Why Do States Want Lottery Winners to Take Cash? (Lottery Trivia Question 2010-06)

This week's Lottery Trivia Question is about Investing Lottery Winnings.

Our Trivia Question #2010-06 is: 

The lure of huge jackpots draws folks to play the lottery. But, most players opt to collect the Cash Prize rather than the Annuity. So we ask:

• Why do most players take the Cash Option?
• Why do the States want you to take the Cash?

Enter your answer by leaving a Comment to this post below. Leave your name, and if you have a website or blog, provide it's URL and name.

We will provide the correct answer next Monday, April 5th, and will post your name and a URL link back to your site.

Happy Easter!

JL.........

Optimal Lottery Mix of 3 Even and 2 Odd Balls is Best (Lottery Trivia Answer 2010-05)

Last Week's Trivia Question #2010-05 was: 

In Mega Millions and Powerball, particular patterns of numbers tend to occur more frequently during certain periods of time.

• So, after a review the past 3 month results, is it possible to identify particular mix of odd and even numbers that outpaced the expected probabilities?

To this, the Correct Answer is: Absolutely YES! Here's why:

• In Mega Millions, there are an equal amount of 28 odd and even white balls. But, in the last 3 months, 3-even and 2-odd number combinations have been drawn 11 out of 26 times, although only 8 would be expected.
• Similarily in Powerball, the odd balls have a slight 30 to 29 even ball advantage.  But, in the last 3 months, the 3-even and 2-odd number combinations have been drawn 12 out of 26 times, although only 8 would be expected.
• From this, we can conclude that presently, the 3-even and 2-odd white ball combinations have a clear advantage.
• And, from this, we find that, presently, there is a short term bias toward the even numbers!

JL.........

What is the Optimal Mix of Odd & Even Numbers? (Lottery Trivia Question 2010-05)

This week's Lottery Trivia Question is about an Optimal Distribution of Numbers.

Our Trivia Question #2010-05 is: 

Given so many numbers to pick from, particular patterns of numbers tend to occur more frequently during certain periods of time.

• Reviewing the past 3 month, what is the best mix of odd and even numbers that outpaced the expected probabilities?

Enter your answer by leaving a Comment to this post below. Leave your name, and if you have a website or blog, provide it's URL and name.

We will provide the correct answer next Monday, March 29th, and will post your name and a URL link back to your site.

Have Fun,

JL.........

Lottery Numbers Are Not Always Equally Distributed Between Odd and Even (Lottery Trivia Answer 2010-04)

Last Week's Trivia Question #2010-04 was: 

In most lotteries, you would think there is a 50% chance of Odd numbers and 50% chance of Even numbers being drawn.

• So, based on historical data, do actual drawing occurrences obey the expected laws of probability?

The Correct Answer is:

• It depends on the Lottery Game you are looking at.
• During the past year, the occurrences of an Odd Powerball being drawn are about 62.5% (or 5 out of 8), whereas only 51.3% are expected.
• And, if you play Mega Millions, odd Megaballs are also drawn more frequently then even ones.
• So when selecting the bonus balls in these 2 games, the odd numbered balls have the advantage.

JL.........

Are All Lottery Numbers Equally Distributed Between Odd and Even? (Lottery Trivia Question 2010-04)

This week's Lottery Trivia Question is about Lottery Number Distributions.

Our Trivia Question #2010-04 is: 

Many people like to play Even and Odd Lottery numbers. Based on probabilities, one would expect there to be a 50% chance of Odd numbers and 50% chance of Even numbers being drawn?

• So we ask: Based on historical data, do actual drawing occurrences obey the laws of probability?

Enter your answer by leaving a Comment to this post below. Leave your name, and if you have a website or blog, provide it's URL and name.

We will provide the correct answer next Monday, March 15th, and will post your name and a URL link back to your site.

Have Fun,

JL.........

All Even White Powerball Numbers Are Overdue

Reviewing our Poweball Even / Odd Analysis page, we observe that the chance of all Even white numbers being drawn is now overdue. As of this date, five white ball combinations have not been drawn during the past 6 months.  Based on probabilities, we would expect to see 1.23 occurrences during this period.

Thus, we conclude that this patten of numbers is now overdue and is a viable playing strategy offering a realistic chance of winning within the next few drawings.

With Wednesday's drawing at $170 million, we believe that our members should include at least one set of all even numbers in their playing portfolio of tickets.

JL............

Slight Changes to Our Hot & Cold Lottery Pages Coming Soon

Our recently released Hot / Cold Lottery number pages have been extremely successful. Looking at our visitor statistics, we find that these pages have continually grown.

To help visitors visualize how these numbers have performed during the past few drawings, we will be making slight modifications to our pages.

At present, we sequentially list the hot & cold numbers in the upper right panel on the page.

This will be replaced by a Tabbed Panel containing the color coded last 6 results, and tables of: hot numbers only, cold only, and both hot and cold numbers.

We expect to release this modification in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned and visit often!