Powerball Loser

Introduction

The lottery is a sucker's bet.

Powerball Loser is a simulator that demonstrates how the odds of winning are stacked against you. It can be a useful teaching tool in a math class on combinatorics or probability and statistics. Start the simulation at the beginning of class and check its progress throughout the lesson. Detailed help is provided here.

Powerball is played by drawing six balls: five from a pool of 69 where each ball has a number from 1 to 69 painted on it; and one (the Powerball) from a pool of 26. Here are the various matching scenarios that result in a payout:

1. There is no payout for matching just two of the five drawn from the pool of 69.
2. With regard to the first sequence (matching just the Powerball): The reason the odds are 1 in 38.32 and not 1 in 26 is because this sequence assumes you only match the Powerball and not at least one other ball in the drawing of five regular balls.

If you purchase just one $2 ticket, your chance of winning the big money (as a percentage) is 0.00000034223%. Which makes me think: Hey! If you want to plunk down $2 and dream your dream - go for it. Somebody has to win, so it might as well be you, right? It's a cheap thrill for $2, however, if you think you're going to significantly increase your odds by buying multiple tickets then just keep your money instead. If you buy 10,000 unique Powerball tickets (at a cost of $20,000) then your chance of winning the Jackpot goes up to a whopping .0034223%. You'd have much better odds if you took the $20K, walked up to a roulette wheel at a casino, and put it all on black.

• Reset reinitializes the individual drawing results and the total results for the simulation. It does not affect the Target Draw, Tickets to Buy or Jackpot values. You can set those separately as you wish.
• Run starts the simulation.
• Stop stops the simulation.
• Help brings you to this page.
• Generate Target Draw creates a random target drawing (five regular picks + one Powerball). When running, the simulation performs random drawings and compares each one to this target. Results are computed and displayed (see Results below). Note: When you first start the program, an initial random Target Draw is generated for you.
• Tickets to Buy and Jackpot: These two fields allow you to control the parameters of the game. You can determine how many imaginary tickets you want to buy and what the expected payout is for matching five regular balls, plus the power ball -- hitting the jackpot!
• Powerball Loser supports Dark Mode. You can choose the display mode format for the simulation from the View menu. Display mode settings will persist when you quit the program.

The results of the simulation are displayed here. The result of each simulated drawing is compared to the target and subtotals are recorded in the first section (Drawing Result; Number of Hits; Subtotal Winnings). The second section keeps track of the results for the entire run of the simulation. Chances are high that you'll always end up with a negative profit (Loss).