Quantcast

Lottery... Who plays and why?

Do you play the lottery, If you do why?

  • I play lucky numbers!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    47
  • Poll closed .

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
I like all these really enlightened posts like "stupid tax" etc.

Just like going to vegas, playing slots or craps or whatever, you're not likely to win, but it is still fun to do. The occasional dollar here and there when there's a big jackpot is not a "stupid tax" because you're not expecting to win, but it is fun to try. It is exciting to watch the numbers get drawn, and already have spent the money and planned out dreams in your mind. Is a good time worth a dollar?
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,825
13,055
Portland, OR
ditto. waste $5 or $10 a month for a lifetime and that's a lot of money.
My company stock has outpaced my lottery investments. $10 a month is a less than 1% of my corp. shares. Maybe in a few years, that may change. But maybe in a few years, I could also win.

Gambling is gambling, no matter how you slice it. If I invest 10% of my portfolio aggressively and have a 1% loss, that's less than th $5M lottery ticket cost me with better odds.

<edit> Well said, BS. My wife and I go to the casino a few times a year and have dinner, then blow $100 on penny slots. We have a great time and I've come away up $200 before, sometime, not so much. Is it any worse than going to a club and dropping $100 on a bar tab? At least at the casino I might actually leave with money.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
37,937
7,508
I like all these really enlightened posts like "stupid tax" etc.

Just like going to vegas, playing slots or craps or whatever, you're not likely to win, but it is still fun to do. The occasional dollar here and there when there's a big jackpot is not a "stupid tax" because you're not expecting to win, but it is fun to try. It is exciting to watch the numbers get drawn, and already have spent the money and planned out dreams in your mind. Is a good time worth a dollar?
i think going to vegas is stupid, too

:D

well, going there to see the flown-in strippers might not be stupid, but playing against the house in the casinos is, imo.
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
I play occasionally (usually once / month but not in the past 6 months or so), but think of it as buying the ability to dream about winning big. When you buy the tickets, for the next 24 hours you're dreaming about winning 100 million dollars, talking about which bike company you'd buy, and whether you could purchase your current/former company and fire the people that you don't like.* Then you get a pool going with all the peons at your job, and discuss how it'd be hilarious if you won and nobody showed up for work the next day.

That kind of entertainment is easily worth the $5... I know I won't win, but it's fun to play anyway.


* Intense and yes.

:)
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,825
13,055
Portland, OR
i think going to vegas is stupid, too

:D

well, going there to see the flown-in strippers might not be stupid, but playing against the house in the casinos is, imo.
So you think stupid != fun sometimes? I guess it's all in your idea of fun. Somebody wins the lottery, damn near every week. Of course the odds are outrageous, but it doesn't change the fact that SOMEBODY wins. If you never buy a ticket, then you are guaranteed to NOT win.

When I cash in my winning ticket, I'll get a shirt that says:

I got a HUGE refund from my stupid tax.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
37,937
7,508
So you think stupid != fun sometimes? I guess it's all in your idea of fun. Somebody wins the lottery, damn near every week. Of course the odds are outrageous, but it doesn't change the fact that SOMEBODY wins. If you never buy a ticket, then you are guaranteed to NOT win.
such logic makes "sense" because huge numbers (and their flip side, infinitesimal odds) are indeed hard to grasp. :busted:
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,825
13,055
Portland, OR
such logic makes "sense" because huge numbers (and their flip side, infinitesimal odds) are indeed hard to grasp. :busted:
Trailer trash win because they play ALL THE TIME. There was an article about an old guy here in town who said he never played because his wife would tell him he was tossing money down the toilet. She died, so he started playing. He has won 2 different 6 figure jackpots in the same year.

Besides, Oregon Lottery does good things, it says so in the commercials.