Are the odds 1 in 28.6 million for a single $5 Lotto Max winning the jackpot?
I am curious to know what the general public thinks the odds are for a $5 Lotto Max ticket of winning the jackpot. A $5 ticket gives a player 3 lines of numbers. The lottery companies advertise 1 line gives odds of 1 in 85.9 million (rounded off) and 3 lines give odds of 1 in 28.6 million (rounded off). I am 100% convinced the advertised odds are correct. Using my mathematical and statistical background, it is relatively easy to calculate. It is unfortunately somewhat more difficult to prove the answer to a person that does not possess some fundamental mathematics background. The following is the motivation to my question. A friend of mine recently asked me to provide a definite proof. He told me he needed to convince a group of the answer. As it turned out, the group he was referring to was an online lottery forum that I used to belong to. The lottery forum is dedicated to one topic only and many of the members proudly profess to be lottery experts. The topic of Lotto Max odds came up
