M2D1: Powerball Lottery

I would use the combination because the order of the numbers don’t matter. I would use a
permutation if order mattered. The number of ways to choose r objects from n when there is a drawing
without replacement is:

𝑛!
𝐶(𝑛, 𝑟) =
(𝑟! ∗ (𝑛 − 𝑟)!)

The probability of winning the big jackpot is given by the total number of ways to win divided by the
possible number of outcomes.
55!
There are 𝐶(55,5) = = 3,478,761 ways to pick your five numbers. And there are
(5!∗(55−5)!)
𝐶(42,1) = 42 ways to pick the powerball. Thus there are 3,478,761 ∗ 42 = 146,107,962 total number
of ways that the drawing can occur. There is only one way to win the jackpot therefore there is a
1
chance of winning a jackpot. This matches the number given by the lottery itself.
146107962

The assumption in the letter is that any 5 numbers from the 55 available out of the non-powerball
numbers could be chosen. The actual assumption is that none of the winning non powerball numbers
are chosen by the player. If some were then it would be under the white plus red scenario.

For the red powerball the player picked 5 of the 50 losing non-powerball numbers 𝐶(50,5) =
50!
= 2118760 possible choices. He also picked the one correct powerball and 0 of the 42 losing
(5!∗(50−5)!)
2118760
powerballs. These both equal 1 so therefore the odds of winning are 146107962, which is pretty close to
1/69.