It’s something many of us dream about, but few will ever experience: winning the lottery. The idea of buying a ticket for a few bucks and turning it into hundreds of millions of dollars overnight is tempting. We all know it’s unlikely to happen, yet millions play every week. Here are the top 10 bizarre facts about lotteries, in no particular order. (See also: Playing the Lottery Is a Bad Gamble)
1. Non-Winning Tickets Can Be Used Again
Don’t just toss your losing tickets. Whether they are scratch cards, quick picks, or personal numbers, these tickets can be reused for second-chance drawings. Lotteries promote this to enhance customer loyalty but often don’t advertise it well. Some states may require you to mail in your ticket, while others ask for the serial number. It’s a free entry, so why not check your state’s second-chance lottery after each draw? You might get lucky.
2. Good Manners Cost One Powerball Player $590 Million
When Mindy Crandell was buying her ticket at Publix, she kindly let an 84-year-old woman go ahead in line. This polite act, however, cost her a fortune. The woman purchased a Quick Pick ticket that Mindy was supposed to get, resulting in Gloria C. Mackenzie from Florida winning over $370 million before taxes. Mindy ended up with nothing but a lesson in politeness.
3. You’re More Likely to Be Killed by a Vending Machine Than Win a Lottery
Unfortunately, it’s true. Most lotteries have staggering odds. For instance, the Mega Millions lottery has odds of 176 million to 1. Statistically, you have a higher chance of being killed by a vending machine (112 million to 1), becoming president (10 million to 1), or dying in a bathtub (840,000 to 1). If you leave now to buy a lottery ticket, your odds suggest you might die before winning the jackpot.
4. You Can Guarantee a Lottery Win, but It’s a Logistical Nightmare
Buying nearly every combination of lottery tickets can seem self-defeating. For a jackpot of $20 million, you’d spend far more than the jackpot to gain any advantage. However, when jackpots exceed $400 million, the math changes. Organizing such an operation would require a massive syndicate, with significant trust issues and complex distribution of winnings. A wealthy individual could potentially corner the market, but they would likely find better investment opportunities.
5. Many Lottery Winners Blow Their Fortunes Quickly
Sudden wealth can lead to reckless spending. Winners often lack financial knowledge, treating their winnings like free money. $15 million might seem unspendable, but without careful investing, it can vanish quickly. Michael Carroll, a UK garbage man, exemplified this after blowing his $15 million lottery win by 27 and returning to work as a garbage collector. (See also: People Who Became Millionaires Overnight and What They Did With the Money)
6. Fortune Cookies Can Predict Winners
It turns out fortune cookie numbers can be just as lucky as any other random selection. In 2005, a group of 110 people played the same fortune cookie numbers, leading to 89 winners who each received $100,000, and 21 others who got $500,000 with Power Play. While it’s not a bad payout, it wasn’t the fortune they had anticipated, and it sparked a fraud investigation.
7. The “1,2,3,4,5,6” Combo Is as Likely as Any, but You Should Never Play It
Statistically, choosing “1,2,3,4,5,6” is just as valid as any other combination. However, there are reasons to avoid it. Many players choose this sequence, believing it must come up eventually, which means you would likely share the jackpot. Additionally, this combination has never been drawn, indicating that the perceived odds might not reflect reality. You’re better off with random numbers.
8. Some Lives Are Ruined by Winning the Lottery
Be careful what you wish for. Money doesn’t guarantee happiness. In fact, lottery winnings can lead to family breakups, friendships ending, and even criminal threats. While a lack of money can certainly cause distress, an abundance of it has ironically brought misery to many winners.
9. You Better Know Where You Bought That Ticket
Lottery officials don’t automatically hand over cash for winning tickets; they verify the buyer’s identity and where the ticket was bought. In 2010, Iowa lottery officials faced a mystery when no one claimed a $14.3 million prize. It wasn’t until a year later that Crawford Shaw, presenting the ticket via lawyers, showed up. His story raised doubts, and to this day, the prize has yet to be claimed.
10. Scammers Use the Names of Lottery Winners
The story of Violet and Allen Large, who won over $11 million and donated almost all of it, served as an invitation for scammers. Their names were used in email scams claiming to give away money, operating similarly to Nigerian email scams. If you receive such messages, know they are fraudulent.
What would you do with your lottery winnings? Please share in the comments! [Buy a Zeppelin and travel the world in it. — Ed.]
