Despite the long odds, Powerball offers a short-term thrill

Never mind the statistics and grim improbabilities.

A record-breaking $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot that’s driving a national frenzy is all about dreams, not cold, harsh reality.

Talk to a statistician or mathematician in search of secrets to increase your odds of becoming the next Powerball multimillionaire and you’ll likely feel sheepish as you plunk down $2 for Wednesday’s almost unfathomable jackpot. “I think 110 people won a lottery, not the top prize … by using numbers on a fortune cookie,” said University of Minnesota mathematician Doug Arnold. But mostly it’s random and you might as well have a computer generate the numbers, he said.

http://www.startribune.com/dreams-defy-odds-as-powerball-pot-grows-to-1-5-billion/365016701/