WEBVTT - What Size Lottery Jackpot Makes People Play?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren bobibam here. In August two, the Mega

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<v Speaker 1>Millions lottery jackpot hit one point three three seven billion dollars,

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<v Speaker 1>the second largest jackpot in the game's history. It had

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people stepping up to buy tickets, because

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<v Speaker 1>even if you know for a fact that the odds

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<v Speaker 1>of winning that jackpot are just one in three hundred

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<v Speaker 1>two million, five hundred and seventy five thousand, three hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fifty, even if you know logically that you're far

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<v Speaker 1>more likely to get eaten by a shark or elected president,

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<v Speaker 1>buying a two dollar ticket seems like a small price

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<v Speaker 1>to pay for the chance to be ridiculously rich. According

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<v Speaker 1>to calculations by the statistics nerds at, the number of

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<v Speaker 1>people who play lotteries like Mega Millions or Powerball increases

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<v Speaker 1>exponentially with the cash value of the act pot. In

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<v Speaker 1>other words, the bigger the payoff, the more suckers are

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<v Speaker 1>people play. Here's how it works today. We're going to

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<v Speaker 1>use Powerball as our example. Every time someone wins the

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<v Speaker 1>Powerball jackpot, that jackpot resets to a prize of forty

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<v Speaker 1>million dollars Apparently only die hard powerball players buy tickets

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<v Speaker 1>when the jackpot is below a hundred million, but above

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<v Speaker 1>that milestone, ticket sales begin to rise quickly, and the

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<v Speaker 1>real tipping point, however, according to five thirty eight, occurs

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<v Speaker 1>around two hundred and fifty million, when regular Joe office

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<v Speaker 1>workers start pooling cash and ticket sales inflate to more

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<v Speaker 1>than two hundred million tickets per drawing. For the article

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<v Speaker 1>this episode is based on, Has to Work, spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>Gary Miller, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Lottery, back in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty nineteen. The Pennsylvania Lottery is one of forty five

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<v Speaker 1>state lotteries, along with lotteries in Washington, d C, Puerto Rico,

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<v Speaker 1>and the US Virgin Islands, that participate in the power

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<v Speaker 1>ball game. Miller said there is definitely a sweet spot

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<v Speaker 1>for jackpot size when it comes to motivating players. It

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<v Speaker 1>used to be in the two hundred million range, but

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<v Speaker 1>now players seem to really engage when a jackpot reaches

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<v Speaker 1>three hundred million or above. The lottery is a big business.

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<v Speaker 1>In seen alone, Americans spent seventy one point eight billion

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<v Speaker 1>dollars on lottery games. That's about two hundred and twenty

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<v Speaker 1>dollars per adult American that year. But don't think for

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<v Speaker 1>a minute that the Multi State Lottery Association, which operates Powerball,

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't want us to spend even more. In October of

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<v Speaker 1>the Multi State Lottery Association announced some changes to its

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<v Speaker 1>Powerball gaming matrix, which substantially decreased the odds of winning

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<v Speaker 1>the Powerball Grand prize from a bit over one in

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred and seventy five million to one in two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred two million, two hundred and one thousand, three hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and thirty eight. And you see, the harder it is

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<v Speaker 1>to win the more the jackpot grows, and the more

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<v Speaker 1>the jackpot grows, the more people buy tickets. Miller confirmed

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<v Speaker 1>that the odds change was made because, quote, we do

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<v Speaker 1>know that powerball players are increasingly motivated by larger jackpots.

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<v Speaker 1>And let's not forget another compelling reason why more lottery

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<v Speaker 1>tickets are sold when there's a big, fat jackpot. Press

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<v Speaker 1>like this. Every time the Powerball or Mega Millions gets big,

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<v Speaker 1>the press pounces on the story, and when you hear

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<v Speaker 1>about it, you may know the odds of winning the

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<v Speaker 1>jackpot are roughly the same as pulling your name out

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<v Speaker 1>of a hat filled with the names of every man, woman,

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<v Speaker 1>and child in America. But if you don't buy a ticket,

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<v Speaker 1>your odds are infinitely worse. By the way, as of

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<v Speaker 1>this recording, the winner of that megabillion's jackpot, who bought

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<v Speaker 1>the ticket somewhere in Illinois, has not stepped forward. And

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<v Speaker 1>while that one point three three seven billion is nothing

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<v Speaker 1>to sneeze at, the largest winning lottery to date was

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<v Speaker 1>a one point five eight six billion dollar powerball jackpot,

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<v Speaker 1>which was split between three winners. In Today's episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on the article the lottery tipping point, What size

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<v Speaker 1>jack pot makes you play on how stuff works dot

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<v Speaker 1>com written by Dave Rouse. Brain Stuff is production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio and partnership with how stuff works dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from

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