California State Lottery to be confused with the gold-colored ball in Mega Millions, which also is known as the "Mega Number".) The California Lottery has offered a number of jackpot games, beginning with its "6-49" game in 1986, which became a 53-number game (drawing a seventh, "bonus" ball) in 1990, then changed again, to a 51-number game. The current variant, 5/47 + 1/27, began in 2000. On February 16th, 2002, the California Lottery's then-highest payout of $193 million was split by three tickets. Other big jackpots include $141 million dollars on Saturday June 23rd, 2001 that was won by one ticket, a $122
Lottery utility maximization, as the curvature of the utility function can be adjusted to capture risk-seeking behavior. More general models based on utility functions defined on things other than the lottery outcomes can also account for lottery purchase. In addition to the lottery prizes, the ticket may enable some purchasers to experience a thrill and to indulge in a fantasy of becoming wealthy. If the entertainment value (or other non-monetary value) obtained by playing is high enough for a given individual, then the purchase of a lottery ticket could represent a gain in overall utility. In such a case, the disutility