Lotto 6/49 Many states and countries operate lotteries in which the customer picks n of m numbers, in any order, where n is consider ably smaller than m. In one version of this lottery, which I will call Lotto 6/49, players circle 6 numbers out of 49 using a ticket like that in Figure 4.2. The order in which numbers are circled does not matter. You win the grand prize if all 6 are correct. What is the probability that you win the Lotto 6/49 any one time you play? Notice that this is similar to picking six consecutive aces out of a deck with 49 cards, if 6 of those cards are aces.

The fact that the probability of winning the lottery is low does not imply that it is necessarily irrational to buy these tickets. (We will return to this topic in Part 3.) Nevertheless, it may be fun to ask some questions about these lotteries.