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FEB. 11, 2015
Neil Irwin
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But the key intuition is that while you are still throwing away money when buying a lottery ticket, you are throwing away less in strictly economic terms when you buy into an unusually large Powerball jackpot.
I am the type of financial decision-maker who tracks bond and currency markets and builds elaborate spreadsheets to simulate outcomes of various retirement savings strategies. But I also enjoy daydreaming about how I would live my life if I came into obscene wealth. And I can easily afford to spend a few dollars on a Powerball ticket. Time to head to the convenience store and do just that.
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