Do you play any kind of lottery?

[delericho]

Do you play any kind of big lottery? If so, why? If not, do you have a reason other than just don't care to?

No.

I actually object to them. I would like to say more, but I fear I'm already perilously close to the "no religion/politics" rule.

Why not play a lottery? The reason is simple - the odds are such that there's no point.

Once upon a time, I attended a Software Engineering lecture that actually featured a fairly interesting discussion on that topic. The argument that was put forward was that the people who should play the lottery are actually those "in the middle" - the ones for whom that £1 state is almost negligible, but for whom a win would significantly improve their lives.

I wasn't entirely convinced, and anyway I have other reasons not to play, but it was an interesting argument.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Usually no, the odds are so low that I consider it a waste of money.

On the other hand we bought an advent calendar consisting of 24 lottery tickets. The thin costs some 25 Euro; up to Wednesday the return was 3.50. While it's a fun ceremony to open one ticket each day at dinner time, I'm planning to give our children a lecture about probabilities on Christmas.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

No.

I actually object to them. I would like to say more, but I fear I'm already perilously close to the "no religion/politics" rule.

I voted against them when it came time to, but was clearly in the minority. So, like I said, I don't play, but I do buy my Mom's tickets on occasion.







...of course, I'm in the will

 

[Bedrockgames]

I think as entertainment it can be enjoyable. I don't play lotto or scratch tickets but my wife does on occassion. She won 100 bucks last week (and she has probably spent about that amount over the last three to five years). It can be fun. However i used to work in a convenience store and the real die hard lotto and scratch ticket customers have a serious problem sometimes. We had several people who owuld sit in their car half the day buying tickets until they ran out of money.

 

[sabrinathecat]

Life.
Anything else is small potatoes.


I win the lottery every week: by not losing.
Gambling is for people who can't do math.

"I've almost got my system worked out."
"You know what casinos say to people with systems?"
"No, what?"
"'Welcome'"
---early episode of CSI

 

[Umbran]

Usually no, the odds are so low that I consider it a waste of money.

For the big national lotteries in the US, the odds of winning are about the same as the odds of picking one person at random in the USA, and having that person be you.

(Not you, personally, who lives in Europe, but you know what I mean, I think. )

 

[sabrinathecat]

I did hear one good lottery story from my brother in South Dakota.
Guy was a couple days away from being evicted from his trailer for not being able to pay (gee, wonder where the money went?). Debts. Behind on everything.
Won a nice big pot.
Paid his debts.
Paid the debts of everyone else in the trailer park.
Spent the rest to improve the park for everyone.


Sadly, most of the people who win and quit their jobs thinking they have it made end up filing for bankruptcy within 5 years.

If I won, I'd use the $ to buy the city council and planning commission in my home-town. Fire the planning commission. Or buy their resignations. Bent and corrupt as can be. Constantly blocking businesses from moving in that don't fit their pie-in-the-sky model of what the town should be. Deals only go through if the right real-estate agent is involved. Conflicts of interest. I could go on. I'd run for city council to get rid of them, but I can't stand the boring meetings where everyone flaps their gums for half an hour without saying anything.

 

[Cadence]

As a form of entertainment, that $1 I spent was actually an okay thing, in terms of time spent on the amusement per dollar expended. Got more entertainment than I would have from, say, a can of soda or a candy bar.

A dollar a week (when I remember) on a MegaMillions quick pick for me to pay for the day-dream. If one of the games gets into positive expected value territory I might spend $2 to $5 for the dream that drawing. (I haven't checked how big a jackpot that takes for the revised MegaMillions now).

I used to play the same sets of two numbers every week on the same ticket for $1 total. But then they went to two drawings a week, and then one set of numbers each pay, then two different games, and then one of them jumped to $2... bah! And what if they hit that week you didn't play... since its the same set of numbers every week you'd know the universe was spiting you. No interest in paying more than a single soda, and certainly not paying for a bad dream.

I actually object to them. I would like to say more, but I fear I'm already perilously close to the "no religion/politics" rule.

They make a nice example in intro stats courses where you can talk about the expected value of a lottery play and how the expected average payout on lottery tickets would be illegal in a casino game in most states.

Gambling is for people who can't do math.

Know someone who used to make a nice living by making some of the casino games high volume positive expectation games though -- counting cards in blackjack at the smaller casinos who are bad at spotting, the right video-poker game that was essentially fair if played optimally but now the casino has a cash back offer to attract people in and they comp you rooms and flights based on amount you put through not amount won and lost, etc.... In that case you exactly know the probabilities so you can go into it with more information than the stock market. <snip the="" other="" reasons="" i="" voted="" against="" making="" them="" legal="" in="" our="" state="" when="" it="" came="" up="" several="" years="" back=""></snip>

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sadly, most of the people who win and quit their jobs thinking they have it made end up filing for bankruptcy within 5 years.

Which is bad publicity for the lotteries...and is why many states now force lottery winners to take a 1-day crash course in financial planning before you get your money.

One of the things common to the ones who don't go bankrupt- my PCH-winning friends included- is that they DON'T quit their day jobs. At least, not immediately/entirely. Some scale back to part-time, though, which can be good or bad, depending on your job.

Originally Posted by sabrinathecat
Gambling is for people who can't do math.

I, too, have friends who are math whizzes who do alright in the casinos. However, they're more likely to be playing against fellow humans at a poker table. Blackjack has better odds, but poker is more fun.

 

[PigKnight]

Which is bad publicity for the lotteries...and is why many states now force lottery winners to take a 1-day crash course in financial planning before you get your money.

One of the things common to the ones who don't go bankrupt- my PCH-winning friends included- is that they DON'T quit their day jobs. At least, not immediately/entirely. Some scale back to part-time, though, which can be good or bad, depending on your job.



I, too, have friends who are math whizzes who do alright in the casinos. However, they're more likely to be playing against fellow humans at a poker table. Blackjack has better odds, but poker is more fun.

Poker is free money against noobs. I've won a pot with a ten high because I psyched the guy out.