The California Mega Millions (Lottery) Game

[sleepy]

I posted this topic at vpforums.org, but since PN is definitely more skewered toward gaming, I might as well post it here as well.

Like I said there, I don't usually play the game...unless the Jackpot is @ $640 Million Dollars, and I Will Now Make This Bold Prediction that, within a matter of a couple of hours, I Will Definitely Be A Multi-Millionaire On Course to Launch My Brilliant Multi-National Empire....

I mean, why not...?

 

[Shockman]

The chances of you living that couple of hours is probably on par with winning it. But good luck.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

i hope it happens. i bet you could start a nice little retro arcade, too, while you're at it.

i've never played the lottery for some reason, even though i've been close to broke most of my life. it would probably make for a fun little daily diversion in the life of someone who's close to homebound, so that would be a good thing.

having said that, i think subconsciously i've always kind of looked down on lottery players because of the perceived lack of skill involved. which is probably missing the point, but then sometimes our attitudes get the best of us.

not too long ago i started loosely studying texas hold'em and playing low stakes tournaments online, and was modestly proud of myself at the progress i was able to make. then the money-laundering problem (if you know what i mean) began to get so problematic that i mostly got scared off from the process. i'm left feeling frustrated and resentful at state and federal govts for being so unreasonable about online poker-- they've been obnoxiously heavy-handed and non-pragmatic towards a situation in which nobody was being hurt. lots of people chronically complain about the govt being the boogieman, but this is one of those areas where it's quantifiably true, and a lot of people got unnecessarily thwarted from making an honest living. although maybe it's just the casino lobby having its way with the law as is normal with huge lobbies... same old, same old.

so, then... maybe horse-racing. that strikes me as kind of interesting, and was something my mom dabbled in, as well.

the thing that really does put me off of the lottery is that you can't get better at it over time AFAIK. that seems insulting, somehow.

 

[sleepy]

You are right, the both of you.

Now, California used to offer Decco, which was a hi-lo game, but with four columns of numbers from 1 to 9 each, and I did play that one by breaking the columns into 3 sectors, say 1 to 3, 4 to 6, etc. and looking at the previous day's winning sectors, choosing 2 or 3 different sectors and 1 common sector to the previous draw, and then buy 2 tickets, each with a different pattern based on the sectors, and I would normally break even.

Unfortunately, so did most of the players, so Decco was discontinued due to low State revenue from the game.

 

[LeeVanCleef]

The lottery is for suckers and idiots! That's why I only bought 5 tickets.

 

[sleepy]

I believe you Ruby.

I only bought 3.

 

[GSGregg]

I Will Now Make This Bold Prediction that, within a matter of a couple of hours, I Will Definitely Be A Multi-Millionaire.....

Brimming with (over-) confidence apparently isn't the entire recipe; maybe we should have asked Shooby Doo about secret ingredients (remember his trip to Seattle, June 2011?).