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  1. Since there are 37 pockets on the wheel, and you win on 18 of them, the probability of winning is 18/37 and the probability of losing is 19/37. So the expected value of a $1 bet is ($1$\times$18/37)$-$($1$\times$19/37) = $-$$0.027. For each dollar you bet, your expected loss is 2.7 cents, exactly the same as for bets on a single number.
  2. Since the probability of red or black is independent of the results of previous spins, the expected value of each $1 Fred bets is still a loss of 2.7 cents. Fred has fallen victim to the gambler's fallacy. The expected value of each bet at roulette is always the same, whatever "strategy" you use.
  3. The house wins $1 on 37 outcomes and loses $35 on one. So for each $1 bet, the expected value for the house is ($1$\times$37/38)$-$($35$\times$1/38) = $0.053. The house edge is 5.3%. You can expect to lose your money twice as fast, on average, on a wheel with two zeros.
  4. The chance that the first number drawn matches one of your six numbers is 6/20. The chance that the second number drawn matches one of your remaining five numbers is 5/19 (since there are now only 19 numbers to draw from). Continuing in this way, the probability of matching all six numbers is 6/20$\times$5/19$\times$4/18$\times$3/17$\times$2/16$\times$1/ 15 = 0.0000258, or about 1/40,000.
  5. If 120,000 people play, the takings are $120,000 and the winnings are $72,000. If you could ensure that you share the winnings with two other people, your share would be $24,000. Taking the chance of winning to be 1/40,000, the expected value of a ticket is ($24,000$\times$1/40,000) $-$ $1 = $-$$0.40. If you could ensure that you share the winnings with one other person, your share would be $36,000, and the expected value of a ticket would be ($36,000$\times$1/40,000) $-$ $1 = $-$$0.10. If you could ensure that you do not share the prize, the expected value of a ticket would be ($72,000$\times$1/40,000) $-$ $1 = $0.80. If you could somehow ensure that you always pick numbers that nobody else picks, the expected value of playing this lottery is positive.


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