People who are convinced they'll win the lottery...

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I have to confess that I do play occasionally (maybe six times a year), mostly for a cheap thrill than an actual belief that I'll win, but...

A friend of mine's mother (lower middle class, Southern-bred, big daytime TV watcher) has basically put her life on hold until the money comes in. Everything is hedging on her inevitable lottery sweep, which should happen any day now. She apparently spends quite a bit on lottery tickets (as well as going to the Indian casinos).

Orwell talks about the lottery in 1984, about how it sort of dulls people (like religion)into acceptance and complacency in an otherwise miserable life... and the lottery seems to attack the very essence of the American ethic, which is the Horatio Alger up-by-the-bootstraps mythos...

And, in truth, it's not the occasional players like me who win, but the folks that spend far too much of their income on lottery tickets!

― andy, Tuesday, 16 November 2004 17:29 (twenty-one years ago)

And, in truth, it's not the occasional players like me who win, but the folks that spend far too much of their income on lottery tickets!

well, if you spend more you have a (slightly) better chance of winning (provided you don't buy five tickets of the same number in one night of course ;))

but the occasional players win too - that's the essence of lottery every ticket has the same chance. to know how unlikely it is to win, imagine the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 comes up. how surprised and omg wtf holy shit you'd be when it comes up - that's exactly how unlikely!

i still buy it though and winning would solve a lot of my problems.

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 17:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Congratulations on invoking 1984 in a way that is not directly related to the recent election.

keep 'em stupid!

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 17:37 (twenty-one years ago)

"People who are convinced they'll win the lottery" = my dad.

its really sad :-(

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 18:56 (twenty-one years ago)

but for all i know he might win big time someday.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 18:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I need to start playing it.

― adam... (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 18:58 (twenty-one years ago)

i only play when the jackpot is over 200 million dollars so i can tell myself that i took my chance and didnt win.

― todd swiss (eliti), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

The Lotter = EVIL

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Lottery is even worse!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I buy a lottery ticket every once in a while. I think of it as a daydream ticket really.

― Michael White (Hereward), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:07 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.tabula-rasa.info/HorrorImages/Lottery.jpg

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:07 (twenty-one years ago)

My father plays every week. He says he doesn't really expect to win, but he likes to talk about things he would buy if he did.

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:10 (twenty-one years ago)

whoa, there is no demon lover in that story!

my wife buys scratchers from time to time. I think the most I ever won was $20 though.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:13 (twenty-one years ago)

just remember: instead of saying "Fuck tomorrow" that buck that bought a bottle coulda struck the lotto.

― Kenan (kenan), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

That book cover is brilliant! A total misrepresentation!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I like the unattributed "wickedly delicious."

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

my mother-in-law is convinced that she is getting "really good" at the lottery. she's a complete moron in countless other ways - her lottery skillz are just the tip of the iceberg.

― tobo (tobo), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I too buy scratchers occasionally, but they're the biggest rip in the world.. the Vietnamese guy that runs the shop keep a loose track of the winnings and says that they're REALLY low payers. Lottery sales in California are way down apparently, because we don't have the 600 billion powerball purses... people don't want to bother with 8 or 9 million, it's hardly worth the time.

― andy, Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Wasn't the lottery supposed to rescue California's education system?

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

"What has six balls and fucks rednecks?"

― Dale Panopticalis (cprek), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha!

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:52 (twenty-one years ago)

why not buy it though.. get a ticket a week the worst you can lose is like 53 quid a year.. multiplied by say 60 years that's only 3000 pounds.. if you don't win, you die you go oh well! but if you win! phwooorooeee!

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 19:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, you can "win" the lottery without winning the big money... if yiu get 4 or 5 out of six, you'll win something too.

― andy, Tuesday, 16 November 2004 20:06 (twenty-one years ago)

There are much more reliable ways of investing that 3000 pounds, like betting it on a horse or a greyhound.

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 20:07 (twenty-one years ago)

OTM, my dad's won far more at the track than he has from the lottery.

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 20:17 (twenty-one years ago)

IF powerball had 243 million dollar winners as opposed to one 243 million dollar winner, then I'd play too. Like that's going to happen any time soon.

― jim wentworth (wench), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 04:40 (twenty-one years ago)

IF powerball had 243 one million dollar winners as opposed to one 243 million dollar winner, then I'd play too. Like that'll happen anytime soon.

― jim wentworth (wench), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 04:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Hey, my first post didn't take - then it did. This place is rigged.

― jim wentworth (wench), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 04:48 (twenty-one years ago)

My posts have been disappearing lately, and now you've got two. I feel like I'm being ripped off by the ILX lottery :(

― Allyzay Science Explosion (allyzay), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 05:57 (twenty-one years ago)

If you must gamble, please play poker. It's the only classy way to go, really.

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 06:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Or blackjack. I like blackjack, too. Then again, my mom won $1200 out of a slot machine once, so who knows.

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 06:13 (twenty-one years ago)

seven years pass...

Powerball simulator: http://justwebware.com/powerball/powerball.html

See how much you'll lose over time!

― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 13 August 2012 19:00 (thirteen years ago)

I saw one a while back that had an additional total for 'here's how much you'd have if you'd put the money in a high interest bank account instead'.

― snoball, Monday, 13 August 2012 19:06 (thirteen years ago)

Over 50 years I won $956. Can anyone do better?

― frogbs, Monday, 13 August 2012 19:12 (thirteen years ago)

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