what are the chances?

[SpecialEd]

Text

 

[lyssword]

whaa? I never even won once! unfair

 

[doze]

?The first time I couldn?t believe it,? Wilson told Newsday. ?This time I said, ?God?s on my side.??

because god is a real supporter of gambling

 

[rh71]

good for her...

I really gotta play scratch-off games more.

 

[her209]

The first event is independent of the second event. (sort of)

 

[DrPizza]

Is that a rhetorical question, or do you really want the probability of that woman winning twice?

And, do you want the probability of one particular person winning twice (and we'd have to make assumption to calculate it - the frequency at which the person plays)

Or, do you want the probability that someone will win twice? Those odds are much higher than you'd think. (making a few assumptions such as lottery winners continue playing weekly)

 

[sinucus]

not to thread crap but will god still "be on her side" when her 3 kids get bitten by rabid animals and die? Congrats to her being lucky but god had nothing to do with it.

 

[DaTT]

Some guy in Canada won it twice as well......he is now broke and selling off all his cars to get out of debt and to survive. He won it in the span of 2 years I think to the tune of something like 6 mil.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: DaTT
Some guy in Canada won it twice as well......he is now broke and selling off all his cars to get out of debt and to survive. He won it in the span of 2 years I think to the tune of something like 6 mil.

I beleive i read that the majority end up broke or in debt.

 

[DrPizza]

The prize will be paid out in $50,000 installments over 20 years.

Why do I suspect that she blows a couple hundred a week on scratch off tickets? She works in a deli... she's keeping her job for now.
I don't know about other states, but NY has a LOT of scratch off tickets... the one she won on is either a $5 ticket or a $10 ticket... I doubt she buys just one at a time (and will ultimately end up blowing a huge percentage of her winnings on more lottery tickets, especially after taxes.)

 

[DrPizza]

And I believe that because of human nature, scratch off tickets are one of the biggest scams. Nearly every person who wins anything (except the giant jackpots) ultimately "invests" those winnings in more scratch off tickets in an attempt to get the jackpot.

"Wow, I won $20 on this $1 ticket. I'll buy 4 of the $5 tickets and maybe I'll win a lot of money. If I don't, I'm only out one dollar." The suckers can't just take their winnings and walk away. And, for the suckers who DO walk away with some meager amount of winnings, they ultimately justify their gambling addiction this way: "It's fun, I won $100 about 6 months ago" - while blowing $20 or more a week. I can't disagree with the "it's fun" part. 15 seconds of scratching and hoping to win can bring a big adrenaline rush; usually followed by a let down. Geee, isn't that how drugs work? They make you feel good for a short time, then you feel worse, so you end up taking the drugs again? - addiction.

 

[JDrake]

I've heard stories like these before.. seems like your odds of winning the lottery a second time after already winning once are very high? The article said, what, 1 in 3trillion? I know I've read a bunch of stories like this, so can it really be that high?

 

[virtuamike]

4815162342

 

[Vegitto]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
And I believe that because of human nature, scratch off tickets are one of the biggest scams. Nearly every person who wins anything (except the giant jackpots) ultimately "invests" those winnings in more scratch off tickets in an attempt to get the jackpot.

"Wow, I won $20 on this $1 ticket. I'll buy 4 of the $5 tickets and maybe I'll win a lot of money. If I don't, I'm only out one dollar." The suckers can't just take their winnings and walk away. And, for the suckers who DO walk away with some meager amount of winnings, they ultimately justify their gambling addiction this way: "It's fun, I won $100 about 6 months ago" - while blowing $20 or more a week. I can't disagree with the "it's fun" part. 15 seconds of scratching and hoping to win can bring a big adrenaline rush; usually followed by a let down. Geee, isn't that how drugs work? They make you feel good for a short time, then you feel worse, so you end up taking the drugs again? - addiction.

Exactly!

 

[thegimp03]

Wow...awesome

 

[SpecialEd]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Is that a rhetorical question, or do you really want the probability of that woman winning twice?

And, do you want the probability of one particular person winning twice (and we'd have to make assumption to calculate it - the frequency at which the person plays)

Or, do you want the probability that someone will win twice? Those odds are much higher than you'd think. (making a few assumptions such as lottery winners continue playing weekly)

I wasn't really looking for an actual answer. Just saying she's really lucky