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   LinuxWalt (@lnxw48a1) {3EB165E0-5BB1-45D2-9E7D-93B31821F864} (lnxw48a1@nu.federati.net)'s status on Wednesday, 09-Nov-2022 12:05:02 JST LinuxWalt (@lnxw48a1) {3EB165E0-5BB1-45D2-9E7D-93B31821F864}
   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/powerball-winner-record-19-billion-jackpot-announced-rcna56140 [www nbcnews com]
   
   single #Powerball winning ticket sold in #California | #CA. $2,000,000,000+
   • Embed this notice
     LinuxWalt (@lnxw48a1) {3EB165E0-5BB1-45D2-9E7D-93B31821F864} (lnxw48a1@nu.federati.net)'s status on Wednesday, 09-Nov-2022 12:17:48 JST LinuxWalt (@lnxw48a1) {3EB165E0-5BB1-45D2-9E7D-93B31821F864}

     in reply to
     While I am happy for whomever got the winning ticket (modulo taxes and all the real and fake relatives and acquaintances that will come crawling out of the woodwork hoping to get a slice of the pie), the odds of winning a jackpot are amazingly bad ... one in almost 300,000,000. At those odds, they're better off playing for the fun of it, or considering it a donation to whatever state agency gets the benefits (in #California, that's the schools).
     
     I have only read one "rich dads" book, but I imagine that the author would say that rich dads don't play the lottery (and probably don't gamble at all unless they feel they have an inside track on winning). The odds of winning big are abysmal, and the odds of winning at all are probably about even--and that includes winning a free ticket or winning back your purchase price.
     
     Don't jump all over me for this. I'm not saying don't play the lottery. I'm saying don't play the lottery thinking you're going to win money. Play it for fun, or to support the schools. If you happen to win, that's a bonus.
     
     (As a plus, this will prevent you from spending the rent money on lottery tickets. You think I'm joking, but when California's state lottery first started, I saw an elderly man from down the street spend his entire Social Security check on scratch-off tickets. When he couldn't pay his rent, one of his neighbors took him in for a month, while he looked for a new place to stay.)