Could You Buy Every Possible Powerball Number and Guarantee a Win?

The simple answer is yes!  But it's not a good bet or big guys like Warren Buffet or Mark Cuban would have jumped on it faster than a 9 year old on a candy bar.

Let me explain.  According to CNN Money, it would cost you $584 million to buy every combination, and you'd essentially have to hire an entire army working 24-7 to buy the 292 million tickets it would take to cover all combinations.

With the lump sum jackpot payment estimated to be around $868 million, you'd get a $284 million profit on your investment.

BUT...there's always a BUT isn't there?  But, if the jackpot has any other winners, even if only one, then you have to split the winnings and your $284 million win now becomes a $100 million loss.  And you've only got a 22% chance of being the only winner, so the simple math makes it a terrible bet. And we haven't even begun to discuss the tax implications yet.