With the Powerball jackpot at a high of $1.3 billion following a weekend with no winners, many people are going to their local gas station or convenience store and picking up a ticket with the hope of cashing in.
One of those people is TikTok user Kel (@pilatesbykel). She revealed in a recent video that she and her husband have spent $1,000 on Powerball tickets.
However, some are responding to this by saying that buying $1,000 worth of lottery tickets doesn’t actually increase your chances of winning. So, is this true? And if not, are there any real ways to increase your chances?
What Does Buying $1,000 Worth of Lottery Tickets Do to Your Odds?
“My husband had the brilliant idea of spending $1,000 on lottery tickets,” she says in her video. She added that doing so required the pair to visit multiple locations.
In a follow-up video, she revealed that, while they didn’t win the jackpot, they managed to get back $100 for the 450 tickets they bought.
“It was just fun to do,” she says in the video. “It’s not like this was our last thousand dollars. Like, why would I use my last thousand dollars on something that I’m just going to probably lose?”
“You guys take everything so seriously,” she adds of the detractors in her comments section. “It was just a fun little date night thing to do. We didn’t win. We wish we would have won. Everyone wishes they would have won.”
So, how did buying all of those tickets actually affect their odds?
On the Powerball website, the prize chart states that the odds of winning the grand prize are currently 1 in 292,201,338.00. If one buys 450 tickets, their odds increase to approximately 1 in 649,337.
While this may sound a lot better, the odds are still really, really low. For example, you’re about 17,088 times more likely to hit a single number on a standard roulette wheel. And around 42 times more likely to be struck by lightning in your lifetime.
In short, while buying more lottery tickets does technically improve your chances, the improvements made are, in real-world terms, typically marginal. If you’re looking to make money, there are certainly better ways to invest $1,000.
@pilatesbykel #powerball #fyp ♬ original sound – pilatesbykel
Commenters Share Their Thoughts
In the comments section, users were divided about the couple’s decision to spend $1,000 on lottery tickets.
“People don’t understand that when you gamble, you gamble what you are willing to lose. you never expect to win. lol, that’s why it’s called gambling,” wrote a user.
“It’s your money you worked for it do whatever you want to do with it,” offered another.
“Your husband just added 1000$ to someone else’s wealth hahah,” stated a third.
“If you can spend 1000 dollars plus on lottery tickets, you don’t need to win,” declared a further TikToker.
The Mary Sue reached out to Kel via TikTok direct message and comment.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
