Buying every number: your questions

Yes. Stefan Mandel's syndicate bought about 5 million of the 7 million possible tickets in Virginia's 1992 lottery and won a jackpot of about $27 million. He won 14 lotteries in total.

At the time, yes. Virginia investigated the win and paid it. Many places have since banned or limited bulk ticket buying.

A Massachusetts game where, if no one hit the jackpot, the money rolled down to smaller prizes. On those days a big enough bulk purchase was expected to make a profit. Groups like the Selbees and an MIT team played it until it ended in 2012.

Not realistically. Powerball has 292.2 million combinations, so covering them costs about $584 million, plus months of printing. A shared jackpot and taxes could still leave you with a loss.

No. In a fair draw every combination has exactly the same chance. Past results do not change future draws.

It picks numbers based on how often they appeared in past draws (hot, overdue, balanced or random). That is for fun and pattern-watching; it does not raise your odds.

Picking less popular numbers (for example above 31, avoiding birthdays) can reduce the chance of splitting a jackpot if you win. It does not make winning more likely.

New York State's public lottery records, updated after each draw.