You seem to place a lot of importance in picking numbers. It's a gimmick. They could come up with something where you entered the lottery by using your Social Security number so that you have one entry to play. Every person that enters a lottery is just hoping that they get picked. How they entered and play the game is trivial.
Another fine fellow with socialism on the brain. Any relation to Mav? I'm not telling anyone how to run their business. I'm just sharing my opinion of what I might do if I were running the lottery. Different people, different opinions. See how that works? I think the prize is probably overkill, in that you'd probably get similar interest with somewhat smaller prizes, say 50 million? So you can have more draws by dividing the pot and drawing multiple winning numbers, either all at once, or in relatively quick succession. I think it would draw an equal crowd, and maybe even more so because of the greater number of chances of winning serious money (even though the probability is still painfully close to zero).
Perfect example. Slot machines. I liked playing Australian slots. It seems to be a game of skill, you get to play one or many lines. But in the end, it's all a gimmick. Just put your money in the machine and press the button.
Do you think this idea hasn't been thought of before? Why did Powerball, just take it from $1/ticket to $2/ticket? To get bigger jackpots. That is what the people want, I would assume. It's not as if the lottery is a new concept, or their is no way to do market research for what is desired.
...people who cannot see any aspect of the world around them without their ideological overlay taking center stage?
The same could be said for you. Just because your idea of a good lotto system has more "fairness" doesn't mean that the market demands it.
They did that some years ago here in Canada as well, raising the ticket price from $1 per ticket to $2. While I was always good for a $1 expenditure each week, even though there are two draws per week, I now almost never buy a ticket. Even though they upped the jackpot, the raise in price is like asking me: "Just how stupid are you? We aim to find out." I asked a retailer who sold the tickets how purchase patterns changed since the price and jackpot change. He advised that his sales were roughly the same in dollar terms. He sold fewer tickets. Frankly, if I'm going to be stupid enough to buy lottery tickets, I want to spend as little as I can. And if I spend more, I want the probability to be higher, more so than the potential outcome. But I realize that's just my own preference.
I'm not placing any importance on picking numbers. That is what the lottery is. LOL. So basically what you want is a raffle, not a lottery. Everyone buys a raffle ticket and at the end of the day, we pick 10 tickets from the bin. We already have raffles. But that is what you are asking for. The lottery though is not a raffle, it's a lottery where people pick numbers. That's what it is. If you think that a raffle would be profitable to run, why don't you start one? Here's a hint, you probably won't make any money. LOL.
Not more "fairness." More chances to win! The expected value doesn't change! Seriously, are you even thinking or are you just on Right Wing autopilot?