Cash WinFall, or how to turn the lottey into a real moneymaker. In Massachusetts, one state-sponsored lottery has become a game you can't lose....if you know the trick. A tale of math, grinding and grifting in the Boston Globe.
posted by Diablevert on Jul 31, 2011 - 47 comments

A simple idea: take an ordinary savings account, but instead of paying interest to account holders, hold a lottery to see who gets the lump sum. Freakonomics Radio investigates Prize-linked savings (PLS) accounts (Part 1, Part 2), which combine two things that seem completely at odds with each other: saving money and gambling. In Highland Park, MI, PLS accounts have been very successful at converting "non-savers" into "savers". Why hasn't it caught on in the US? It's illegal in most states, of course.
posted by Jonathan Harford on Dec 2, 2010 - 33 comments

Lottery Madness Grips the Delusional Nation
Odds of winning Powerball: 80 million to one
Odds of dying in an airplane crash: 7 million to one
Odds of being hit by lightening: 600,000 to one
Odds of perishing in a California earthquake: 600,000 to one
Odds of dying in an automobile accident: 20,000 to one

While legalized gambling may suck, at least your life is priceless?
posted by yarf on Aug 22, 2001 - 32 comments

I bought 3 Quick Picks for the Lottery this week, thinking that if there were any balance in the universe I'd be due for a big payoff... If SuperLotto was High/Low, I'd have nailed it. I got one number. ONE. 5 number for lotto x 3 quick picks = 15 potential correct numbers. I got ONE. On the upside, I'm still due. Touch me now, I'm jam packed full of luck potentiality...
posted by CrazyUncleJoe on Mar 4, 2000 - 5 comments