The whole lottery con game: Now CBS is telling people where they should buy their tickets to have a better chance of winning

I remember how people opposed to the lottery in New York State managed to stall off their starting it up for years based on the simple truth that big lotteries like that are really just a stealth tax on the poor and a way of the State cashing in on and encouraging compulsive gambling.

Get this story from CBS which I just picked up on Facebook:

Powerball jackpot at $425M: Where's your best chance to win?

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Wednesday may just be the day that changes your life, especially if you buy a ticket to tonight's Powerball lottery.
The jackpot is estimated to be $425 million, the fourth largest of any U.S. lottery.
However, before you start dreaming big, there maybe some ways to increase your chances.

• Powerball jackpot swells to $400 million
• Fla. woman, 84, claims record Powerball prize
• Seven-time lottery winner shares secret to winning Powerball

First of all, out of the 43 states that participate in the Powerball, there are some that appear luckier than others.

For example, Pennsylvania has had 16 winners in its history. The next luckiest state is Indiana with 11. New Jersey brings up the rear with just three jackpot wins.

Most Powerball Jackpots Won Since 2003

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Source: Multi-State Lottery Association

Richard Lustig, seven-time lottery grand prize winner and author of "Learn How To Increase Your Chances of Winning The Lottery" shared some other tips on how to win in a previous interview with CBSNews.com.

"The lazy way out is to buy quick-picks. The computer picks out the numbers. Don't play quick-picks. Quick-picks are the worst thing you can do, you are playing with the worst odds," said Lustig.
The Associated Press reports that there are more winning lottery tickets for smaller $1 million and $2 million prizes since a major overhaul of the Powerball game in January 2012.

Powerball winner Gloria C. Mackenzie, 84, left, leaves the lottery office escorted by her son, Scott Mackenzie, after claiming a single lump-sum payment of about $370.9 million before taxes on June 5, 2013, in Tallahassee, Fla.

/ AP Photo/Steve Cannon 

 

The biggest single-winner of the Powerball jackpot is 84-year-old Gloria C. Mackenzie of Florida, who won $590.5 million after she opted for the lump sum payment of nearly $371 million rather than the 30-year option.
So although the odds of winning are one in 175 million, that's another decision you'll have to make when you win - how you would like to receive the jackpot?
You can take it in 30 annual payments, valued at $425 million or you can ask for the lump sum of $244.7 million.

Good luck.

"Good Luck" is right!!! While everybody who has studied it scientifically knows that there are indeed ways of improving your odds in gambling and in the case of poker, if you are really capable of it mentally, you can do a hell of a lot better than other people "The House Wins" is the name of the game when it comes to gambling. (They ban people who are too good at Blackjack from Casino anyway, because like in Bridge if you are really good at counting cards and making educated guesses, you increase you chances of winning a LOT).

But going to Pennsylvania to buy a ticket to have a better chance of winning the lottery? How 
harebrained can you get?

We have to have two articles on this: on how the NY State Lottery got started and why gambling is basically a sucker's game anyway.