Shanna operates a lounge in an extremely popular downtown convention hotel. the hotel regularly operates around the 80 percent occupancy mark, and its lounge, luigi’s, is very often filled to capacity. on weeks when business at the hotel is slower, shanna attempts to build local sales by scheduling a variety of popular bands to play on the stage. she must select one band to play on saturday night, six weeks from now, when the hotel is not busy. she has kept records of the costs and sales volume of the last four bands she has booked.

Suppose you win a small lottery and have the choice of two ways to be paid: you can accept the money in a lump sum or in a series of payments over time. if you pick the lump sum, you get $2,950 today. if you pick payments over time, you get three payments: $1,000 today, $1,000 1 year from today, and $1,000 2 years from today. 1) at an interest rate of 6% per year, the winner would be better off accepting the (lump sum / payments over time), since it has the greater present value. 2) at an interest rate of 9% per year, the winner would be better off accepting the (lump sum / payments over time), since it has the greater present value. 3) years after you win the lottery, a friend in another country calls to ask your advice. by wild coincidence, she has just won another lottery with the same payout schemes. she must make a quick decision about whether to collect her money under the lump sum or the payments over time. what is the best advice to give your friend? a) the lump sum is always better. b) the payments over time are always better. c) it will depend on the interest rate; advise her to get a calculator. d) none of these answers is good advice.