Understanding the Odds of a Contest Prize Program

You know that guy on the corner who plays the same numbers in the lottery every week? He convinces himself that he will win one of these days and he must may! But the chances are slim. Someone once said that the odds of your winning the national lottery are only slightly better if you buy a ticket. When you understand the odds of winning a lottery or other statistical contest price program, you may choose to buy lunch or a gallon of gas instead of that lottery ticket.

The trick is to control your expectations. Contest prizes, prize giveaways and lottery contests are tempting but rarely pay off. If it costs you nothing to enter, other than perhaps a postage stamp, by all means you should try for the win. But if the contest prize offered costs you more in tickets and investment than the return, if there ever is one, you might be better served to save your money. 

When you receive the charity flier with the glossy pictures of vacation homes and new cars, turn the pamphlet over and read the legal disclaimers and statistical information before you make a decision. If the charity is something in which you believe, you can make the donation anyway, but don’t make it just to win the contest prize. Remember, there is only one grand prize winner!

Sometimes, a contest prize for a local fund raiser may have better odds. For example, you might pay $10 for the ticket, but the organization may only sell 100 tickets, so your chances of winning are much better. Understanding the odds is a good way to protect yourself from an unreasonable investment in chance. If you are lucky enough to be the winner, you will never regret the investment. Unfortunately, few of us win in any of these contest prize competitions.  

What if your local radio station offers a prize to the tenth caller? You invest nothing but your time and you can hit the redial button as many times as you like until you hear that someone else has won. But even here there are odds to consider. If the radio station is in the middle of Chicago with millions of listeners, your chances of getting through are slim. If it’s a local station in a small market, the contest prize may be smaller, but your chances of winning are better.  

All of us would like the extra cash or the wonderful gift promised in the ad, announcement or brochure, but if we are short on cash, we may be better off spending our hard-earned money on practical purchases. If you have a little money to gamble, go ahead and try for the contest cash prize or giveaway, but be sure to control your expectations and don’t be disappointed if you don’t win!