Yes, yes, the odds suck and it's generally a waste of money. But so many things are a waste of money. I was driving home from class and was thinking about pulling into McDonalds to grab some ice cream, and suddenly the idea hit me to spend the money on a lotto ticket. I mean, I was going to waste it on unhealthy food anyways. And the thrill of potentially winning $12 million dollars is exhilarating right now- totally worth $1.
How many others occasionally waste a dollar on the lottery?
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
If you win, can you buy me a McFlurry?
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
You bet!!! Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
And a plane ticket?
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
We do a sort of cool thing at the holidays... (there aren't any scratch ticket folk in my family). Everyone gets 5 one dollar tickets. The five who win the most get a few 5 dollar tickets... Whoever wins the most gets a couple 10 dollar tickets. It's a great time - people are trying to snatch tickets out of each others' hands in a playful way and usually the winnings go to the younger bunch no matter who wins. It makes for a fun event! : )
As for picking numbers and stuff, I've only done it a few times on a whim.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I do sometimes, but not for a long time. Lottery tickets make me mad... Especially when I see these poxy people WIN SOMETHING and BUY ANOTHER LOTTERY TICKET! Instead of keeping the money! Why do people do that? The lottery doesn't need more money. I do!
Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :
quote:Originally posted by Amanecer: Yes, yes, the odds suck and it's generally a waste of money. But so many things are a waste of money. I was driving home from class and was thinking about pulling into McDonalds to grab some ice cream, and suddenly the idea hit me to spend the money on a lotto ticket. I mean, I was going to waste it on unhealthy food anyways. And the thrill of potentially winning $12 million dollars is exhilarating right now- totally worth $1.
How many others occasionally waste a dollar on the lottery?
I don't play (yes irony I live in NV but don't gamble). However, I've always viewed buying 1 ticket a bit like a secular version of Pascal's Wager. Buying any more than one though, is pretty pointless, statistically speaking.
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
cmc- that sounds like a ton of fun! What's the most anybody ever won out of it?
T-Smith- Hmmm, a plane ticket... that's getting pricey now. Where do you want to go?
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
Heh - here's the funny part. When I saw your question, I couldn't remember. So I called my Mom to ask her - she, my Dad AND my brother still at home couldn't remember...
I know it's been enough to get a little excited about but no 'instant thousandaires' in the family to speak of...
Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :
I seem to recall reading that as long as money spent on the lottery has no effect on your standard of living (like a ticket a week or somesuch), even though such purchases don't make statistical sense, they still make economic sense. The standard of living increase from a lottery win is significant; the standard of living decrease from the occasional ticket purchase is not.
Obviously, it's still a silly idea to spend any significant amount of money on the lottery.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
My family chips in five bucks each whenever the jackpot gets above $75 million.
Even if we don't win, the money still goes to the state's education budget from the taxes, so, I don't mind so much when I lose.
And if we do win, everyone on Hatrack gets $10. Spend it as you will.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
BTW, buying a lottery ticket can make sense, statistically, once the jackpot amount is over the odds to win(*)
-Bok
(*) - Actually it needs to be somewhat higher than the odds, since there is always the chance you have to split the jackpot with someone else.
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
Well, I didn't win. I didn't even have one number right. Oh well. It was fun to dream for a few hours.
Lyrhawn- I wish you guys luck!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: And if we do win, everyone on Hatrack gets $10. Spend it as you will.
*makes a note*
*considers requesting a signed copy*
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
quote:Originally posted by Amanecer: cmc- that sounds like a ton of fun! What's the most anybody ever won out of it?
T-Smith- Hmmm, a plane ticket... that's getting pricey now. Where do you want to go?
To your place for the ice cream.
And, since we're on the subject, I also need a Ferrari to eat my ice cream in. You can take care of that, right?
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
LOL!!! It's a moot point now since I didn't win and don't plan on playing again any time soon. But you know, had I, I'd totally have sponsored a Hatrack get together with airfare and hotel stay included. Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
I get one ticket every two years or so. I figure that just in case God wants to give me a whole lot of money, I can do my part in making it plausible.
Plus the day or two of fantasizing about what I'd do with the winnings are worth a dollar. Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Amanecer: Yes, yes, the odds suck and it's generally a waste of money. But so many things are a waste of money. I was driving home from class and was thinking about pulling into McDonalds to grab some ice cream, and suddenly the idea hit me to spend the money on a lotto ticket. I mean, I was going to waste it on unhealthy food anyways. And the thrill of potentially winning $12 million dollars is exhilarating right now- totally worth $1.
How many others occasionally waste a dollar on the lottery?
When I do, I consider it part of my entertainment budget. On the rare occasions that I win anything, I consider it "found money".
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
quote:Originally posted by Amanecer: LOL!!! It's a moot point now since I didn't win and don't plan on playing again any time soon. But you know, had I, I'd totally have sponsored a Hatrack get together with airfare and hotel stay included.
Fine. How about a Ferrari cake instead?
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
starLisa - Are you my Mother??!! If she were to buy a ticket and win, I'm almost positive that's how she'd record it, too. I could hear her voice as I was reading that...
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
So this guy goes into church and prays. "God!" he asks, "To you, what is a thousand years."
Surprisingly God answers. "To me, a thousand years is but a second."
So the man asks again, "God, to you what is a million dollars?"
And God answers again, "To me, a million dollars is but a penny."
So the man thinks. "God, can you give me a penny?"
And God responds, "In a second."
Remember, God helps those who help themselves, so he won't let you win the lottery unless you buy the ticket first.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
I don't - part of the reason I stopped doing scratch/lotto and 95% of my gambling is because I couldn't stop thinking of it as a way to tell if God existed or not and, if he did, whether he gave a damn about me. Mix in drinking and you have some really, really unenjoyable evenings.
I don't recommend it. =D
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
*gives T_Smith some Acura Cake*
I don't do the lottery... I did it a coupla times when I first came to CA but I kept forgettingto check the numbers (I'm sure I'm a multi-millionair and don't know it.. cept I'm past the claiming deadline if I am.)
I *DO* enjoy vegas though. made $1400 last time.
Pix
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
In Taiwan they do an awesome receipt lottery sytem. Here is how it works:
Basically EVERY single receipt you get has an official stamp of the lottery and a number on it. The thoery behind it is as follow:
In an effort to get merchants to keep things on the books, the government came up with the Receipt Lottery. The theory being, with millions in winnings on the line, customers would start demanding receipts with every purchase and merchants would wind up with all their income on the books.
Every 25th of the month the winning numbers are announced and you go through all your receipts searching for matches. Whats awesome about it is even minor matches yield cash. Heres how it is rewarded.
If any of the last 3 digits of any receipt match the last 3 digits of any of the winning numbers (there are 5 winning numbers every month)
You get $200 TB = about $6.33 US. And you have to spend it at a 7-11 or any other like store. In Taiwan there are hundreds of those stores everywhere and with good reason, they are AWESOME. The food and drinks they offer are just smashing.
If you have 4 matching numbers you get $1000 TB which = about $30.33 US. You redeem these receipts at a bank and they give you the money straight up.
5 matching numbers = $10,000 TB which = $303.33 US
6 matching = 100,000 TB which = $3030.33 US
7 matching = 500,000 which = $15151 US
Finally 8 matching yields 3,000,000 TB which = $909090.90 US.
Its so much fun to just keep all your receipts which helps you budget your money properly, and pick up that extra pocket change every month. I always had at least 1 receipt with 3 matching numbers each month and because food costs are so much lower in Taiwan then they are in the US I ate like a king every time I won, or else I bought a phone card which is also VERY useful in Taiwan.
One month as I went through my receipts I had 7 of 8 digits matching but it was the 2nd to last digit that was wrong. I was SO mad that I came that close to picking up 3,000,000 TB.
Even with so much value being attached to your receipts alot of people just throw their receipts away or else often times outside the store they have charity boxes that you can deposit your receipts in.
For me its not gambling because I never purchased anything with the intent of getting more receipts, I simply profited by keeping all my receipts I gained through my everyday expenditures.
I really wish they did something like that in the US. They are starting to do it all over China and Japan.
Did you ever play this Bao?
Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :
Nope, I didn't. Guess I was just apathetic about it which is a shame- it could have been a lot of fun.
BTW, I don't know if the posts about statistics were in response to me, but for those not familiar with Pascal's Wager, I was saying it is worth it to buy 1 ticket per period. It has low cost that doesn't measurably negatively impact you, potential for high winning which would be a great positive. I thought I made a clever, but no one got it Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
BQT: I got and and I thought it was a great analogy. Especially since, when I did play the lottery years ago, that was exactly my rational.
Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :
Yay! Thanks Pixiest Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I thought it was a great analogy, but I didn't read this thread until today.
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
Bao, I thought it was very clever. It made me smile and everything.
BlackBlade, that sounds awesome!
T_Smith, if I ever win $12 million dollars, I'll get you ice cream, a plane ticket, and ferrari cake, and that is all. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
^ drives a hard bargain
Posted by Libbie (Member # 9529) on :
Oh, man, that sounds FUN, BlackBlade! I wish we'd do that here.
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Where do you want to go?
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