RandomName39483

They are both horrible.

I ran numbers a while ago using Mega Millions as an example. There are 302,575,350 combinations of numbers. Ignoring the variable jackpot, and ignoring the 'megaplier' option, the fixed prizes have an expected value of just under 25 cents on a $2 ticket.

The grand prize can raise this around 3 cents per 10 million in cash value. That means that a $300 million cash option has a total expected value of around $1.24. That's better than a scratch off, which is an expected value of around $1 on a $2 ticket. However, and here's the big however, the odds of winning that jackpot are incredibly miniscule. If you play Mega Millions twice a week, every week, you will have about a 50/50 chance of hitting the jackpot after about 2 million years.

Want to see how bad Mega Millions is? Try running this simulation for a few thousand years: https://www.cuandomevaatocar.com/en/megamillions/simulator/

EDIT: OP says that scratch offs have an expected value of 70 cents per dollar. I would assume that is correct. The reason scratch offs seem more 'lucky' is that most games have a 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 chance of winning, usually pretty small prizes. Overall odds of winning any prize in Mega Millions are 1 in 24. You're going to win more, smaller prizes with scratch offs.

Our dining-out bill has plummeted, so when we order delivery (maybe once or twice per week), we tip $20 on a $30 order.

Nope, you still owe state and federal taxes on all of this.