The law of averages just works out over time. Lotto officials say roughly 70 to 80% play that way. Quick Pick is fast and easy so most people do that. Same trend for all the smaller winnings too over the years, between 70-80%.ĭon’t let that mislead you. There have been 12 grand prize winning tickets sold in NY. Powerball is our example, going back to 2010. News10NBC’s Brennan Somers got these numbers from the NYS Gaming Commission. How do most winners buy their lotto tickets? Odds of hitting Powerball grand prize are 1 in 292,201,338.Odds for winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.The odds of winning remain exactly the same no matter how you pick. Math experts and lotto officials will tell you there’s a common misconception that the odds of winning are different if you go with your own numbers, like a combination important to you personally, birthdays, anniversaries, etc… versus taking a random line spit out from the computer.