The purchase of lottery tickets cannot be disassociated from the dream of winning the prime lottery results Saturday. Normal decision-making processes are based on expected value maximization and hence the return on investment principle. Lottery tickets are an exceptionally poor investment, and the return in incredibly small compared to the investment.
Pure lottery mathematics dictates that buying lottery tickets is of such low return value that it should prevent any sensible person from buying lottery tickets. However, there are additional factors at play in deciding to participate in the lottery. In addition to being part of the lottery results Saturday, a lottery ticket may enable some people to experience an actual physical thrill, with increased heart-rate and adrenaline, whilst entertaining the fantasy of becoming the recipient of millions at the lottery results Saturday and becoming extremely wealthy. The hoped for outcome, despite being almost unbelievably small, is so high and so life-altering that the purchase of a lottery ticket become a totally rational decision within the scale of peoples’ lives.
The lure of the Saturday lottery is therefore a fully justifiable expense, if valued on a day-to-day basis, given the amount of change that would be effected should one win the jackpot.
The Numbers that Contain Hope
There are five or six numbers that can change your life. One of the first things to think of if time travel were possible. Going back to last week knowing this weeks’ lottery numbers. The right five or six numbers.
Players by now know the statistics. The chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are about one in 175.2 million. People are more likely to die from a bee sting, one in 6.1 million, be struck by lightning, one in 3 million, or have conjoined twins, one in 200 000.
But the dream of seeing lottery results Saturday prevails. Despite the overwhelming odds, and distinct lack of chance, people keep playing the lottery. People are simply in love with hope. The fact is that the thought of winning the lottery is much more fun than the thought of being attacked by a shark.
Part of the Saturday Draw
Given the amount spent on lotteries annually, part of the lottery results Saturday attraction is that everyone else is part of it too. The fear of being left out is evidently a powerful motivator, as is seeing people winning lotteries, thus the urge to at least be in the draw.
Spend a little, get a lot is, additionally, the basis for every good investment. The low cost of a lottery ticket is one of the most seductive things about it, as people tend to focus on the cost-to-benefit ratio of a single ticket rather than add up the long-term cost of playing over a year, or a lifetime. Lotteries are, on the face of it, really cheap to play, but with a huge possible upside, and this seems, by all reports to perfectly hit the sweet spot of risk-taking. Despite the implausible odds, the fact that lotteries are often called stupidity tax, millions are glued to their television sets come Saturday just imagining how wonderfully their lot in life could change.