Powerball Loser

Powerball Loser was written in SwiftUI and requires macOS 10.15 or greater.

Powerball Loser is a simulator that demonstrates how the odds of winning are stacked against you. It can be a useful teaching tool in a math class on combinatorics or probability and statistics. Start the simulation at the beginning of class and check its progress throughout the lesson. Detailed help is included.

Powerball is played by drawing six balls: five from a pool of 69 where each ball has a number from 1 to 69 painted on it; and one (the Powerball) from a pool of 26. If you purchase just one $2 ticket, your chance of winning the big money (as a percentage) is 0.00000034223%. Which makes me think: Hey! If you want to plunk down $2 and dream your dream - go for it. Somebody has to win, so it might as well be you, right? Its a cheap thrill for $2, however, if you think youre going to significantly increase your odds by buying multiple tickets then just keep your money instead. If you buy 10,000 unique Powerball tickets (at a cost of $20,000) then your chance of winning the Jackpot goes up to a whopping .0034223%. Youd have much better odds if you took the $20K, walked up to a roulette wheel at a casino, and put it all on black. Powerball Loser shows you just how unfavorable the odds are.