LOST numbers are worth $150

Lindley · January 5 2011, 05:31 AM

Just for fun I bought a Virginia MegaMillions ticket today. I didn't play the LOST numbers----4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42----because that would have been silly.

Or so I thought. The numbers drawn were:
4, 8, 15, 25, 47, and mega ball 42.

According to the rules anyone who played the LOST numbers would have matched 3 plus the mega ball, which is a $150 prize....

Lindley · January 5 2011, 05:56 AM

Actually, something is bugging me about the whole Mega Millions situation. The odds of hitting the jackpot are approximately 1 in 176 million. The jackpot itself is 355 million.

So why wouldn't a billionaire just buy 1 of every possible combination and be guaranteed to double his money? Plus all of the smaller prizes he'd get as well.....

UssGlenn · January 5 2011, 05:59 AM

that's pre-taxes and if you take the lump sum it's even less, if you don't take the lump sum it would take forever to make back the investment.

January 5 2011, 06:04 AM

VA has a law that limits the time one can spend occupying a lottery machine...20 minutes per costumer. So it would take a bunch of people coordinated to buy all the combinations...not saying it couldn't be done...just don't think anyone would bother. Plus the jackpot is $355 million...the cash prize would be little more than half of that...then there are taxes. A billionaire could make more money by just investing the amount they would have spent on buying tickets.

bigdaddy · January 5 2011, 06:07 AM

You will only get $80-$100 million for a lump sum.

Funny that I could have won $150!

Starbreaker · January 5 2011, 06:12 AM

Ugh... I didn't win anything. I've never even gotten a megaball right. I didn't play the Lost numbers because I thought it was stupid as well.. apparently not.

Dream · January 5 2011, 06:14 AM

Wow! The jackpot is really huge right now.

How much did Hurley win in his lottery?

Starbreaker · January 5 2011, 07:39 AM

$114 million dollars

Asbo Zaprudder · January 5 2011, 10:54 AM

Lindley wrote:

So why wouldn't a billionaire just buy 1 of every possible combination and be guaranteed to double his money? Plus all of the smaller prizes he'd get as well...

Besides the reasons already given, I guess there is the finite probability of having to share the winnings with someone else who entered the same winning numbers -- or several other biliionaires who had the same idea.

Aragorn · January 5 2011, 11:02 AM

^ That happened on an episode of The Mentalist. To trick someone into thinking he could get pick any horse race with 100% accuracy, he bought every possible outcome. He did it to solve a crime, but it cost him a lot of money in the process.

Lindley · January 5 2011, 04:21 PM

Aragorn wrote:

^ That happened on an episode of The Mentalist. To trick someone into thinking he could get pick any horse race with 100% accuracy, he bought every possible outcome. He did it to solve a crime, but it cost him a lot of money in the process.

There was a similar story in a Mathnet episode except the scam artist was smarter----he didn't actually buy tickets, he just sent different predictions to a bunch of different people, and followed through with more predictions for those people to whom he'd sent winning race predictions. Eventually one person had gotten every winning prediction and trusted him completely to handle their money....

bigdaddy · January 5 2011, 04:51 PM

if you picked the LOST numbers you MIGHT have won $150. The first 5 numbers are picked from the same group of balls. The power ball is picked from another group of balls. Meaning you can pick 2 4 6 8 10 and then 10 again.

I think....

Lindley · January 5 2011, 04:53 PM

bigdaddy wrote:

if you picked the LOST numbers you MIGHT have won $150. The first 5 numbers are picked from the same group of balls. The power ball is picked from another group of balls. Meaning you can pick 2 4 6 8 10 and then 10 again.

I think....

The drawing has already occurred.

TheGodBen · January 5 2011, 05:00 PM

Around the time that the episode Numbers first aired here, the numbers in the Irish lottery were 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 24 (which is 42 backwards). That creeped me out at the time.

Obiwanshinobi · January 6 2011, 02:12 AM

Somebody in my state won (WA) too bad it wasn't me. Another person from Idaho won too. Bah, 5 bucks squandered.

January 5 2011, 05:31 AM	#1
Lindley Moderator with a Soul Location: Fairfax, VA	LOST numbers are worth $150 Just for fun I bought a Virginia MegaMillions ticket today. I didn't play the LOST numbers----4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42----because that would have been silly. Or so I thought. The numbers drawn were: 4, 8, 15, 25, 47, and mega ball 42. According to the rules anyone who played the LOST numbers would have matched 3 plus the mega ball, which is a $150 prize.... __________________ Lead Organizer for EVN: Firefly. "So apparently the really smart zombies have automatic weapons!" -Torg, Sluggy Freelance

January 5 2011, 05:56 AM	#2
Lindley Moderator with a Soul Location: Fairfax, VA	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 Actually, something is bugging me about the whole Mega Millions situation. The odds of hitting the jackpot are approximately 1 in 176 million. The jackpot itself is 355 million. So why wouldn't a billionaire just buy 1 of every possible combination and be guaranteed to double his money? Plus all of the smaller prizes he'd get as well..... __________________ Lead Organizer for EVN: Firefly. "So apparently the really smart zombies have automatic weapons!" -Torg, Sluggy Freelance

January 5 2011, 05:59 AM	#3
UssGlenn Captain Location: New Orleans, LA	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 that's pre-taxes and if you take the lump sum it's even less, if you don't take the lump sum it would take forever to make back the investment. __________________ "What are you going to do?" "I don't know. I'm making this up as I go."

January 5 2011, 06:04 AM	#4
Jetfire Guest	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 VA has a law that limits the time one can spend occupying a lottery machine...20 minutes per costumer. So it would take a bunch of people coordinated to buy all the combinations...not saying it couldn't be done...just don't think anyone would bother. Plus the jackpot is $355 million...the cash prize would be little more than half of that...then there are taxes. A billionaire could make more money by just investing the amount they would have spent on buying tickets.

January 5 2011, 06:07 AM	#5
bigdaddy Vice Admiral Location: Space Massachusetts	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 You will only get $80-$100 million for a lump sum. Funny that I could have won $150! __________________ "Bqhatevwr" - Former Senator Scott Brown

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January 5 2011, 06:12 AM	#6
Starbreaker Fleet Admiral	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 Ugh... I didn't win anything. I've never even gotten a megaball right. I didn't play the Lost numbers because I thought it was stupid as well.. apparently not.

January 5 2011, 06:14 AM	#7
Dream Admiral	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 Wow! The jackpot is really huge right now. How much did Hurley win in his lottery? __________________ TWoP Forums .

January 5 2011, 07:39 AM	#8
Starbreaker Fleet Admiral	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 $114 million dollars

January 5 2011, 11:02 AM	#10
Aragorn Admiral	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 ^ That happened on an episode of The Mentalist. To trick someone into thinking he could get pick any horse race with 100% accuracy, he bought every possible outcome. He did it to solve a crime, but it cost him a lot of money in the process.

January 5 2011, 04:51 PM	#12
bigdaddy Vice Admiral Location: Space Massachusetts	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 if you picked the LOST numbers you MIGHT have won $150. The first 5 numbers are picked from the same group of balls. The power ball is picked from another group of balls. Meaning you can pick 2 4 6 8 10 and then 10 again. I think.... __________________ "Bqhatevwr" - Former Senator Scott Brown

January 5 2011, 05:00 PM	#14
TheGodBen Rear Admiral Location: Ireland	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 Around the time that the episode Numbers first aired here, the numbers in the Irish lottery were 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 24 (which is 42 backwards). That creeped me out at the time. __________________ *...so many different suns...*

January 6 2011, 02:12 AM	#15
Obiwanshinobi Rear Admiral Location: ObiWanShinobi	Re: LOST numbers are worth $150 Somebody in my state won (WA) too bad it wasn't me. Another person from Idaho won too. Bah, 5 bucks squandered.