I have narrowed the odds a lot on Powerball and Lousianna Lotto..... having been a machinist in a previous life, I know that there is absolutely no way that there can be 50 however many balls made *EXACTLY* the same....there will always be some differances in surface finish, molecular density, roundness, etc... no matter how slight, they will be there. Consider.... take the numbers from the last 30 or so drawings... count up how many times each number came up....some will come up 5 or 6 times, others will not have been drawn at all. Use the numbers that come up most frequently, and you will narrow the odds considerably. I generally break even... and I only missed the $310M Powerball jackpot by 2 numbers.

FWIW, If I did win the big one, I would have to get the annuity.... think 5 or 6 million a year (after taxes) for 30 years. once I had my family taken care of, my own needs and wants would only run about $200,000. After the first splurge, I can live off of the interest very nicely. For the rest... my church would get 10%, I would have to make a sizable donation to the Shriners hospitals and burn centers, set up a foundation to make loans/grants for college educations and start-up businesses.

BTW... the tax rate for me as a single taxpayer, and sole propriator is approximately 40%.