View Full Version : I refused to participate in the Power Ball lottery madness today
I was the ONLY person in my department who refused to get in on the group buy of tickets.
I'm not against gambling, per say, but I do subscribe to Dave Ramsey's thinking on the lottery, that it's a stupid tax.
Plus, I've read the lots of stories of how people's lives were massively screwed up after they won a large amount in the lottery. There was actually a study done on that.
And, you lose your privacy and all sorts of freaks come out of the woodwork.
Coworker collecting for tickets thought I was insane. "It's only $2" I was told.
Nope, still refused. I was asked what I was going to do when the rest of the department quit leaving me to do everything. I just laughed.
My department and a few other people at work do the monthly lottery ticket thing. I may be the only one who doesn't participate. With the odds of winning the lottery I'm quite sure I'll be early retired before they ever win big. I like to remind them that I have big plans of being "Queen of the Department" as my new job title if they all win and quit. Really, if I was running the show, they'd have to pay me whatever I wanted and I'd have unlimited power - mwah ha ha! :laff:
I like how the Oregon Lottery talks up all the millions of $$ the lottery has provided for this or that -- maybe if their ads said because of the Millions you have lost, enables us to give part of it back to you! When you think of all the $$ for those lotto machines, monitors in every store, advertising etc etc. -- IMHO a huge waste of $$.
Years ago when we were in Las Vegas - they had a little tour of the Luxor (black pyramid casino) -- they said Circus Circus paid for it with "petty cash". I concluded they don't build those monsterous casinos on people's winnings...!
Sheldon Adelsen poured tens of millions of dollars into the losing Republican presidential campaign bc he can afford to because he makes so much money @ his casinos in Macau.
I read an article yesterday that listed what your chances were better at than winning the powerball. Being killed by a bee sting and winning the Presidency were two of the examples. Apparently it's less likely than finding a needle in a haystack or taking a shot in the dark.
That said, no one @ my job even mentioned it. I was going to go the a ticket but forgot. Then, when I remembered, I was already tucked up in bed and I couldn't be bothered.
catherine
11-29-12, 6:27am
I agree completely... and I don't get the logic of the being more desperate to put in your $2 for a chance for $500 million vs., say, 5 million.. What exactly is 500 mil going to do to change your life that 5 mil wouldn't do? It kills me that lines for Powerball tickets go around the block while regular multi-million lotteries don't.
My logic for never buying lottery tickets, as faulty as it may be, is that my life is so "lucky" as it is, I don't want to tempt fate. If I won a big amount, I'm afraid the gods would take one of my other blessings away from me, and there's nothing in my life I would trade for 500 million, or 5 million or even 1 measly million.
And I completely agree with how messed up a windfall can make your life. Forget the people who have ruined their lives with winnings. In my own life, my coworker won a 3 million NJ lottery. She was responsible for buying the ticket for her group at a nail salon she went to every Thursday night--13 of them chipped in and she would buy the ticket.
Well, one morning, she called me screaming We WON!!!! As it turned out, after taxes and splitting it up, it was not a life-changing share--I think they each got $10k a year for 10 years. But she lost her boyfriend because when she first learned she had won, she refused to do what he wanted her to do--trade the winning ticket with one her mother had bought--effectively stealing the millions from her friends (they never got copies of the tickets). Her boyfriend told her she was a fool, and she told him he was .. well, anyway--he was out the door. I just saw a piece on CNN on lottery winners, and Henry Ford apparently said "having money doesn't change you, it unmasks you." I guess my coworker was lucky that her boyfriend was unmasked before she married him.
The dinner time conversation centered on what would we really do if we won had a value far in excess of the $2 I spent at the gas station to give us 'skin in the game'. We had a chance to hear what DD and a friend of hers thought was really important & what they thought would just be fun. We talked about the importance of philanthropy and giving back and a little about saving and investments. I have to say that for a couple 16 year olds the girls are pretty together. In the bigger picture its just a little fantasy guys. A few minutes with a little anticipation and hope and excitement. Pretty dang harmless for most of us. No sane person actually buys a ticket in these silly things thinking they are actually going to win, its just fun to think about and sometimes that's worth $2. Plus, someone always does actually win. We didn't.
goldensmom
11-29-12, 7:06am
Never have, never will. I learned recently that my husband is participating at work. I told him he'd be way further ahead to give me the $2. I will at least use it for something that benefits us. I think sometimes he does things like that just to fit in at work because we are not lotto/lottery people.
cattledog
11-29-12, 8:58am
I've never bought a lotto ticket either. That explains all the cars I saw at the gas station last night though. Honestly, I think that much money might ruin your life. Think of all the people who would be hitting you up. I'd rather win an incognito $1M.
pinkytoe
11-29-12, 10:08am
I think the real value of the lottery is that it allows the purchaser to imagine possibilities. Kind of like when I was little and imagined my three wishes if I rubbed on Aladdin's lamp. I don't think we do that enough. Too bad that most folks dream of buying houses, cars and stuff. I always imagine I would purchase humongous tracts of land and donate them to a conservancy for perpetuity so they could never be developed. Or sponsor lots of kids from impoverished homes to become educated so they could contribute to society. Or...
Once in a blue moon, I will buy one for the smaller lotteries - maybe twice a year.
iris lily
11-29-12, 10:16am
catherine, interesting story about your lottery winning friend.
I don't buy lottery tickets but sometimes think about doing so during one of these big hyped events.
The dinner time conversation centered on what would we really do if we won had a value far in excess of the $2 I spent at the gas station to give us 'skin in the game'. We had a chance to hear what DD and a friend of hers thought was really important & what they thought would just be fun. We talked about the importance of philanthropy and giving back and a little about saving and investments. I have to say that for a couple 16 year olds the girls are pretty together. In the bigger picture its just a little fantasy guys. A few minutes with a little anticipation and hope and excitement. Pretty dang harmless for most of us. No sane person actually buys a ticket in these silly things thinking they are actually going to win, its just fun to think about and sometimes that's worth $2. Plus, someone always does actually win. We didn't.
I agree. Harmless fun. And the only ones it might harm are going to find a way to blow their life savings regardless. If not on the lottery, on a football game or cousin Ottos grand scheme. I bought one. Why not! As you say, someone has to win!
But, on that same note, I read an article somewhere wondering if a power-ball type lottery could pay down the national debt. It's an interesting proposition.
SteveinMN
11-29-12, 1:07pm
I agree. Harmless fun. And the only ones it might harm are going to find a way to blow their life savings regardless. If not on the lottery, on a football game or cousin Ottos grand scheme. I bought one. Why not! As you say, someone has to win!
Ditto. As it turns out, my wife and I each bought a ticket. It was fun thinking about what we would do with 375 million (or whatever the lump sum turned out to be). Let's see -- a million each for our immediate families and spouses; that's about $20 million there. Spend a little money on the house and some vacations and pay off the mortgage; there's another .1 million. Then what? Fund medical research? Establish scholarships? Add a wing to a hospital or endow a favorite non-profit? It was fun to think about it and use one's imagination. We even did a what-if if we'd won a tenth of the pot. I've spent more than $4 on movies I didn't like.
As a retirement plan, buying lottery tickets stinks. But $4 for a good chunk of time discussing positive things? No problem there.
In any case I thought it was interesting commentary on the herd mentality.
I'm inclined to agree that it's little more than a 'stealth tax', and one that targets the poor to boot... I don't think too many rich folk are inclined to queue up in the cold for a infinitesimal chance of accessing the 'good life'...
shadowmoss
11-29-12, 2:27pm
Actually an article I just read said that at least a couple of former winners who still had most of the money - so were no poor at all - went out and bought tickets.
SteveinMN
11-29-12, 5:45pm
Actually an article I just read said that at least a couple of former winners who still had most of the money - so were no poor at all - went out and bought tickets.
Okay. I'll admit I don't get that at all.
I agree with the harmless fun crowd.
I also laugh at the Blue Collar Comedy joke: "Middle-class people have 401(k)s, but we rednecks have the lottery!"
A friend used to call it Meeting Insurance. For a dollar or two you could sit through a meeting dreaming about what you'd do with the money. Same thing now, just bringing out larger dreams. Cheaper than a beer, or therapy.
Econ 101 - what is the marginal utility of money to you?
The $1 you spend on a lottery ticket - you can't even buy a cup of coffee with it at Starbucks. $500 million from a lottery winning likely has considerably higher marginal utility to you, even if the odds of winning it are miniscule. So it may be quite rational to play, even if the expected value of the bet is less than the cost of the bet.
Sort of like Pascal's Wager, for money.
I would participate because with my luck, I'd be the only one not to join in when they win. However, I never buy lottery tickets on my own.
Honestly, I think that if any of us here won a huge jackpot, we wouldn't be ruined by it. We all know the value of money and what it can and can't buy or do for us. My life wouldn't change too drasticly; quit my job, live on my own and adopt a few elderly animals. Oh, probably travel quite a bit first. My values wouldn't change. I'd be able to afford to donate to charities, both money and time.
And a lifetime supply of fattening shortbread cookies.
Actually a couple of years ago there was some big powerball and DH's workplace did a pool. I told him for sure to buy in-who wants to be the sad guy who didn't pony up $2 and now is stuck at work while everyone else is gone? Anyway, we had a "what if" discussion. I said I'd arrange for all our stuff to be moved from AZ to CO, pack a backpack and hike to Colorado. Then I got to thinking, well, it wouldn't take a million plus to move back to Colorado....so I started planning saving to move and we did in early 2012. So in a way I could say maybe the lottery did change my life! Ha ha ha. There were other precipitating factors, but even so, I do remember that train of thought. So far from being harmful, sometimes that fantasy can help direct you towards what you really DO want, and make you realize that there are a lot of dreams that can be achieved without lottery wins! As far as lottery wins, my ticket purchases are few and far between but really nearly everything I'd want could be taken care of with about $200K so I'd rather win a sum that made anonymity easier than the biggest powerball ever. One person I met in AZ had an uncle who had won about $30 million....and lost it within a few years to cars, houses, etc. No thanks. Even many of my well-meaning friends and relatives would turn into vultures and money would make all those relationships really wonky at best. I'm not sure any amount of money is worth putting all of your relationships with friends and relatives (and coworkers and neighbors too) at risk.
ToomuchStuff
11-30-12, 5:35am
Econ 101 - what is the marginal utility of money to you?
The $1 you spend on a lottery ticket - you can't even buy a cup of coffee with it at Starbucks. $500 million from a lottery winning likely has considerably higher marginal utility to you, even if the odds of winning it are miniscule. So it may be quite rational to play, even if the expected value of the bet is less than the cost of the bet.
Sort of like Pascal's Wager, for money.
I could get better use out of a dollar, with a single mom on a pole. (much better odds to of that happening, even though I don't drink)
It is gambling, so some people still get that kick out of it. I used to buy them a few times a year, as presents (one family member prefers them, while their spouse prefers gambling on a boat).
Imagination and Aladdin's lamps, easy (first wish is for unlimited wishes). I have had phone calls that need not be posted. I know I would have others come out of the woodwork, I also have others who are good people, but not good with money. I would much rather see a small winning, then a large one, personally (seen two friends of mine, each lose $1million or more due to family not lottery related). Coming from the poor side of the tracks, and knowing some from the other side, I would first get a new, prepaid cell. Then talk to my lawyer, and a few wealthy people I know, while waiting six months to get the prize (time to start educating myself, while letting the hype die down, hopefully avoiding some relatives). I will stop there.
Sounds about right...
1069
shadowmoss
11-30-12, 3:44pm
The MO couple who won are from the very small town that all of my Mom's family is from, and my Mom went to school with the wife's mother. I still have a lot of family in that town. I about fell over when I saw where they are from. That convenience store is where I've gone since I was a kid. This is too funny. So, I guess I'll spend years hearing about what it is like (from the town gossips) to suddenly have actuallly won the lottery. :)
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