What are your thoughts about the lottery?

[catherine]

We have talked about this before, but I'm resurrecting it.

My first market research boss was a driven, self-made woman who said she never played the lottery because she "works too hard." I think what she meant was that there is no substitute for hard work, and that's what wins you the "lottery" in life.

I don't like the lottery. I play the crossword one when DH buys it for me because it's kind of fun and only $3, but I have a lot of problems with the idea of the lottery.

DH gets mad at me when I roll my eyes when he buys me a lottery ticket--he tells me I'm sending negative vibes to the universe and I won't win. I tell him, as I've said here before, that I already feel like I've won--in health, family, love, career... why push my luck? It's thumbing my nose at the gods, IMHO.

Do you play the lottery? Do you have positive, negative, or neutral emotions surrounding it? How does it align with your simple living philosophy, if at all?

[iris lilies]

I suppose it’s too simplistic, but on some things I just am pretty simple in making a binary decision, and this decision is no. No, I will not play the lottery, because the odds are against me so I’m not gonna play it plus, I’d have to go out of my way to play it. I guess you get tickets at gas stations? I’m not sure exactly where I would buy tickets. When I get gas, I don’t go inside anyway, I always pay at the pump.

As for the social value of it, theoretically, it gives me the icks that the government is deluding its citizens in the way it does with these lotteries. On the other hand, it’s good that it brings in money for state services, as one of the “stupid taxes “that exists out there in the world.

[bae]

It all depends on my marginal-utility of money at the time, and what the payout looks like, and a bunch of other things.

I basically don't bother, as I don't really *need* any more money to be happy, I don't receive any "pleasure" from the act of gambling itself, and the cost in time/energy to procure a ticket seems a net loss to me, generally.

Similarly, though, I spend a lot more on home/fire insurance than on lottery tickets :-)

[iris lilies]

I will mention that scratch off tickets are fun for game prizes.

[jp1]

My college entrepreneurship professor believed that statistically the most logical choice was to buy one ticket for the big jackpot each drawing. His thought process was that if you buy zero tickets your chances of winning are zero but if you buy one ticket your chances are still almost zero but not zero. And if you buy 5 or 10 or 100 or 100,000 tickets your chances are still not quit zero but still the same relative to the likelihood of you winning. So just buy one.

I agree with that thought process so I will buy one powerball or megamillions ticket when the jackpot gets large. I freely admit that it would make more sense to buy every time since even at the ‘start over’ value of $15m’ish I’d win about $5m cash up front which is retire tomorrow money. But I don’t do that because 1) I’m not really playing with an eye towards retiring a few years earlier and 2) the main reason I play is the fantasy of thinking about what I’d do with a truly life changing winning and 3) the 7 eleven where I buy my tickets is only a 7 minute walk from our house but I’m just not willing to commit to going twice a week just for the very unlikely chance of a life changing win.

Many moons ago, a woman who worked at my first job out of college had won not one but two six figure tickets from the NJ lotto. She had used the money to buy a nice house for herself and family. So I guess people really do win.

[ToomuchStuff]

My father likes to buy a couple tickets a week, (powerball and megamillions). But only once a week. Mom likes to go with friends once a month to the boat and the one armed bandits.
I can imagine what I would do with a winner without buying a ticket, but if my dad couldn't get his ticket (bad weather, sick, etc), I have picked him up one on the way to work.

[Tradd]

I think it’s largely a waste of money. If the office manager buys tickets for the group with a big prize, I’ll throw in a couple of dollars but that’s it.

[catherine]

Many moons ago, a woman who worked at my first job out of college had won not one but two six figure tickets from the NJ lotto. She had used the money to buy a nice house for herself and family. So I guess people really do win.

My colleague at work used to be part of a pool for the weekly draw with her nail salon friends (also the NJ Lotto). She was the "administrator"--collecting the money and buying the tickets. They won 1.5M, but with taxes taken out, and 13 people in the pool, it was a decent amount, but not life-changing.

[ApatheticNoMore]

It seems a lot of trouble to keep track of when there is a big jackpot. I'm not an optimist so I don't imagine winning. But also it's not just that I'm lazy and pessimistic, of course odds ARE actually against one in the lottery, so um.

[rosarugosa]

I'm on exactly the same page as JP on this one.
DH likes to spend his allowance on scratch tickets, and he enjoys it, so he gets to spend his allowance however he pleases. He has won $10,000 on scratch tickets twice. The first time, we had a really fun time splurging, but the second time, we paid down a chunk of our mortgage.

[Rogar]

Our lottery funds go towards parks, trails, open spaces. I don't really desire the extra money and the odds of winning seem very low. I'm not a fan of any sort of legal gambling and have seen a lot of people who look poor throwing money at the unlikely dream of winning. Since the funds go for a good cause, I'm not really against it, but it's not for me. Actually, beyond the basics of maintaining my lifestyle and future securities, I'd just as soon not have additional money themes of questionable value.

[happystuff]

I'm also like jp on this one. I also belong to the group at work - the main reason being that IF they won, I would hate to be the only one having to return to work - LOL. I also enjoy scratch-offs but don't really win anything big on them, but they are fun. Favorite is the Bingo.

[pinkytoe]

Maybe once a year I will buy one but mostly not interested. Our previous realtor always includes one in the Christmas card she sends us which is kind of fun.

[Greg44]

Personally, I am not fond of lotteries or any form of gaming. The government agencies that benefit from them become addicted to the proceeds (schools, parks, etc). I had a wealthly Australian friend who had to travelled to the states 50+ times. After visiting our family he had business in Vegas. I asked him if he gambled and he said he worked too hard to gamble it away. When the Luxor first opened in Vegas many years ago, a Luxor employee told us it was built by Circus Circus' with "petty cash" (aka people's losses). I use to give out lottery tickets in gift cards, but decided I never knew who might have an addictive personality, and have since stopped doing that. My work is right next to a convenience store and I have stood behind too many people who don't "appear" to have much, buying lottery tickets. I agree with my late good Australian friend - I work too hard for my money to gamble it away.

[early morning]

The government agencies that benefit from them become addicted to the proceeds (schools, parks, etc).

In Ohio, lottery proceeds go to schools - that was the primary argument for setting up a state lottery to begin with - BUT an equal amount of money is taken away from the general fund schools budget, so there is no increase in money to the schools, only to the general Ohio moneys. THAT annoys me.

Personally, my thoughts on the lottery are that I'd like to win it. that said, we buy scratch-offs for ourselves and our 2 adult kids for Christmas fun ( $10 each, not exactly a break-the-bank- thing), and the random ticket when it's at some obscene level (last year we spent two dollars on this). So we're not big players or anything. I do the Publisher's Clearing house somethings, as it's free and simple (just say no to all the crap they sell). Personally, I'm not a gambler, I don't even like the stock market.

[ToomuchStuff]

In Ohio, lottery proceeds go to schools - that was the primary argument for setting up a state lottery to begin with - BUT an equal amount of money is taken away from the general fund schools budget, so there is no increase in money to the schools, only to the general Ohio moneys. THAT annoys me.



Same in Missouri, and it was marketed in a way that people thought it was in addition to. However math education hasn't improved, or the general fund would be having to put more money in as people look at the odds.