I have never bought one in my life. A co-worker however won a $1000.00 a week for life on a scratch off.
Do you buy scratch off lotto tickets?
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A young guy in his 20's bought a $30 scratch off ticket here in Florida and won $15M.
99.9 % of the time you don't win.
99.9 % of the time you don't win.
I got some at the gas station when I turned 18 a few weeks ago. Got $150 from a $2 ticket so not too bad eh? Lol
Rarely.
My coworker is addicted to them.
My coworker is addicted to them.
When I turned 18 I played for a bit. Then I didn't have money left over from my allowance one week (allowance? job? don't remember now) and then the habit ended. A novelty for a week or two.
Personally I have no use for them. No money in them. If I wanted thrills I'd play the state lotto as there's money there--the odds may be different but they both round to zero.
Personally I have no use for them. No money in them. If I wanted thrills I'd play the state lotto as there's money there--the odds may be different but they both round to zero.
NH scratch tickets are pretty awful for hitting a score or just break-even.
The MA 1 or 2 dollar tickets, if you but ten of them, you likely will break even or come out ahead. I think they were listed as 1 in 4 prize. chance.
We give them as Birthday card fillers ( especially for co-workers) and maybe a couple times a year buy a handful just for fun.
But we never buy scratch regularly or obsessively. Not even remotely.
The MA 1 or 2 dollar tickets, if you but ten of them, you likely will break even or come out ahead. I think they were listed as 1 in 4 prize. chance.
We give them as Birthday card fillers ( especially for co-workers) and maybe a couple times a year buy a handful just for fun.
But we never buy scratch regularly or obsessively. Not even remotely.
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Originally Posted by Mr Nice
99.9 % of the time you don't win.
The odds are much, much worse than that.
The reason lotteries exist is that they pull in MUCH more money than they give away. In other words, people are paying much more than they're winning.
If you run the numbers -- the math is easy, by the way -- two things very quickly become clear:
1. On average, the decision to buy a lottery ticket is really just a decision to make some of your hard-earned money disappear into the wallet of a stranger; and
2. In the grand scheme of things, a lottery is nothing more than a transfer of wealth from a lot of people -- usually working-class and poor people -- to a tiny number of randomly selected individuals who forfeit a lot of it to taxes and then burn the rest.
The fact that there's an occasional winner is a psychological hack. It perpetuates the illusion that "I might win this time", which blinds people to the fact that the house always wins at their expense -- or the fact that if they do win, it's more likely to make their lives worse rather than better.
So no, I don't buy lottery tickets of any kind, and I strongly discourage everyone I care about from doing so.
99.9 % of the time you don't win.
The odds are much, much worse than that.
The reason lotteries exist is that they pull in MUCH more money than they give away. In other words, people are paying much more than they're winning.
If you run the numbers -- the math is easy, by the way -- two things very quickly become clear:
1. On average, the decision to buy a lottery ticket is really just a decision to make some of your hard-earned money disappear into the wallet of a stranger; and
2. In the grand scheme of things, a lottery is nothing more than a transfer of wealth from a lot of people -- usually working-class and poor people -- to a tiny number of randomly selected individuals who forfeit a lot of it to taxes and then burn the rest.
The fact that there's an occasional winner is a psychological hack. It perpetuates the illusion that "I might win this time", which blinds people to the fact that the house always wins at their expense -- or the fact that if they do win, it's more likely to make their lives worse rather than better.
So no, I don't buy lottery tickets of any kind, and I strongly discourage everyone I care about from doing so.
One of my dad's friends in my hometown won $3 million on a $30 scratch off ticket a few years ago. Unfortunately he was unable to remain anonymous as the ticket was from Illinois that makes winner's information very public.
Originally Posted by supton
If I wanted thrills I'd play the state lotto as there's money there--the odds may be different but they both round to zero.
That's funny! A columnist in our paper once said "you can buy a lottery ticket, or you can throw money into a storm sewer. The odds are about the same."
If I wanted thrills I'd play the state lotto as there's money there--the odds may be different but they both round to zero.
That's funny! A columnist in our paper once said "you can buy a lottery ticket, or you can throw money into a storm sewer. The odds are about the same."
If I remember correctly, most state lotto including scratch games gives you about 50% back on the dollar as opposed to a slot in a casino which pays out about 90%. I don't even do the latter unless I have time to burn. I would do nothing that would keep half my money. There's no such thing as luck. If I keep half your money, I eventually get all your money. It's a tax on poor and stupid people.
Edit-- If Power Ball or another major multi state game has more money in the pot than the potential odds then I guess it could be seen as a decent investment. Remember a Nova story on PBS about an Australian who flew into the Virginia with a plane full of pre-printed tickets covering every number and hired droves of CPA's to fan out to C-stores with brief cases hand cuffed to their wrists. He won because no one else hit his number to split the pot. The state changed their rules afterwards. I think 60 minutes ran a story last year about a guy in Michigan?who learned to cover a state lottery which had kick up totals with numbers that could be covered and won when the numbers hit a certain point. None of these are scratch games, however, which are always sucker bait. And, none applied to Bubbas who are mindlessly playing other Lotto games with a hope of getting lucky.
Edit-- If Power Ball or another major multi state game has more money in the pot than the potential odds then I guess it could be seen as a decent investment. Remember a Nova story on PBS about an Australian who flew into the Virginia with a plane full of pre-printed tickets covering every number and hired droves of CPA's to fan out to C-stores with brief cases hand cuffed to their wrists. He won because no one else hit his number to split the pot. The state changed their rules afterwards. I think 60 minutes ran a story last year about a guy in Michigan?who learned to cover a state lottery which had kick up totals with numbers that could be covered and won when the numbers hit a certain point. None of these are scratch games, however, which are always sucker bait. And, none applied to Bubbas who are mindlessly playing other Lotto games with a hope of getting lucky.
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Nope. I used to buy Mega Millions and Powerball tix whenever the jackpot reached the odds of winning. For example if the odds of winning are 1:100 million. Then you play $1 whenever the jackpot reaches $100 million. Interestingly now that I use Costco for gas I keep forgetting to buy tix.
When Indiana first jumped into the lottery business all they offered were scratch-off tickets. Once they added regular drawings and got into Powerball and Megaball, I stopped buying instant tickets. Never spent much but I was what one could consider a regular.
As for the 'stupidity' of playing, I live in Illinois now, a state which would tax the air we breathe if they could figure out how to do so; I look at this as a way to maybe get something back. Big maybe, I know, but I do know a couple that hit the jackpot on one of the daily drawings. It wasn't enough to quit work over, but it did let them pay off the house and fund college for their kids, and still have enough left over to have some fun.
As for the 'stupidity' of playing, I live in Illinois now, a state which would tax the air we breathe if they could figure out how to do so; I look at this as a way to maybe get something back. Big maybe, I know, but I do know a couple that hit the jackpot on one of the daily drawings. It wasn't enough to quit work over, but it did let them pay off the house and fund college for their kids, and still have enough left over to have some fun.
Lotto is a tax on the poor.
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Lotto is a tax on the poor.
Naw, it's a tax on those who are bad at math.
Lotto is a tax on the poor.
Naw, it's a tax on those who are bad at math.
Wife likes to subscribe to the state lotto. Supposedly it gives money back to the education system. I'm not exactly sure how that works, and it seems like a lousy way to teach kids things about money. But anyhow. She likes to play state as the odds are better at winning than Powerball. In her words, she doesn't have to be filthy stinkin' rich, just a few million would tide her over. Realistically we spend more on coffee, and that's with us drinking coffee at home. Small beans (no pun intended).
I do on occasion. I don't expect to hit the jackpot though.
If you plan on the lottery being your retirement, you are delusional. I shake my head when I see people buying $100 or more of tickets at a time, and have seen them doing it regularly. All while appearing to be the ones that can least afford it (yes, being judgmental).
I have won some, but have spent way more than I have won for sure.
Am I wasting my money, yes, but I know people that waste money on other things as well.
Heck, I plan on "wasting" ~$50 today going shooting, but it is entertaining and I have fun doing it.
If I spend $2 on a scratch off, I am entertained for 20 seconds.
I do the lotto on occasion as well.
My sister in law told me "you will never win", but I told her no, she will never win, because she does not play, I have a 1:however many million chance of winning when I do play.
Again, not expecting to win, but $5-10 every few months is not a big deal.
If you plan on the lottery being your retirement, you are delusional. I shake my head when I see people buying $100 or more of tickets at a time, and have seen them doing it regularly. All while appearing to be the ones that can least afford it (yes, being judgmental).
I have won some, but have spent way more than I have won for sure.
Am I wasting my money, yes, but I know people that waste money on other things as well.
Heck, I plan on "wasting" ~$50 today going shooting, but it is entertaining and I have fun doing it.
If I spend $2 on a scratch off, I am entertained for 20 seconds.
I do the lotto on occasion as well.
My sister in law told me "you will never win", but I told her no, she will never win, because she does not play, I have a 1:however many million chance of winning when I do play.
Again, not expecting to win, but $5-10 every few months is not a big deal.
Originally Posted by ArrestMeRedZ
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Lotto is a tax on the poor.
Naw, it's a tax on those who are bad at math.
That too...
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Lotto is a tax on the poor.
Naw, it's a tax on those who are bad at math.
That too...
Originally Posted by cwilliamsws6
I got some at the gas station when I turned 18 a few weeks ago. Got $150 from a $2 ticket so not too bad eh? Lol
My advice is quit while you're ahead.
When the jackpot gets really, really high, I buy a $2 ticket. It's worth the entertainment value to stimulate my imagination as to what I would do with it.
I got some at the gas station when I turned 18 a few weeks ago. Got $150 from a $2 ticket so not too bad eh? Lol
My advice is quit while you're ahead.
When the jackpot gets really, really high, I buy a $2 ticket. It's worth the entertainment value to stimulate my imagination as to what I would do with it.
Originally Posted by Burt
When the jackpot gets really, really high, I buy a $2 ticket. It's worth the entertainment value to stimulate my imagination as to what I would do with it.
Well stated!
Your imagination/spirit will be far more entertained from that, than anything else you can get from $2
When the jackpot gets really, really high, I buy a $2 ticket. It's worth the entertainment value to stimulate my imagination as to what I would do with it.
Well stated!
Your imagination/spirit will be far more entertained from that, than anything else you can get from $2
Never .
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