Buying one $1 lottery ticket earns you a tiny chance − 1 in 175,000,000 for the Powerball—of becoming absurdly wealthy.
NOT buying that one ticket gives you a chance of zero.
There are ways to win a lottery without buying a ticket. For example, someone may buy you a ticket as a present, without your knowledge, which then wins.
So buying one ticket is “infinitely” better than buying no tickets.
No, it is much more likely that you’ll win the lottery by buying tickets than by not buying tickets (assuming it’s unlikely to be gifted a ticket), but the cost of being gifted a ticket is zero, which makes not buying tickets an “infinitely” better return on investment.
There are ways to win a lottery without buying a ticket. For example, someone may buy you a ticket as a present, without your knowledge, which then wins.
No, it is much more likely that you’ll win the lottery by buying tickets than by not buying tickets (assuming it’s unlikely to be gifted a ticket), but the cost of being gifted a ticket is zero, which makes not buying tickets an “infinitely” better return on investment.