Please Resist Temptation to Play Powerball

With the Powerball lottery jackpot at record levels, the nation’s attention is riveted on tonight's drawing. Everyone is weighing in on whether it makes economic sense to play the lottery. In terms of pure expected value, playing the lottery is a bad bet -- in fact, it really has to be, since if the house weren’t guaranteed to win, the lottery wouldn’t be offered in the first place. So why do people seem so willing to throw away their money?