Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

t1_iy08x6m wrote

I buy one or two tickets when the jackpot is over $200 million. It’s good fun, I don’t break the bank, and in my state half goes to parks and open space.

172

t1_iy0altb wrote

I work in a shop and I always laugh when people buy lottery tickets because the jackpot has hit a certain amount. Like ugh, $150 million, not even worth winning, but $200 million is.

86

t1_iy0bc5v wrote

Because it’s not their livelihood. I buy tickets when it’s a high amount and i get my money’s worth of hoping and daydreaming about what I can do with the prize.

63

t1_iy0e649 wrote

It’s just a bit of fun, innit? My wife and I spent $9 to spend a night fantasizing and having fun about what we’d do with winning that 2bil Powerball a few weeks ago lol. Even getting $50k would’ve been worth it.

People with money don’t play the lotto because they don’t need to win a 2bil Powerball, OP. They already have generational wealth.

30

t1_iy0epzo wrote

Also feels like Christmas morning as kid as the time for the numbers to be shown gets close. Oooo what am I gonna get??? Oh, nothing, as usual. <Sobs into stocking>

14

t1_iy0b3zr wrote

It's not about the money, it's a way to moderate one self. Winning Powerball or mega millions is life changing money whatever the amount.

12

t1_iy0bxon wrote

You talk about it like people even have a chance at winning nowadays. Last time I checked you have a better chance at getting hit by lightning 3 times in your lifetime.

If you really want to moderate, then understand that it's a scam and choose a better coping mechanism.

−11

t1_iy0dnxq wrote

So what? It’s just a dollar. It’s not about the mathematical chance to win everyone knows the odds. But saying it isn’t possible to win is a lie.

The chances are low but people do win. There’s a difference between playing it for fun and being addicted to gambling.

To me spending $2 on a lotto ticket is better for you than buying a candy bar or soda.

My dad won $300,000 playing the lotto a couple years ago. He doesn’t spend tons on it he buys a ticket with change from going to the store. He’s retired and enjoys it what’s the harm?

The same people mad at people playing the lotto go spend $50 a weekend drinking. Everyone has a vice as long as you manage it I don’t see the issue.

16

t1_iy0f57y wrote

Because I definitely partake in unhealthy coping mechanisms like that. Yep. Absolutely accurate.

It's gambling. If you don't have that high of moral standards, then there's not much point in arguing about it unless you want to try and convince me that it's not predatory and that poorer areas and black neighborhoods are disproportionally targeted by it?

Edit since I saw yours: Not really. I don't drink. I also view that as useless, though not as predatory since Americans have to be 21 to throw their money away getting alcohol.

−13

t1_iy0jqgg wrote

So is you or me not buying a ticket magically gonna make anything that you mentioned change? You indirectly contribute to all the evil in the world just buy grocery shopping at Walmart. Ever bought chocolate? How does impoverished cocoa farmers who have never had chocolate taste? Get off your high horse and daydream about a jackpot once in a while

5

t1_iy0eo47 wrote

Have heard of ‘doing something for fun’? Most ppl who buy the lottery arent really expecting to win it lol they like the idea of “possibly winning” and it’s just harmless fun like a raffle ticket for a fundraiser jesus

5

t1_iy0hu54 wrote

It's harmless fun for most people, just like alcohol, but for a minority of population, it's a struggle.

I totally believe that lottery should be legal. After all, you are spending your money. Even if the odds of winning was 0%, it should still be legal because people can do anything with their money, even flush it down a toilet.

However, my uncle lost $1 million Canadian dollars on gambling. He retired early after selling his successful restaurant, then blew all his money on gambling, then remortgaged his house and gambled that away too. Now, 15 years later, he's still driving an uber.

I am afraid of gambling because I don't want it to snowball like my uncle. If he was able to blow away $1 million Canadian dollars, I don't even want to get into gambling.

3

t1_iy0dcq1 wrote

Someone on Twitter did the math and with the odds of winning at $1B it’s actually rational to buy 3 powerball tickets. No more, no less. Every lottery would have some threshold where it’s rational to buy 1 ticket based on the odds of winning and jackpot amount. Those people certainly aren’t doing the math, though.

8

t1_iy0fidk wrote

That doesn't make sense to me. If the expected value of winning the lottery is greater than 1 than it should be rational to buy infinite tickets and if it's less than it's not rational to buy any. How did they come up with 3?

6

t1_iy0bsuo wrote

Well for most lotteries here you can win a percentage of the jackpot by getting some numbers right. The odds for that are way higher and the higher the jackpot, the higher the payout from the lower brackets

7

t1_iy0c670 wrote

Also the larger the jackpot is the more people playing the more winners and more divided the wining.

3

t1_iy0goa0 wrote

Its about the fantasy, I understand the probability just fine. I earn enough to get by. Life is good.

The idea that I could never have to work is appealing. Just not appealing enought to buy them all the time.

2

t1_iy0q4cw wrote

>I work in a shop and I always laugh when people buy lottery tickets because the jackpot has hit a certain amount. Like ugh, $150 million, not even worth winning, but $200 million is.

It is a great way to self moderate your spending on lottery tickets while still getting that "if I won the lottery" feel. If there is 52 draws a year and the jackpot goes off enough for it to only hit (say) $200m+ for 2-3 of those draws then you go from potentially playing 52 times a year to just 2-3 times a year.

1

t1_iy0e7px wrote

Honestly, i buy low. I want that 3-4 mil jackpot. It’s all i need. Also 100mil would be an absolute curse. Id be stressed out all day and nervous for my family

2

t1_iy0hq10 wrote

I’m so glad I’m not in a position where I have to cope that buying $4 worth of lottery tickets won’t break the bank.

1

t1_iy04z4y wrote

The lottery is just state sponsored gambling to take advantage of low income people. They then claim it’s for the schools or something, and a little bit is, but most of it doesn’t.

106

t1_iy0am63 wrote

Was supposed to be “for the schools”, I’d like to see how those dollars are spent, because, it does not seem like the schools are getting their fair share

18

t1_iy0di50 wrote

I forget which US state it was (I think it was featured on Last Week Tonight), but the revenue from their newly introduced lottery did technically go to education, it's just that an equal amount was then taken out of the education budget.

13

t1_iy0f9sm wrote

Maryland. This was an issue a number of years ago when they finally let casinos open. Slots only, then eventually tables too.

3

t1_iy0nitv wrote

Back in the late 80’s /early 90’s the Mississippi gulf coast started pushing casinos as a way to both bring tons of jobs as well as other industry and also conned the community into thinking the taxes that would go to local and state will be for maintaining roads really well as well as bringing education up to high standards while casinos would be required to have gaming only on semi permanently docked barges and boats which would also allow the casinos to move their barges into canals for better safety against hurricanes.. What actually happened was casinos did do the barge thing and moved them when hurricanes came.. but after years of not moving them due to only smaller less threatening hurricanes (and casinos staying open until it was too late to maximize profits while also unfortunately keeping low paid workers in harms way only allowing them to leave at the last second when it was too late for people to leave), once hurricane Katrina came a lot of them were stuck and couldn’t be moved. As a side effect because of course at this point casinos are required to be open for the local and state governments to get their tax money we never saw implemented locally, the casinos were pardoned in 2006 to have land based locations if their barge was a total loss which was a few. At least 4-5 out of probably 10 casinos were able to operate since then on land.. there is now an all new casino being proposed to be built in one small town across from the beach without having a barge at all.. people have protested but of course the crooked promising money is going to win..

2

t1_iy1dzml wrote

Well, regardless. Instead of buying good teaching materials, they'd rather buy screens and tvs to display the school logo.

2

t1_iy02eba wrote

There's nothing wrong with buying a reasonable amount of lottery tickets. Let people have their fun.

85

t1_iy0a0hb wrote

There’s nothing wring with a “reasonable” amount of any addictive behavior, but that’s the thing, they’re addictive so it’s hard for some to keep it in moderation.

12

t1_iy0cmfq wrote

Says someone that participates in social media - possibly the most widespread modern addiction

10

t1_iy0fd21 wrote

yeah but social media is free (except your privacy and all your information but shh)

0

t1_iy0aem8 wrote

Doesn't change the point of the post, which is that those people are the type to make bad financial decisions.

If I find burning money fun, does that make burning money a good financial decision?

−3

t1_iy02o0t wrote

A reasonable amount of lottery tickets is zero.

−17

t1_iy02sdo wrote

A reasonable amount is the amount you want to buy, which doesn't hurt your budget in any way.

Let people have their fun.

38

t1_iy0auar wrote

Hey mathematically but $2 buys a bit of fun what if I win fantasy.

1

t1_iy02y80 wrote

That's not the definition of reasonable, which means according to reason.

−30

t1_iy03l71 wrote

“According to reason” if a person buys a non-zero amount of lottery tickets that doesn’t impact their finances, that is a perfectly fine amount to buy.

27

t1_iy0377n wrote

what if they buy them for the thrill and not because they expect to win? its not a financial decision its entertainment.

19

t1_iy03g4o wrote

I see your point, but the thrill comes from the expectation of winning, doesn't it? And that's an unreasonable expectation.

−10

t1_iy06x62 wrote

It's unreasonable to say "I can give $2 to the lottery fund every few months, which goes to help support state programs, daydream a bit about being a millionaire, and not at all miss the money?" It's basically a donation with a chance of a payout.

10

t1_iy07qao wrote

Yes, hence nickname of "poor people tax"

−3

t1_iy09bx0 wrote

A voluntary donation is not a tax.

6

t1_iy0oybr wrote

That's why I put it in quotes, clever one.

Let's be real, the vast majority of purchasers are people who don't have a lot of money - if they were better at math, they'd realize they're just throwing that money away.

0

t1_iy1jsi4 wrote

But it's not throwing money away. It's just spending money on something that they want to spend money on. Yes, if you are buying a bunch of tickets regularly, it quickly becomes a form of real gambling with terrible odds, but for most it's just a buck or two that doesn't really hurt them. No different than spending money on anything just because you want it. It's not an investment, it's just a game with a side of charity. "Poor" people are allowed to perform acts of charity too.

1

t1_iy0409u wrote

Have you never fantasized about being wealthy before? Are you from Earth?

8

t1_iy049e4 wrote

there is a chance of winning isnt there? it doesnt have to outweigh the cost to be thrilling

take it this way: i know that by buying $20 worth of tickets every week i will be losing on average $5 a week. on the other hand, every week theres a 10% chance i end up making $100, the thrill of that is an experience worth more than $5 according to me.

5

t1_iy092m5 wrote

But the chance is one on several thousands, not 10%

1

t1_iy098j1 wrote

doesnt matter, on average youre losing either way. the point is that the thrill may be worth the cost

4

t1_iy07vgd wrote

Expectation? I don’t really think anyone has that expectation. Hope, sure.

2

t1_iy03ani wrote

Everyone's sense of reason is different based on their own experiences though 0.o so however much they can buy without hurting themselves seems reasonable no?

7

t1_iy08btf wrote

Happiness is a very individual thing, and is inherently unreasonable, as it cannot always be reasoned out. A reasonable amount may not be the best way to put it, but an amount that brings about happiness at a greater rate per dollar than other alternatives would be the most logical decision to put money intended for enjoyment on. I see where you're coming from, as the lottery is a terrible investment, but a couple dollars for a chance to dream may be a small price to pay for many.

5

t1_iy0b2pq wrote

You have $400,000.00 in the bank. There's a chance spending $1.00 will get you $485,000,000.00. is my mom unreasonable for buying the ticket or are you unreasonable that a dollar is too much to risk on a small chance of millions? Lmao

5

t1_iy03k02 wrote

You're quite the fun-sucker.

9

t1_iy08sz3 wrote

It's legalized gambling, it has nothing to do with fun.

0

t1_iy09fi4 wrote

Reason why gabling is so popular is because its fun.

7

t1_iy09kyi wrote

Gambling is popular because it's addictive.

0

t1_iy0dsk7 wrote

I’ve done pretty well for myself so far. I’m pretty sure the $10-$20 a year I spend on lottery tickets isn’t a sign of poor financial decisions.

Granted, if I won a few hundred million dollars I’d still do some hookers and blow for the experience. But only as much as my wife is willing to do with me and not until 99% of that money was tied up in extremely stable, dividend paying investments.

28

t1_iy0dovx wrote

You can play the lottery for the entertainment and still be good with money. It's like saying "people who eat anything but beans, rice, and a multivitamin are bad with money"

Not every purchase needs to have a financial RoI

17

t1_iy0bfg1 wrote

It's not necessarily a poor financial decision. The value of a lottery ticket is different for everyone. I very rarely buy them, but when I do it's a kind of entertainment. I'm buying a whole few days where I know I could be a multi millionaire. Obviously I'm aware it's virtually impossible to win, but It's not just about the money. It's much more about the hope and excitement it brings into my life, and a few whole days of that is easily worth $20.

16

t1_iy09fno wrote

I related to this 💯%. My mom has always been a compulsive lottery ticket buyer and she was always in debt. One day I did a rough calculation on how much money she spent on tickets from my birth until I turned 30 and it was ~$90K. The amount is likely higher because she had the same habit with my brother who is 12 yrs older than me.

10

t1_iy0cqd1 wrote

$9 a day on lottery tickets?

5

t1_iy0j640 wrote

My calculation was a combination of daily lottery ticket purchases and the occasional scratch tickets. I averaged $8 per day based on some weekly habits I remembered and the remaining as scratch tickets.

1

t1_iy04x4p wrote

People that desire wealth haven’t gone deep enough in themselves to see what brings about desire. A quick solution seems to be to get rich and all of the sudden life is easy mode, unfortunately that is not the case you will find you still have to get up and live with yourself. Being within yourself and cultivating your own energy will bring joy, where in chasing wealth will bring a feeling of emptiness that is never nourished no matter how much one has accumulated, it is why billionaires don’t stop chasing money after making a billion dollars

6

t1_iy07wh4 wrote

I'll have time to figure out how to cultivate self worth when I'm not working 60 hours a week between two jobs to barely break even. Getting at the absolute most six hours of sleep a day.

Hilariously, a bit of money would alleviate the largest pressure in my life giving me room to actually grow into the type of person who can learn how to better themselves.

26

t1_iy09oc1 wrote

Seriously. Sounds like that "money doesn't buy happiness" shit millionaires tell everyone else as they hoard all that totally unhappy money.

15

t1_iy09nuw wrote

Just 10 minutes of meditation, exercise, joyful time with family and friends, here and there, help, no matter how busy you are. Don’t lose yourself in the hustle

1

t1_iy0e5bu wrote

Your point is valid, I just want to point out, this isn’t a hustle thing. It is the baseline reality for a huge majority of people just trying to keep a roof over their heads. All with varying levels of support and ability to tend to self care. It isn’t just an attitude thing, times are very hard.

4

t1_iy0btkh wrote

I want to downvote this because it’s true, but take my upvote while I go check my powerball tickets

6

t1_iy0f9wg wrote

Although, if you win the lottery, that decision to buy the ticket was probably the best financial decision you’ve ever made

6

t1_iy0k0fv wrote

If you shoot up heroin and your dealer leaves you $50 grand in his will, buying heroin still would not be a good financial decision.

2

t1_iy0c4sp wrote

I only ever buy lottery tickets when a group I’m part of, like at an office, pool their money to buy tickets. I only do this on the off chance they won and everyone quit and I was stuck there.

5

t1_iy05b26 wrote

If you win the lottery why would keep buying more lotto tickets

4

t1_iy07ebg wrote

To win it AGAIN

Almost impossible, but one or 2 tickets now and then should be more than manageable

Dont forget some dude won a jackpot on a scratch off ticket and when he went to act it out for a tv show or whatever he fucking won another huge sum of money

8

t1_iy09uah wrote

Statistically you are more likely to win twice than once.

−1

t1_iy0dzls wrote

If you buy 2 tickets you’re more likely to win both than one? Statistics isn’t as simple as words

0

t1_iy0evdo wrote

No if you win the lottery. Then play again. You are more likely to win the second time than the first. Statistically this is true but that just goes to show how misleading statistics are. It's based on the fact that there is a higher % of people who have won the lottery and then won again, than people who have won vs the general population. I was joking but it is an actual statistic.

1

t1_iy0fdmt wrote

Ah, so the statistic is actually better worded: if you continue to play the lottery after winning, you are likely to continue to use that lottery winner wealth until you eventually win again, when compared with the average player. Yes indeed that is statistically logical and deceptive

0

t1_iy108w2 wrote

>if you continue to play the lottery after winning, you are likely to continue to use that lottery winner wealth until you eventually win again, when compared with the average player

Let's say the population is 100 million, you have 1 million lottery players* and of these 1 million lottery players, 1000 have won the jackpot. The ratio of jackpot winners to the general population is 1 in 100,000. If a single one of those jackpot winners wins the jackpot again then the double jackpot winner to single jackpot winner ratio is equal to 1 in 1,000. This means that despite having just a single double jackpot winner, the double jackpot winner is statistically 100 times more common in the jackpot winner population than the single jackpot winner is in the general population.

Note: I have no idea what percentage of the population has actually won a jackpot, the numbers provided are just guesses that let me show what I am getting and to do the maths easier.

*edited to hopefully make some sense looks for his coffee*

*I could probably just remove the reference to the percentage of the population that plays the lottery as it isn't really used at all.

2

t1_iy0hlvi wrote

This is not how probability works. The number of double lottery winners has no bearing on your chance of winning the lottery, regardless of whether or not you've won it yourself.

0

t1_iy0e8tx wrote

I had a guy at one of my old jobs who played scratch offs constantly, but he also won constantly. Biggest win was only $7,000 he said, but he won $1,000 twice in the three years I worked there.

For some random people, it oddly seems worth it.

1

t1_iy11v9w wrote

>but he won $1,000 twice in the three years I worked there

How much did he spend on tickets over those three years though?

My brother used to be a poker machine junky and would put thousands through them. He would always brag about how he won "$5000" here and "$1000" there but overall he would have been down by tens of thousands of dollars a year despite the wins. I used to go with him sometimes (usually to the Texas Hold'em tournaments and then play the pokies a bit afterwards because he didn't want to leave for a while afterwards) but I would just take like $40 with me to play with and continually buy beers to drink while playing. Despite lucky wins here and there (one time I came home drunk as a skunk with several hundred in gold coins in my pockets lol) I know that I would be down overall on the poker machines.

2

t1_iy1pgwp wrote

He bought 1 ticket a day on his lunch.

He also won more than that while I was there, but I can only remember the $1,000 twice as we talked about it both times.

1

t1_iy0bhpg wrote

That’s like saying people who buy beer make “poor financial decisions.” People do it for entertainment and that feeling in between draws, not necessarily because they’re making a financial decision to win the lottery.

4

t1_iy0gwjx wrote

The lottery is a tax on a poor. Its legalized government endorsed gambling and sends a terrible message that if you get lucky you can be rich.

4

t1_iy0h3nm wrote

This myth has been disproven.

It just makes for a juicy story to highlight the handful who fuck it all up. The majority do fine.

4

t1_iy0dul8 wrote

Reasonable assertion but not proven. It just might be that an 'abundance attitude' is learned from birth and 'instant millionaires' are not grown from a position of "There's more where that came from". Pro athletes (for the most part) show the same inability to make good financial calls.

2

t1_iy0f8gt wrote

I don’t agree with the last part.

What IS true however, is handing millions of dollars to someone who is used to having less than 75k/ annual salary. There is no way they be successful with that money absent some very good sound financial advice.

2

t1_iy0y82p wrote

>There is no way they be successful with that money absent some very good sound financial advice.

Here in Australia if you win over a certain amount of money in the lottery (and maybe scratchies?) you are required to take a (admittedly short) financial planning course. I think the hope is that you will make some sensible financial decisions with your money instead of blowing it all on hookers and coke.

2

t1_iy12az9 wrote

That’s actually pretty smart. I’m one of those people but if I ever win I’m not going to be one of “those” people who blew their lottery in a year. I’ve thought about it enough to know exactly what I would do with it to ensure money is never an issue again for me.

1

t1_iy0g083 wrote

that's a little snooty, gambling can be entertainment detached from core investment and budgeting decisions, the costs can certainly be similar to other recreational activities

2

t1_iy0g6ko wrote

This is why the lottery is often referred to as “the poor tax”.

2

t1_iy0ggpi wrote

Generally yes. It is a defacto voluntary tax on lower income citizens. Lottery's are immoral and unethical and should be stopped.

Imagine if the gov cancelled lottery's and then increased taxes on the people who spend the most on lotto tickets to make up the deficit?

My favorite part are the states that run lottery's yet outlaw gambling. It's fine if the politicians run a gambling racket and get to pick the winners and losers of the state monies spent to run them but by god no private citizens will be allowed to do it because that would just be encouraging gambling!

2

t1_iy0kdae wrote

You don’t hear about the successful ones. Not as interesting a story

2

t1_iy09tds wrote

Not necessarily tickets, but also stuff like a business idea or a high risk investment that will “definitely” pay off.

1

t1_iy0cxos wrote

One exception: Raising Cane's CEO blew $100,000 on Lottery tickets - TWICE saying he would split the winnings between all employees. $200,000 worth of tickets and they won squat.

I get his intention, but that money could have been put into an account for an employee emergency fund or anything else. Stupid.

1

t1_iy0e8z1 wrote

Lottery’s feed off leveraging greed? Crazy, I’ll go tell my grandma who buys tickets with money she doesn’t need, so she can have more money she doesn’t need.

2

t1_iy0d5ug wrote

Not really. I only play when it’s over $500 million. It’s a great way to have fun lol!

1

t1_iy0ed87 wrote

I dunno. My dad always bought a ticket. He said that the best but about the lottery was the consideration of what you’d do with it. I’ve followed in his footsteps.

1

t1_iy0f2j8 wrote

There’s a bit more to it than that. Studies have shown that when people are given things, they’re more likely to turn around and give said things away. When they earn things, they hold on to them and make reasonable decisions

1

t1_iy0fl22 wrote

Gambling is just like any other vice. As long as it’s done in moderation I don’t see the issue. Everyone here has a vice of some sort and spends money that others would deem wasted in their eyes. If people enjoy it and do it responsibly who are you to judge someone else?

Everybody here talking crap about people that buy lotto tickets are out buying video games or exercise gear or your pog collection or whatever.

I don’t see the difference.

1

t1_iy0fn05 wrote

I've watched enough people piss away money they've come into or won to know damn well that I will never do what they did.

That said, I do buy lottery, but only when the pot is absurdly high, even though I know I'll never win., Not playing though is a 100% guarantee you really really won't win.

Also, don't understand people that will drop hundreds on scratch tickets, only to win a significant amount, and turn around and buy more with the winnings. *facepalm (Gambling addiction, I get it.)

1

t1_iy0fu0j wrote

It's called Sex Panther® by Odeon.

It's a cologne that is illegal in 9 countries.

It's also made with bits of real panther, so you know it's good.

60% of the time, it works every time.

1

t1_iy0gre5 wrote

That doesn’t mean don’t buy lottery tickets. Oregon roads are pretty bad, buy more tickets

1

t1_iy0gzcz wrote

Hell with how much one of my family members has lost playing the lottery, I won't play the lottery...plus statistically...doesn't make much sense.

1

t1_iy0k9ob wrote

I’m cheap as hell and every once in a while I’ll throw 5-10 dollars at it (like one every month or so). The people who go throw 200-600 at it each week or every other have some ass backwards priorities (and logic).

1

t1_iy16agw wrote

One time I drove into a gas station at 10 am. Big crowd for so early. Filled up, went in to pay and asked what's all the hubbub about? The lottery is up to 10 million! Well, I better get one then. How many you want? How many does it take to win? One. Then I'll take one. On the way home I thought if I win, I'll get the crack in my windshield fixed.

1

t1_iy03uqm wrote

But you can still make a poor fin. decision to buy the ticket, win, and let profesionals help you make reasonable decision

−1

t1_iy0ech7 wrote

Pretty much. Plenty of examples of people who won big but were back at McDonald's a few years later

−1

t1_iy04oms wrote

And seemingly everyone has a plan on what they will do when they win the lottery, while not many have a plan on what they’ll do when they are diagnosed with cancer.

−4

t1_iy0c58c wrote

I got a plan. Debt, throw about 5m to retirement. Buy a house under 600k. Continue to go to work. Throw the rest into my savings @2% APY

And just collect interest.

5

t1_iy07yoz wrote

Lottery tickets are incredibly overpriced for the chance they give you. Don't just downvote me, show me a lottery where the price of the ticket is lower than the expected win (probability×jackpot)

−4

t1_iy0eh4f wrote

Well ya that’s how they end up benefiting a select minority (state government and winners) and stiffing everyone else

1