# Lottery Addict Embezzles $2.3mil, Screams At Judge **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 27, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384 "2006-09-27T16:43:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/21 "2006-09-27T20:15:13Z")
In looking at it, from the report she stole 2.3 million over 3 years and about 5 months. It doesn’t say she spent all of it on the lotto but even if she did that comes out to an average of about $1800 per day. Still an outrageous amount of course but not quite the same as $6000 per day. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/22 "2006-09-27T20:25:47Z")
[QUOTE=Antinor01] In looking at it, from the report she stole 2.3 million over 3 years and about 5 months. It doesn’t say she spent all of it on the lotto but even if she did that comes out to an average of about $1800 per day. Still an outrageous amount of course but not quite the same as $6000 per day. [/QUOTE] The original story said “ **as much as** $6,000 a day”. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/23 "2006-09-27T20:50:01Z")
[QUOTE=Steve MB] The original story said “ **as much as** $6,000 a day”. [/QUOTE] I know. There was mention a couple times in this thread (well, one direct and a few that allude to) that she spent 6000 per day, I was just breaking down the numbers for a closer average. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/24 "2006-09-27T21:00:39Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Didnt she ever win? [/QUOTE] From the article: > [@](#): > > Investigators believe Donnelly may have won some jackpots of $5,000 or even $25,000, but it was never enough to cover the amount she had stolen overall. She would just have spent that money too. No matter much you spend, the odds are stacked against you. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/25 "2006-09-27T21:03:29Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] From the article: She would just have spent that money too. No matter much you spend, the odds are stacked against you. [/QUOTE] That’s the thing…unless you have amazing stroke of luck & buy a ticket once or twice and hit the multi-million-dollar payoff, you will always be in the red. Habitual players always spend more than they win in the long run. It wouldn’t work any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/26 "2006-09-27T21:38:03Z")
I once had a coworker who was addicted to those damn things. She would spend her lunch hour scratching them. She also complained about being broke all the time. She never made the connection. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/27 "2006-09-27T21:53:28Z")
I spend a few bucks a week on Lotto. That few bucks give me the abilty to have a few pleasant daydreams about “what would I do if I won the Lotto”, and for _that_, it’s well worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/28 "2006-09-27T22:35:59Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] I once had a coworker who was addicted to those damn things. She would spend her lunch hour scratching them. She also complained about being broke all the time. She never made the connection. [/QUOTE] I have a coworker like this. Sometimes she hits me up for money! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/29 "2006-09-27T22:48:53Z")
[QUOTE=interface2x] I used to work in a convenience store and we didn’t even have that many tickets onhand. I had one lady go through an entire roll of tickets (at that time - 1999 - they came in rolls of 300, I’m not sure about now) in a day, but that was it. She won $150 on one or something and bought the rest of the roll chasing that high. It never came. [/QUOTE] In New Mexico, the rolls are worth $300. So that’s 300 $1 tickets, 150 $2 tickets, and so on, all the way up to 15 $20 tickets. I’ve seen displays that can handle 20 packs, so if all packs were new that’s $6000 right there. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/30 "2006-09-28T02:53:41Z")
One word lady: DETERRANCE ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/31 "2006-09-28T11:20:35Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] I have a coworker like this. Sometimes she hits me up for money! [/QUOTE] I once told her, “Um, you really shouldn’t play those things. It’s a one-way ticket to destitution.” Her response? “I’ve been playing these for years, and I’ve won a LOT more money than I’ve spent!!” It was then I learned you cannot reason with people who live in denial. ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/32 "2006-09-28T11:28:31Z")
[QUOTE=Frostillicus] One word lady: DETERRANCE [/QUOTE] Another word: DICTIONARY! sorry - couldn’t resist! ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/33 "2006-09-28T12:04:02Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] I once told her, “Um, you really shouldn’t play those things. It’s a one-way ticket to destitution.” Her response? “I’ve been playing these for years, and I’ve won a LOT more money than I’ve spent!!” It was then I learned you cannot reason with people who live in denial. [/QUOTE] Aren’t they more worried about the crocodiles? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/34 "2006-09-28T12:55:33Z")
She would have done better just keeping the money she embezzled. And I’m sure she was thinking “When I win big, I’ll pay the money back” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/35 "2006-09-28T14:00:08Z")
[QUOTE=Frostillicus] One word lady: DETERRANCE [/QUOTE] I think it’s pretty clear that’s not going to work in these sorts of cases. Deterrence relies on people understanding something about probabilities of being caught and being punished. Someone who plays lotteries like this doesn’t understand (or can’t act as if she understands) the law of large numbers. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/36 "2006-09-28T14:30:10Z")
“Tell me how you’re helping me?” Lady, after the first couple million, the problem is _not_ that you need help from others; it’s that you are _way_ too adept at “helping yourself”. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/37 "2006-09-28T15:19:27Z")
She should ask the judge for an additional, consecutive sentence, in the hopes of winning early release on that second sentence. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/38 "2006-09-28T15:23:52Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat] She should ask the judge for an additional, consecutive sentence, in the hopes of winning early release on that second sentence. Sailboat [/QUOTE] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/39 "2006-09-28T15:30:40Z")
Damn, that’s cold **Sailboat**. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384/40 "2006-09-28T15:43:39Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] I spend a few bucks a week on Lotto. That few bucks give me the abilty to have a few pleasant daydreams about “what would I do if I won the Lotto”, and for _that_, it’s well worth it. [/QUOTE] I daydream all the time about what I would do if I won the Lotto. I do it without buying any tickets, you can too! My daydream is that one day I’ll buy a ticket and I’ll win. Then I spend a happy few minutes thinking what I will do with all that money. Or you can daydream that you will find the winning ticket in the street (the odds of that are probably not that much worse than actually buying a winning ticket.) Not that I want to discourage you from your small expense, but daydreaming doesn’t really require you to spend money. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lottery-addict-embezzles-2-3mil-screams-at-judge/374384.md?page=3)