who never play a lottery are asking for tips to win the $1,300,000,000 lottery.  So why are people who have been firm members of the Never Buy a Lottery Ticket Club asking? Because a BILLION DOLLARS is a lot of head turning money no matter the astronomical odds of actually winning…leaving the Never Buy a Lottery Ticket Club with the fastest declining club membership in the world.

Playing a game this large gives every one an equal chance to win. No matter how many tickets one purchases the odds of winning stay the same for everyone of them. A lottery this big becomes a nationwide social event complete with all buzz and camaraderie. It’s human nature to want to be part of a historic event this large.  Even all the losers will have stories to tell about the time…

Much like when a big weather event strikes, people talk about their involvement or closeness to it for years to come.

Is there any way  I can  increase my odds of picking jackpot winning numbers? 

• Sorry, there is no way to do that.
• The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338.00.
• The odds of getting struck by lightning are about 1 in 280,000 roughly 10 times better than winning $1.3 billion Powerball lottery.
• Go ahead and get out all your lucky charms or “feelings.”  They might make you feel good and at the very least give you a conversation starter.

• This strategy is statistically insignificant.
• Many people believe their chance of winning is substantially increased by purchasing more than one ticket.
• A good example is the coin flip. The chance of winning each flip is 50-50. Every time the coin is flipped the chance of winning remains 50-50 no matter how many times it’s flipped.  At the start of each flip it’s 50-50. Same with each lotto ticket sold, each ticket has exactly the same odds 1 in 292,201,338.
• Another example is the chance of being struck my lightning which is about 1 in 280,000.  No one thinks the chance of being struck increases with the number of times they walk out the door.

If my coworkers decide to pool money to buy a ticket should I participate?

• Even though this does not increase your chance of winning you’d be foolish not too.  Imagine the feeling of  watching all your coworkers celebrating their winning of millions that you were only $2 away from participating in.  Besides with the lottery this big it’s transformed into a country wide  social event and the price for being a part of it is $2.
• Also consider it’ll be awfully lonely when all your coworkers retire you are the only coming to work each day.
• If you are the kill joy who constantly advises against the lottery as an utter waste of time and money.  Human nature being what is… In the very unlikely event a winning ticket is acquired by your coworkers, they are very unlikely to share with you.

 Only buy one ticket

• Most of the 18,315,365  winners of Powerball lottery have been single ticket purchasers sometimes first time purchasers.  As discussed previously buying multiple tickets does not increase the chance of winning.

• Yes, 18,315,365 people have won millions of Powerball dollars since the beginning.  So in spite of the steep odds against winning, someone or several people will eventually get a winning ticket.
• Remember none of this increases anyone’s odds of winning the current lottery or any future lottery.

The only tip: Have fun. Buy a ticket and enjoy talking about all the what ifs. I’ve been doing retirement and financial planning for almost 40 years. I thought about pointing out if the average lottery player purchasing one ticket per week over 40 years saved that money with interest, they’d have more money in the end.  Does anyone really want to hear that now?

Instead read $100 Million Lottery Winner – Now How To Get Your Money this was my first post on AreaVoices regarding winning a lottery.  Have to admit it is the most read.  Thanks to this record Powerball an update is coming soon.