"...it would be wrong to assume that the secret to success is to play it."
But not playing obviously results in not winning. And in the minds of the lottery-playing population, at least when you play, there's a chance of winning.
The most likely outcome is losing your money and winning nothing, while there are other ways to make that money which don't involve throwing good after bad.
You'd have better odds with committing serious crimes and getting away with it, so there's that. You could take out lightning strike insurance and wait.
Pretty much anything really; the lottery is just a tax on people who can't math.
But not playing obviously results in not winning. And in the minds of the lottery-playing population, at least when you play, there's a chance of winning.