Quote from lwlee:
I don't know what your point is on this one.
$50 million or $450 million is pretty much the same to most Americans (same in the sense that either one is life-changing already). Most Americans buy a handful of tickets, anywhere from 1 to 15 tickets (totally guessing). Only the stat geeks (with money) that think they have an edge go crazy and try to "corner" the lottery.
How much do you think the average active lottery player spends in his/her lifetime on lottery tickets? 1k? 5k? 25k? It's not a dollar dude. These people spend a fortune and that's why it's often called the harshest tax on the poor, because that is really what it is, a tax. And an expensive one at that.