Today I bought one thing I rarely buy and one thing I have never bought before.
First, I purchased a lottery ticket. Usually, I consider the lottery a tax on people who do not understand math, but the jackpot is up to $300 million. My odds of winning are 1 in 175 million. Which means this is one of those rare times it is completely rational to buy a lottery ticket. My odds of winning are still insanely small, but if I do manage to win, the payout is proportional to the odds. This is the essence of a fair game. If I bet on a horse which is 3 to 1, I should get paid $3 for every dollar I bet. If I bet on a horse which is 175 million to 1, I should get paid $175 million for every dollar I bet. Since I will pay $1 on the lottery ticket, I am actually getting paid out of proportion to my odds of winning in my own favor. This is rare with a lottery.
I'm still not going to win, but this is one of those rare times the lottery is a good bet.
The other thing I bought was a pack of cigarettes. I have never bought a pack of smokes before, even though I did used to earn a paycheck from Philip Morris (Altria, technically speaking). I am still keeping up my lifetime ban of smoking cigarettes, but I made a pact with Acosta. In order to keep him from killing his PC partner (me), I have to keep a steady supply of emergency cigarettes on my person at all times. In order to prevent him from just using me as a way for him to quit buying cigarettes, I am buying Marlboro's, which are not his brand. It also shows a certain loyalty to those good people who employed me.
Man, those things are expensive. I'm already thinking about quitting.
2 comments:
Actually, the lottery still isn't a good bet. When the jackpots get huge, a lot of people (thinking exactly like you're thinking) buy tickets. This greatly increases the likelihood that more than one person will have the winning numbers. If this occurs, the pot is split, and you come out behind. Let's say the pot is $300 million. Chances are, 2-5 people will win it, meaning each share of the pot is between $150 million and $60 million. If your chances of winning are 175 million to 1, it's still not a good bet.
The jackpots are huge but the prizes that we get are less.. It's because of huge number of people buy lottery tickets and you can't judge who will win the lottery..I wish this time you win the best and the amazing prizes that you wanted..
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