How often do you play the lottery?

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:02 pm

The thread on the flute forum about what flute to buy after hitting the jackpot made me curious about how often the folks here play the lottery. Instant win scratchers, daily or weekly drawings are all included. Some folks only play as part of a group at work or such.

Instead of the stereotypically "what would you do with the money?" How about, "what is the coolest or dumbest thing you heard about someone else doing with their windfall?" It doesn't have to be a lottery jackpot, it could be an inheritance or other big cash award.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:15 pm

I'm not optimistic enough for lotteries.

Lambchop · Post by **Lambchop** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:24 pm

The Florida lottery is supposed to support education, but it's not entirely apparent that it does, so it's difficult for me to get motivated to play it. I suppose if I felt it did any good, I might feel more like playing. It's also utterly taboo at work, much like hugging, so we have no group purchases.

On holidays, I will often buy scratch-off tickets to include with cards and gifts. Sometimes, these might accidentally get stuck in holiday cards or might fall into gift packages containing items of nominal value, using the definition of $9.95 as "nominal," excluding, of course, a gift for a supervisor, which, of course, is always the traditional $9.95 poinsettia plant. And, I can't be blamed if tickets fly out of my pockets as I, say, lean over someone's desk to admire their fish. It's amazing how many of those I lose on festive occasions.

Charlene · Post by **Charlene** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:36 pm

I won $100 on a scratch ticket recently, and $25 quite a few times. Of course, I would hate to add up how much I've spent on lottery tickets since it became legal here!

Innocent Bystander · Post by **Innocent Bystander** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 2:42 am

In the UK the odds are so poor that the catchphrase is that the lottery is "a tax on stupidity." You have better odds of being struck by lightning than getting the big win. And the odds of getting small wins isn't that good. I know people who have won ten pounds on several occasions, but nothing bigger than that. I've belonged to a couple of work syndicates, but they expired through lack of enthusiasm.
In fact the sums involved are not that large. A million pounds sounds like a lot, but a good quality house in this part of the world will set you back a quarter of a million. Realistically, it's not much of a payout, considering the numbers who play.
My friend Josie, who is on Benefit, regularly plays the lottery and the scratch cards. She occasionally wins something, but never very much. I see it less as a tax on stupidity, than a tax on despair. I only play the lottery if I am really depressed. I haven't been THAT depressed for years.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 5:31 am

VERY rarely, I'll take a scratch off ticket if my change for a purchase is one dollar. Never played the regular lottery, in fact I wouldn't even know how.

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:11 am

Our lotteries are cumulitive, i.e. if no-one wins the current draw, the jackpot just keeps growing. You can sneer all you like at the value of the Canadian dollar, but $20 million is a hell of a kick in the arse any old day.

And here's the most poignant reply to the lottery nay-sayers: "you can't win if you don't have a ticket". As crappy as the odds are (something like 14 million to one), there are people getting rich off these things every week. In one swell foop I could make make more money on a win than I could ever earn in my entire lifetime.

This is all in balance, of course. I never spend more than $10 per week on tickets. I can afford this much, and there is no other investment for this amount of money that can pay back anywhere near the same returns.

I have read a lot about number wheels, but I don't know anyone who has actually used these systems who can give an honest appraisal of their worth. If you are one of them, I'd appreciate hearing from you, either publicly or privately.

djm

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:09 am

I rarely if ever buy lottery tickets. Sometimes as Lambchop does, for stocking stuffer type gifts. Not much else has an impact at $1 to $3, is easy to buy and one size fits all.

I have known a couple of people that play all the time. It is distressing to think of all the money they are spending. They are not stupid people. They know the odds. However, they look at their options for a change of life-style and the lottery is one of the few that is available once a person is out of school.

That said, I think it is 50% of lottery winners who are less happy 5 years after winning than before, so money is nice, but it brings a set of problems as well as answers.

No one has answered the bonus question. The dumbest thing a person that I met has done with a windfall is to start trading commodities. That is a good way to turn a fortune into a smaller one, or to lose it entirely. In this case it was a fair sized inheritance, not a lottery prize. I haven't seen or heard of any especially creative uses for a windfall. The typical are trips, house improvements or new house, car, more gadgets.

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:19 am

"Better nouveau riche than no riche at all." - seen embroidered on a pillow belonging to Imelda Marcos

The dumbest thing I have heard of anyone doing was listening to their bank manager for investment advice, and losing every penny of their win. This has happened to multiple people here. I don't know why others haven't caught on. People keep thinking banks are their friends.

djm

missy · Post by **missy** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:29 am

a group of at work will go in on tickets when the jackpot gets really high. I certainly do NOT want to be the only one left when the others win and quit!!!

Several observations on winners - if you were an idiot beforehand, you'll still be an idiot after. One guy here ALWAYS was on the news with no shirt on (blech!). He bought a 'Vette - and promptly wrecked it, got a lot of tickets, got several DUIs, and finally did something to get the car impounded. Last I heard, after jail - he had no money left.

I also crack up when the news goes on and on about the winning ticket being sold, but "no winner has spoken up". Ah - yeah - they are getting unlisted phone numbers, hiring attorneys and financial advisors, etc. BEFORE they claim the winnings!!! The state here actually has an option of claiming the winnings "anonomously" here now. I'm sure the STATE knows who you are (they do want their tax money, afterall), but they don't publish your name if requested.

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:41 am

I've never played the lottery. I guess I'm just too cheap. The odds of ending up with more than I've spent aren't good enough for me and it doesn't entertain me. I know some people gamble for recreation, and as long as it's under control that seems okay. We all pay for some kind of entertainment. But I hate to see people that can't really afford it spend money thinking they really have a chance of coming out ahead. Little prizes, big prizes, I honestly think people are much better off saving their money if they are gambling with the idea of "investing" their money.

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:58 am

Good point, Cynth. I don't get any entertainment out of gambling, and frankly fail to see any "fun" in it. To me its just about keeping a toe in the door.

I forgot to mention, our lotteries are tax free. If you win $20 million, you get a cheque for $20 million. Its all yours.

djm

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:21 am

I used to play a bit when I felt that only a serious financial windfall would buy me the kind of control of my life I wanted. I don't think I have all that much more control now than I had then but it would be about 7 years since I bought a ticket.

I never expected to win, nor did I see buying a ticket as any sort of investment. I knew the odds. I viewed it as throwing money away, on the offchance that all my financial needs would be solved in one blow. I didn't gamble so much that it would have made a significant difference if I'd put aside and saved what I gambled. I had a handful of small wins only.

fiddleronvermouth · Post by **fiddleronvermouth** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:35 am

My mom called it paying for daydreams or something like that. I admired her attitude, she never thought she was going to win big, she just enjoyed designing a dream home and playing the lottery made the difference between "no chance" "probably not". That's what I use it for. If I didn't have something beautiful I'd like to do that I could use a few million dollars for I wouldn't bother playing at all.

As it is I get so wrapped up in my plot to buy a lake and all the land around it and let all my creatively inclined friends build rustic cabins there (with fascist environmental protection measures in place, of course, no roads and no speedboats) I forget to buy tickets.

(Although, even if I never win, I can always go camping.

)

I have discovered the secret to winning the lottery every time: Maintaining a sincere desire for someone else to get the money. That way my contribution of a dollar has helped make somebody ridiculously happy for a day. (Apparently it takes at least a month for lottery winners to return to the exact same emotional state they were in before the win).

SteveShaw · Post by **SteveShaw** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:06 am

Three quid a week.