Anybody buy scratch off Lotto tickets ?

[Mr Nice]

I went to Publix Supermarkets today to get a Boars Head italian sub (Mmmm) and groceries, decided to buy a $5 scratch off Florida lotto ticket and won $200. Usually I buy a quick pick lotto or power ball ticket.

Any BITOG members buy scratch off lotto tickets ?

 

[GenesisGuy70]

Yea, end up going back and spending whatever I won which ends up leaving me with nothing.

 

[Chris142]

All i ever win is a free ticket.

 

[3800Series]

Not legal here sadly. Not that I would buy them but I don't really enjoy riding over to Slidel to buy a Powerball ticket once every other 3 months.

 

[rjundi]

Once in high school and won $1000(lots of money for 1990!). Paid 1/10 college tuition at state university. Since then I rarely do as I took engineering stats.

 

[sicko]

I used to buy 2-3 a year when I was in college, it was more for giggles than anything else. My friends and I would periodically buy a lotto ticket cause we thought it was funny, I don't know why we thought it was funny, but we did. Never won more than $10, but we were also buying the $1 tickets.

 

[Bandito440]

Ah, the poor man's tax.

 

[dishdude]

Can't think of a bigger waste of money. Well, maybe CDs and DVDs.

 

[cashmoney]

To be absolutely blunt money spent on lotto tickets is a direct tax on the mathematically challenged. So it is a little ironic that in many states lotto revenues go to pay for higher education. Buying a lotto ticket a couple of times a year when jackpot goes over 100 million is fun and hurts no one but should be viewed as basically a charitable donation. Buying lotto tickets regularly is just paying the stupid tax but at least it goes to a good cause instead of becoming mobbed up casino profits.

 

[oilboy123]

I never have, but admit to a slight bit of envy when I see somebody on TV holding a huge cardboard check.

 

[Spazdog]

I am currently down $2.00

I've been up as much as...wait for it....$5.00

Beyond my initial $10.00 investment, I have not spent another penny.

I will either run out of luck and lose my $10.00 or I will win a large enough cash prize to cash in. I'm counting on losing my $10.00. You can't be let down if you don't expect too much. And maybe that $2.00 that goes to the schools will help.

I understand that the lottery is mostly just a "poor tax". Gambling laws here in Texas allow for the lottery and horse betting but not on casinos. If Texas ever legalizes casinos, Oklahoma and Louisiana will have some SERIOUS income problems.
Seriously, go to Winstar, Choctaw, or any Shreveport/Bossier casino. 90% of the cars in the parking lot have Texas plates.

 

[Stewart Fan]

We put a scratch ticket in each of our kid's stocking at Christmas.

That's the extent of our gambling.

 

[jacky]

i have lost too much over the years, i need my money and cant afford to gamble

 

[Jcp123]

For a while, wife and I were a few hundred bucks up on scratch offs. If we buy them now, we get the bingo or loteria tickets which provide some entertainment on the way to our loss.

 

[Mr Nice]

I put 30% of my gross pay towards retirement, A few bucks here and there on Lotto won't kill me.

You can't win money if you don't play. $200 will buy a month of groceries.

 

[hpb]

I always put a "scratchie" or two in birthday cards. Think my dad won 10 bucks a couple of years ago.

 

[Bandito440]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
You can't win money if you don't play. $200 will buy a month of groceries.

Not if you've spent $200 on lottery tickets. Then, it's just recovering some losses and encouraging you to gamble (lose) further.

 

[IndyIan]

I often buy one when I fillup if I got good mileage that tank, then its sort of a free reward for doing some hypermiling.
All I've ever won is $20 and I spend all the "winnings" on more tickets until there's no winnings left.
So I guess I spend $12-16 a month on it, which is pretty trivial in the grand scheme of my finances.

 

[hatt]

Nope, I burn money the old fashion way. With a match.

 

[javacontour]

We do that, and occasionally on a road trip buy scratch offs for oilBabe to play while I'm driving.

Her late father liked to gamble, so it's more of an homage to him.

We both have advanced degrees and know this is not our retirement plan, mathematically speaking.

Now a powerball win would be the EARLY retirement, but we don't count on that either.

Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
We put a scratch ticket in each of our kid's stocking at Christmas.

That's the extent of our gambling.