Re: [Phys-L] lottery fundamentals (and failing to gamble where one should in real life)

["Folkerts, Timothy J" <FolkertsT@bartonccc.edu>]

> > In theory, could you ever pick all the combinations in a lottery, 
> > pay for the tickets, and win money?
>
> No, for at least two reasons.

With the "progressive" lottery systems (like "Powerball" in the US) you could.   If there is no winner, then the money rolls over to the next prize.  With a long enough string of draws with no winners, the odds could in principle go in your favor.  If the odds are 10,000,000:1 and the prize has built up to $100,000,000, then "investing" $10,000,000 to all the numbers would give you $50,000,000 expected return (give or take the amount you added yourself and the odds of sharing the prize).