Warren Buffett: $1 billion and $100k to whoever calls winners of all March Madness games

**Mistress Stowastiq** · 2014-01-22 05:52

Ok I know nothing about how sports brackets work but aside from the 1 billion, you can also win lower amounts of 100K towards refinancing or remodeling a home each to the most accurate imperfect brackets. Just figured peeps who like sports here might wanna check it.

Warren Buffett: $1 billion to whoever calls winners of all March Madness games.

The billionaire, along with company Berkshire Hathaway and Quicken Loans, will offer a $1 billion prize the person who correctly calls the winners of all 63 games in this year's NCAA men's college basketball tournament. The odds of winning are one in 4,294,967,296, but 'imperfect brackets' could also be big winners.

By Corky Siemaszko / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, January 21, 2014, 2:46 PM

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...mage/image.jpg

Warren Buffett, chairman of the board and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, will offer a $1 billion prize to anyone who correctly picks the winner of every game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament.

And because the odds of picking the winner in each of those games are just one in 4,294,967,296, Quicken is sweetening the pot even more.

The Detroit-based outfit will award $100,000 each to the 20 most accurate "imperfect" brackets submitted to use toward buying, refinancing or remodeling a home.

Best of all, players don't have to kick in any cash of their own.

"It is our mission to create amazing experiences for our clients," said Quicken Loans honcho Jay Farner. "This contest, with the possibility of creating a billionaire, definitely fits that bill."

Should somebody defy the astronomical odds and actually pick all the games correctly, that person would become a billionaire in 40 annual installment of $25 million.

"We decided a billion dollars seems right for such an impressive feat," Farner said.

Look for details on how to play when the Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge website activates a minute after midnight on Mar. 3.

March Madness kicks off on Mar. 18

**shepardG** · 2014-01-22 05:57

When he offers the same up for youmadness, then we'll talk.

**Byrthnoth** · 2014-01-22 06:29

This is an interesting probability problem. The odds of picking the right teams is not 1 in 4,294,967,296 unless each team is equally probable to win any given game. Realistically you're looking at a significant reduction in those odds.

Edit: Actually, looking at the math, I think they're wrong. Those are only the odds of guessing the "Round of 64" bracket correctly (2^32). The real odds of a perfect bracket assuming even odds are 1/9223372037000000000 (not zeros but my calculator doesn't show more precision than that). So yeah, Buffet's billion is safe.

Increasing the odds of a correct choice to 0.6 causes the Round of 64 probability to drop to 1/12,564,927 from 1/4,294,967,296. The odds of being completely correct are still 1/94,726,400,000,000, though.

**Abandon** · 2014-01-22 09:06

i walked into my Captain's office and promised to never show my face at work again if that went down and I won, and he said "that's not fair, you'll get to leave this fucking place before me" lol

**Mistress Stowastiq** · 2014-01-22 09:09

Originally Posted by shepardG

When he offers the same up for youmadness, then we'll talk.

I know its insane but I also know that are some hard core math heads up in this forum who might actually think about the numbers. I have no idea about brackets, are they something like a Final Fantasy Dissidia game with players who have the stats of real live athletes? Or is it like AD&D with the stats of real life athletes?
Edit: nevermind, I was thinking fantasy football. I think I just shut down my whole entire brain on that!

**Roranora** · 2014-01-22 09:11

40 annual installments of 25mil, rofl

**Mistress Stowastiq** · 2014-01-22 10:55

Originally Posted by Byrthnoth

This is an interesting probability problem. The odds of picking the right teams is not 1 in 4,294,967,296 unless each team is equally probable to win any given game. Realistically you're looking at a significant reduction in those odds.

Edit: Actually, looking at the math, I think they're wrong. Those are only the odds of guessing the "Round of 64" bracket correctly (2^32). The real odds of a perfect bracket assuming even odds are 1/9223372037000000000 (not zeros but my calculator doesn't show more precision than that). So yeah, Buffet's billion is safe.

Increasing the odds of a correct choice to 0.6 causes the Round of 64 probability to drop to 1/12,564,927 from 1/4,294,967,296. The odds of being completely correct are still 1/94,726,400,000,000, though.

When I first heard about this, it was on live news and they said the odds are something like "one in nine quintillion". I spelled it phonetically as it sounds like quin-till-ee-on. Is that the number you defined above in your calculations? I have never seen a quintillion written out.

**Serra** · 2014-01-22 11:57

It's March Madness. Each team might as well be equally likely to win each game >.>;

Edit: Out of curiosity, has there ever been a perfect bracket? Quick google search says the most correct ever was 55 correct in 2005..

**Tyrath** · 2014-01-22 12:01

Originally Posted by Mistress Stowastiq

When I first heard about this, it was on live news and they said the odds are something like "one in nine quintillion". I spelled it phonetically as it sounds like quin-till-ee-on. Is that the number you defined above in your calculations? I have never seen a quintillion written out.

Yes, quintillion is 10^18.

**Arvin** · 2014-01-22 23:28

readfy 2 go MSU ALL THE WAY

**Abandon** · 2014-01-22 23:54

naw nigga, SU got this

**Ishido** · 2014-01-23 00:30

The $1 billion will never happen, which is why it was done, the $100k x20 for the best brackets is what to keep in mind here.

The odds are fun to think about though!

**Roranora** · 2014-01-23 08:59

Yeah, it's self-funded stimulus for a few new mortgages or renovations for him under the guise of pseudo-philanthropy and an impossible feat.

Okay, I still fucking laugh typing or saying 40 annual installments of 25mil. I dunno, it's like it quantifies a billion better.

**Xajii** · 2014-01-23 09:02

edit: im dum

**Ishido** · 2014-01-23 09:04

Something like "Yeah you win the powerball every year for the next 40 years"

**Moss** · 2014-01-23 09:34

Originally Posted by Abandon

naw nigga, SU got this

Nice, didn't know you were a Southern fan

**ronin sparthos** · 2014-01-23 09:39

I don't know shit about sports and I'm about to enter random teams into the brackets for the lulz.

See you bitches in the Carribbean when I win that billion.

**arus2001** · 2014-01-23 09:59

Originally Posted by ronin sparthos

I don't know shit about sports and I'm about to enter random teams into the brackets for the lulz.

See you bitches in the Carribbean when I win that billion.

Pretty much tempted to do the same.

Or start working on a time machine so my future self can send me back the brackets.

**Ksandra** · 2014-01-23 10:12

No reason not to try, doesn't even cost a lottery ticket.

yayayaya no way in hell can ya win, but you can't win if you don't play! And like 5 minutes time is worth it.

**Tajin** · 2014-01-23 10:17

Originally Posted by arus2001

Or start working on a time machine so my future self can send me back the brackets.

On point.

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