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 Lotteries
are the most popular type of gambling by far. Not coincidentally the largest ones are run by government
entities. Also not coincidentally they offer pitifully putrid odds to players as a group. Typically 40%
of player-contributed monies are used for public education or something similar. That's fine of course,
but it just points out how awful normal bets on the lottery are.
However, lotteries regularly do offer good bets. In a lottery where there are only sixteen million number
combinations, when jackpots climb over one hundred million dollars, making a bet is a good use of a buck.
Even if you share the prize three ways you should show a return that reflected a positive expectation.
Scratch-off ticket lottery play though is an act of pure donation. They print out tickets in batches, and
they offer precisely that 60% or so return on a dollar.
Keno games are lotteries on a mini-scale, but unlike lotteries where an overlay is possible when a prize
pool grows huge, keno games are seldom set up with progressive prizes. Instead, the odds are always
stacked heavily against you. There is no such thing as keno strategy, except of course: "don't play".
How much of a donator you are depends on how the house constructs its keno game, but you are always an
underdog, always trying to "get lucky", always basically setting fire to money. As elsewhere, you can
spend some bucks for the fun of it, but playing keno is an act of pure gamble. The casino appreciates it though.
How much gamble is there in Lotteries?
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