* Expected value of the lottery tickets is normally negative. (You pay $1, you expect on average to get back less than $1).
* At a certain point, if the jackpot grows too large, the game switches to a new "windfall" mode where the expected value is actually _positive_ to bleed off the jackpot. (You pay $1, you expect on average to get back more than $1).
* The couple and the MIT students only played during the positive expected value times.
Overall the game still makes money for the state, it's just it has two distinct regimes, and the people playing during negative-EV essentially bankroll both the state and the positive-EV players.
* At a certain point, if the jackpot grows too large, the game switches to a new "windfall" mode where the expected value is actually _positive_ to bleed off the jackpot. (You pay $1, you expect on average to get back more than $1).
* The couple and the MIT students only played during the positive expected value times.
Overall the game still makes money for the state, it's just it has two distinct regimes, and the people playing during negative-EV essentially bankroll both the state and the positive-EV players.