The Lottery

[CathyA]

I have never bought a ticket and don't plan to. But Geeze........1.3 billion? What if we occasionally just collect a few bucks from everyone and did something good with it? ..........like towards education or poverty, the environment, etc., etc.? I just find the whole concept absolutely baffling. I heard a report the other day that winning a big lottery usually just leads to bad things for the people who win. I just don't get it........ Maybe I'm not poor enough.........??

[bae]

What if we occasionally just collect a few bucks from everyone and did something good with it? ..........like towards education or poverty, the environment, etc., etc.?

If you look at your paycheck, or a sales receipt for anything you buy at a store, you'll see a little something taken out there for that sort of thing...

[Williamsmith]

According to their website, the Pennsylvania Lottery last year contributed more than 275 million to Area Agencies on Aging, provided 8.2 million meals at senior centers, reduced the cost of certain prescriptions for seniors, provided free and reduced fares for trqnsportation and provided reduced rent and property tax rebates. It's the only lottery dedicated to seniors. Since its inception it has contributed 24.7 billion to programs benefiting older Pennsylvanians. No wonder we have a budget crisis in this state.

[LDAHL]

There's a little syndicate in my office that collects from anyone interested to buy tickets. I completely understand the odds of winning are absurdly low. On the other hand, I picture what it would be like to be the only one left there after a big win, with all the phones ringing...

[Teacher Terry]

When I was working we had a small group of people that did this and it was fun. The person in charge would photocopy all the tickets and give them to everyone. I sure wasn't going to be the only person left in my department. Even someone who was really cheap joined.

[iris lilies]

There's a little syndicate in my office that collects from anyone interested to buy tickets. I completely understand the odds of winning are absurdly low. On the other hand, I picture what it would be like to be the only one left there after a big win, with all the phones ringing...


All phones ringing, Scary as hell.

Are there requirements with the Powerball organization that winners have to,show up in person and make their name and face known?

[Williamsmith]

According to a CBS affiliate only six state allow winners to be anonymous....they are Kansas, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, North Dakota and South Carolina.

Okay, I'm off to Ohio to get my ticket.

[Alan]

According to a CBS affiliate only six state allow winners to be anonymous....they are Kansas, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, North Dakota and South Carolina.

Okay, I'm off to Ohio to get my ticket.
I'm already in Ohio, I'll buy your tickets for you for a cut. Maybe 50%?

[Williamsmith]

I'm already in Ohio, I'll buy your tickets for you for a cut. Maybe 50%?

LOL.........I already drive there for cheap gasoline......I live right on the border.

[catherine]

My colleague won the NJ lottery once--3 million, but she had to share it with the 13 other nail salon ladies who pooled the money every week, and it came down something nice, but not life-changing. She broke up with her boyfriend because he was mad at her for not claiming the winning ticket was her mother's and not the group (she didn't routinely make copies of the tickets).

I personally don't get the logic AT ALL of playing the lottery if it's 300M, but not if it's 20M. Is it just that you get wrapped up in the hype? Do you really think that your life will be THAT much different if you win 300M vs. 20M?

But I don't buy lottery tickets at all, so I'm just not "in it to win it" I guess. I think I've explained my superstition about lottery tickets here before: I feel so lucky already, that if I won the lottery I'd be afraid one of my other blessings will be taken away, and I wouldn't trade any of these blessings for a lottery win in any amount.

[pony mom]

I rarely buy lottery tickets but today I bought $20 of Powerball tickets. Some money I found stashed away was just sitting there and I thought...what the heck.

One thing I know I would do is visit animal sheltersrescues and leave them a big fat check when I left. Maybe adopt a senior dog or two along the way. I'm hoping that such a big winning amount will be split between many winning tickets; more than a billion dollars is an insane amount of money.

[jp1]

According to a CBS affiliate only six state allow winners to be anonymous....they are Kansas, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, North Dakota and South Carolina.



My name will have to be published when I win. However, I will have already thrown away my cell phone and taken up residence far from here by the time I submit my winning ticket so it won't matter. The after tax, all cash payout should be sufficient for me to afford to get far far away from anyone who might start begging me for money.

[Williamsmith]

I think it definitely might be time to take up a life of roaming about the world in a reliable sail boat. Somebody would be trying to find you all the time. It would be ironic but best strategy to disconnect from society because it will be hard to find people you trust that would look out for your best interest. 1.5 billion is a sum that would cause you problems, not solve them.

I think 10 million is a nice useful amount.

Better, would be to just live your relatively comfortable life of ease in America as it is and forego participation in the fantasy. It is funny that I would sooner shell out $2 to the government for a infinitesimal chance at being filthy rich than place those two bucks in a plastic jar on the counter at the local deli collecting for a family who lost everything in a fire. Well, it is not funny, it is somehow ethically morbid. I do not like lotteries. I do not like what they make me....We are better than this aren't we?

[catherine]

Just saw this on CNN last night about lottery winners who wound up losing in a big way. Maybe people on this forum would be smarter about spending/saving/giving, but there are so many other externalities that come with winning, such as--as Williamsmith said--other people. Your best friends and family may turn out not who you expect. Consider my friend who lost her boyfriend over a paltry 3M win. I remember when my stepfather, who gave me a glorious simple middle class life, got an inheritance from his grandmother. Prior to meeting my mother, he had been an alcoholic. He met my mother in AA. Being sober, he kept his feet to the fire going to work and paying his bills. My high school life was a dream, having a dad go work at 9 and come home at 5.

When he got his inheritance, his motivations shifted. He relapsed, and started doing pills as well as booze. Within maybe two years the money was gone and my mother divorced him. Before my mother sold the house, I once found her literally looking for loose cinderblocks in the basement, hoping he would have stashed some cash there. She was totally broke. It was really, really sad, and devastating to me to lose Father #2.

So, "God bless the child that's got his own." I'll take my chances with my own brawn and brain to overcome my financial hurdles, and I'll be happy with my debt as long as I get to keep my family and friends.


http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/01/11/lottery-winners-misfortune-tuchman-pkg-ac.cnn

[Stacy]

I'd be afraid of all the relatives who will expect something from me. It's a family full of "takers" on both sides, with a few decent people thrown in. I'd gift a token gift to everyone in the family. Some would be thrilled to get it and spend it, and some would demand more and that's when I would say, "No" and let them hate me for the rest of their lives. A few wise people would refuse it or use the money for good, and they would be my most trusted friends forever. So I guess winning the lottery would be a good litmus test for friendship.

I'm naturally a generous person, and I'd love to give some people a gift that would improve their lives in some way, not cash, but maybe let them choose one thing that would make all the difference, like a college education or a decent place to live. It would be amazing to give other people a helping hand, so maybe I'd start a foundation or something. That would make the money not belong to me personally, and I could just encourage people to apply for a grant. :)

Yes, I've put some thought into this.

[ToomuchStuff]

According to a CBS affiliate only six state allow winners to be anonymous....they are Kansas, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, North Dakota and South Carolina.

Okay, I'm off to Ohio to get my ticket.
It would be interesting to see how that is written. Does one have to be a resident of those states, to claim the prize and remain anonymous in them?

I've had the dreaded family calls before, then I have had the mistaken ones as well (I must have been a potent two year old to have that daughter call me), all due to name.
I also know the games played with taxes. Gambling money goes towards education, means they put that money towards the education budget, and the money that would have gone in, goes back into the general fund, NOT that the money goes in, in addition to.
Bought my first ticket in a long time, simple because a gal I know that runs the store, asked me. I am not lucky, and don't win things, never have been. In this case, I really think it would be unlucky to win the big prize and would much rather be one of those that got however many numbers it took to win a high, little prize and fall into the background.
The only advantage I could think of, is I could get in touch with some higher income people for some more advice and would take advantage of that, instead of so many of the horror stories of lottery winners, like I would expect so much of my family to be.