Betting on hope

The Mega Millions lottery drawing saw its largest jackpot—$500 million—in the game's history Friday.

The chance of winning the Mega Million jackpot is about one in 176 million for each dollar bet, Philip Cook, professor of public policy, economics and sociology, wrote in an email Friday. The current jackpot, however, has made it into the national news meaning that many people who usually do not pay any attention to the lottery are purchasing tickets.

"Buying lottery tickets can be just a game, or it can be an investment," Cook said. "Right now playing Mega Millions gives people a chance to personally participate in this event that everyone is talking about.... That makes it fun and sociable."

State lotteries have grown in recent years through offering products to encourage players to spend more. Such packages include bundles of instant tickets or $5 tickets rather than traditional $1 tickets, he said.

"If you buy $176 worth of tickets, you would have one chance in one million of winning," Cook said. "Or if you spent $176 million and covered all possible bets, then you'd be sure to win, and you might even come out ahead—unless you had to split the pot with other winners."

Since Cook began his research in 1985, he noted that lotteries have become more "generous." Rather than paying out 50 cents worth of prizes for each dollar bet, they now pay 60 cents or more. This generosity makes lottery play more competitive with other forms of gambling, he said.

Cook noted that although the lottery can be fun and provide hope, those who play because they believe they can better themselves financially have little hope of success.

"They are generally doomed to disappointment," he said.