# Do You Buy the Lottery **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 9, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772 "2011-09-09T23:56:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/41 "2011-09-11T21:10:41Z")
I buy very occassionally, like others when the jackpot is huge. I figure if I don’t buy one I have a 0% chance of winning and if I do buy one I have a 0.00000000001% chance. I only buy 1 ticket - buying multiple tickets doesn’t significantly increase your chances of winning. I also hit casinos a couple of times a year and consider the money I lose there just to be the cost of having a days worth of fun. Occasionally I get lucky at the casino, never with the lottery. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/42 "2011-09-11T21:54:28Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Not as obnoxious as people repeating the same tired “tax on bad math” line over and over and over again, every single time the subject is raised. But you are the only (I guess Canadjun, too) person in this thread who mentioned this idea. _You_ brought it up. That’s why “InB4” is obnoxious: you are only pretending that you don’t want to talk about this idea. > [@](#): > > It’s probably true that people with well-paid and fulfilling careers gamble less than the rest of us, but that hardly makes it a “poor tax”. I didn’t meant this as a judgement, and I don’t mean “poor” as an insult (I’m sure many poor people have fulfilling careers). I only meant that as far as I can see, it takes a disproportionate amount of money from poor people and gives it to the government, which is the very definition of a regressive tax. > [@](#): > > I like to gamble on occasion, I like beer, I like many things that may not be good for me in a way that can be quantified. However, life is not a simple binary system of good/bad things. I find that the relaxation that comes from a beer or two with some good friends or the excitement of the minuscule but real possibility of winning the lottery gives me a level of enjoyment that is _well_ worth the small “loss” of money that these things cost. > > You don’t get it? Fine, I don’t get the attraction of team sports. But I’m way past feeling superior to the people who do. Zing? If from my post you somehow got the idea that I was feeling superior\*, then perhaps we’ll have to agree to disagree. I thought I made it quite explicit that I thought it was a bad government policy, not that I meant to judge any of the lottery players. \*Rather I feel lucky that I don’t feel this particular self-destructive desire. I feel many other self-destructive desires about which I feel less than lucky. None of which should be _encouraged_ through advertising by my state government. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/43 "2011-09-11T22:22:07Z")
Self destructive desire? Really? Gosh, that’s not judgemental in the slightest. :rolleyes: When I see 80 year old men blocking the counter at the grocery or drug store for 30 minutes while they very slowly buy $80-100 of tickets, 1-3 at a time, _every fucking day_, yeah, then I agree with you. Moreso I just HATE waiting behind them because they’re usually completely oblivious to the fact that the line behind them grows to 5-10 people and if you complain to the clerk, they poo-poo you by telling you how this is that old person’s excitement for the day and you should just be patient. Beyond that, I laugh every time I read these threads and see ONLY a combination of two kinds of posters. 1\> Lottery Suxxors, ID10Ts!!! and 2\> Gosh, I only buy 2 tickets per year when the amount is over $100 million, otherwise I wouldn’t touch it! Because clearly, more people buy lottery tickets than this, and y’all act like it’s some great stigma to buy more than a few per year. As I said, I see a lot less harm in spending a couple of bucks per week on lottery tickets than (which probably includes a lot of you) spending that money on tobacco, energy drinks and bottled water. Paying for WATER? Really? I have a Brita filter and plenty of bottles at home. To my mind, there should be a stigma attached to bottled water far worse than that associated with the lottery. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/44 "2011-09-11T22:43:31Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Beyond that, I laugh every time I read these threads and see ONLY a combination of two kinds of posters. 1\> Lottery Suxxors, ID10Ts!!! and 2\> Gosh, I only buy 2 tickets per year when the amount is over $100 million, otherwise I wouldn’t touch it! That wasn’t my response. I said “every now and then.” I don’t care what the jackpot is, because that information isn’t relevant. Practically speaking there is no difference to me between winning $3.5 million, the minimum Lotto 6/49 jackpot, and $50 million, which is about as high as it has ever gotten. (Canadian lotteries are not taxed and are paid in full right away so that is actually what you win.) Either way I’m receiving a life-changing sum of money. I will basically throw five bucks at it if, in fact, I am in a place that sells lottery tickets. (Sometimes a Lotto 6/49 can come and go without me ever stepping into a store that sells tickets.) So I probably buy in more than half of all draws. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/45 "2011-09-12T02:07:14Z")
To those who consider the lottery a tax on the poor, consider this: long before state or provincial government got into the lotto biz, there were numbers runners. Every factory, a lot of little shops and bodegas, bars, etc had individuals who essentially ran their own private lottery. Did any of these profits go toward education or other governmental expenses? Likely little to none. Were most of the players working class or poor? Mostly. Basically, the government has stepped in and said that they’d like a piece of that pie. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/46 "2011-09-12T02:16:16Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > \*Rather I feel lucky that I don’t feel this particular self-destructive desire. I feel many other self-destructive desires about which I feel less than lucky. None of which should be _encouraged_ through advertising by my state government. > [@Chimera](#): > > Self destructive desire? Really? Gosh, that’s not judgemental in the slightest. :rolleyes: Yes, maybe “self destructive” wasn’t the best choice of word. However, I don’t think the above quote is judgmental toward lotto players. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/47 "2011-09-12T02:29:01Z")
We have a lotto 47 in Michigan. It generally runs about 100 to 150 thou. Once it got up to 800 thou. You need to match 5 numbers. I got the first 4. My prize…100 bucks. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/48 "2011-09-12T02:40:30Z")
If the “pot odds” are high enough. If the jackpot is Million and the odds are 10 million to One. No, I don’t. But if the jackpot is 50 Million and the odds are 50 Million to one, then yes, i would consider spending a few bucks. But I never make a special trip to buy lottery tickets, I have to be stopping to get gas and happen to go in the store to get an impulse item. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/49 "2011-09-12T04:23:00Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I bought one once, when the jackpot was at a silly level- used to work at a convenience store, and all the staff that day got one. Bit of fun. > > I saw far too many people horribly overspend on them though- the one that depressed me most was the guy who came in the day of every draw, so 3 a week, if I remember, with his teenage daughter, and bought one ticket. Was very obvious daughter was worried about him, 'cos he didn’t have much money (she lived with her mum, but spent a few hours after school with her dad most days) and was trying to get him to stop wasting the little money he had, but okay, one ticket per lottery’s not too bad. > > Then he’d come back in that night by himself and buy another 10. Every. Damn. Time. Yep, I saw a LOT of those too. And sadly they were mostly older people. The worst thing is that they’d often take the money they won and buy even more tickets. My dad was the type who’d play every now and then. I remember once asking for a horse and he told me, “When I win the lottery.” Well, naturally, with kid-logic, I decided that meant he WAS going to win it someday, and I’d have my horse. ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/50 "2011-09-12T06:24:32Z")
Nope, never. If I’m going to gamble, I’d rather visit a casino. I probably won’t win anything there either, but at least there’s a little skill involved along with the luck. Plus I find it more entertaining. For what it’s worth, I also don’t buy tobacco at all, and very seldomly buy an energy drink or a bottle of water. But that’s not to say I don’t waste my money. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/51 "2011-09-12T09:03:32Z")
I voted “no” as I’ve not bought a ticket in years, but I did used to. A “sometimes” option would have been useful. As an aside, is this how you say it where you live, Curtis? Here (UK) we would say “Do you play the lottery” or “do you buy a lottery ticket”, as “do you buy lottery” implies, well, spending millions to buy out the whole lottery system. (plus there’s more than one lottery going, so “the lottery” isn’t strictly correct either). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/52 "2011-09-12T09:31:01Z")
I don’t care how astronomical the odds are - each week somebody wins a lottery, and one day it might be me. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/53 "2011-09-12T11:00:24Z")
Nope, unless you count those that you get drafted into by attending a show or those that are sold as fundraisers. I don’t count them, since my primary purpose is not the lottery, and would pay even if there wasn’t one. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/54 "2011-09-12T13:28:05Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I was always amused when I’d sell lottery tickets to people back in high school. (I was working at a grocery store). You’d have people who’d spend fifty bucks, win twenty-five, and figure they’d come out ahead. We had a LOT of old people would come in and it wasn’t unusual for them to spend one hundred bucks at a time. Yikes. > > I think the biggest payout was about $500. The winning number? 666. I shit you not. That wasn’t the infamous 666 lottery drawing, was it? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/55 "2011-09-12T14:12:45Z")
I almost never do. I have tried, but all I feel, genuinely, is “what a waste of a dollar” and not “Ooo, what will I do if I win?” My old coworkers used to buy twice a week, and there was a hell of a lot of pressure for me to join in, too, so I used to just for the sake of harmony sometimes, and resented it every time. So clearly I wasn’t enjoying it. I really don’t have anything against people who do buy it, as long as they don’t pressure me, too. > [@Chimera](#): > > Because clearly, more people buy lottery tickets than this, and y’all act like it’s some great stigma to buy more than a few per year. As I said, I see a lot less harm in spending a couple of bucks per week on lottery tickets than (which probably includes a lot of you) spending that money on tobacco, energy drinks and bottled water. Paying for WATER? Really? I have a Brita filter and plenty of bottles at home. To my mind, there should be a stigma attached to bottled water far worse than that associated with the lottery. Oh, my, it’s a hijack but I would so like to subscribe to your newsletter. Bottled water makes me crazy, too. People who are dubious of our drinking water have no idea what a blessing it is to have beautiful clean water coming out of the tap, something that is relatively new in history and still isn’t prevalant throughout the world. Why would you buy drinking water, which really doesn’t have any rules like tap water does? Bottled water is the biggest scam ever and millions of people fell for it hook line and sinker. And tap water tastes better anyway - that is to say, it actually has a taste. Anyway. _gets off soapbox_ ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/56 "2011-09-12T15:16:38Z")
Regularly. We signed up with the Virginia lottery where you give them a lump sum and they make a ticket for you for each drawing over a certain period (still 1 dollar per ticket, you just don’t have to go to the store 2 times a week to buy). I consider it a donation to Virginia’s public school system. If I win anything, all the better. ---
**Author:** ![BigDadWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@BigDadWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDadWolf)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/57 "2011-09-12T18:16:54Z")
I spend four dollars a week on the lotto for two reasons. Firstly as it is the only way I can retire rich and (relatively) young and secondly because half the proceeds go to education and presumably replace taxes I otherwise might by required to pay. That said I do think the lottery is a regressive tax as many people spend money they would be better off saving. BTW I have won two good size chunks of money - $500 and $2500 so all in all I’m pretty close to even. The $2500 was one number off of being $55 million :(. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/58 "2011-09-12T20:15:07Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Because clearly, more people buy lottery tickets than this, and y’all act like it’s some great stigma to buy more than a few per year. As I said, I see a lot less harm in spending a couple of bucks per week on lottery tickets than (which probably includes a lot of you) spending that money on tobacco, energy drinks and bottled water. Paying for WATER? Really? I have a Brita filter and plenty of bottles at home. To my mind, there should be a stigma attached to bottled water far worse than that associated with the lottery. Stigma isn’t based on a neutral value-judgment; it’s based on economic signaling. Poor people play the lottery, and rich people buy bottled water. Which would you rather be seen as? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/59 "2011-09-12T21:56:24Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Stigma isn’t based on a neutral value-judgment; it’s based on economic signaling. Poor people play the lottery, and rich people buy bottled water. Which would you rather be seen as? I don’t think the people who won the $228 million Powerball here in Minnesota were anywhere near “poor”. And the guy who won the Megamillion a short while later wasn’t hurting either (“son of a millionaire”). And I’ve seen plenty of people in ratty clothing buying stacks of bottled water from Walmart, which makes zero economic sense. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772/60 "2011-09-13T03:07:54Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > That wasn’t the infamous 666 lottery drawing, was it? Nope, this would have been in the mid 1990s. I was only a baby when that happened. (Oh, and I buy bottled water because our tap water tastes like crap) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-the-lottery/595772.md?page=4)