New York: The chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are not great: just 1 in 292.2 million. Still, with the next drawing scheduled for Wednesday evening in New York, ticket sales are going through the roof around the country. Why the frenzy? At $US1.5 billion ($2.1 billion) it is the largest lottery jackpot ever in the US: No other has broken the $US1 billion mark. But there are other explanations for the mania. With wages and income levels stagnant for many Americans, the lottery has particular allure. And once a frenzy takes hold, it tends to spread. "Jumping on the bandwagon is an age-old motivator of psychological behaviour," Stephen Goldbart and his...
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