Can Socrates predict the lottery? We ran tests on that probably 30 years ago, and the results were interesting. No matter what it is, there is always a cycle. You cannot predict the lottery number as a whole, for the possible variables are tremendous.
In the past few years, we have seen continual advertisements for record-breaking jackpots, but this is not some mere game that you can strategically win. You must realize you are betting against the government, and the house never loses.
Desperate for funds, the government has seemingly been promising larger jackpot prizes. Now, they claim that 65% of their earnings will go to the person with the winning ticket. The federal government takes a mandatory cut of all jackpot winnings and pushes all winners into the top tax bracket. State governments also demand a cut of jackpot winnings. There is a fee for public beneficiaries, retailer commissions, and administration costs as well.
You have a 1 in 292.2 million chance of winning the Powerball lottery and a 1 in 302.6 million chance of hitting the Mega Millions lottery. However, you’re more likely to be struck by lightning (1 in 15,000), attacked by a shark (1 in 3.75 million), or die from a bee sting (1 in 55,764), to name a few.
In addition to collecting taxes on winnings, the government receives tons of funding from ticket purchases. New York, the most popular state for lotto, earned over $10.545 billion from lottery revenue in FY23, allocating $3.7 to the Lottery Aid Education fund. This is a stark jump from FY21 when the state earned $8.5 billion on lottery revenue.
The likelihood that you, as an individual, will win is extremely rare. The likelihood that the government will win is absolutely guaranteed, and they earn more for extended contests and larger jackpots.
What we did discover was partial success on individual numbers—123456. For example, partial success is running an individual cycle on each digit. Trying to run a cycle on the number as a whole was pointless.
