Anyone play the lottery?

[madmanjock]

I pay £5 a week for Euromillions one draw on Tuesday and Friday. I'm starting to think maybe I should just grow the fuck up and invest that money instead. Especially given that the odds of winning are smaller than that of Dr Docking ever getting a real medical degree. (Sorry Doc).



But then again, £5 isn't a big deal... but over the months and years it adds up. But also winning £120m would be really tasty. (Or even £1m if I'm honest).

 

[@M]

Nope, I don't like to gamble, so I don't buy lottery tickets or scratch-offs. Believe it or not, I've never stepped foot inside a casino in my life either (with the exception of the virtual video game variety).

 

[LoneSage]

No, it's a game only stupid poor people play.

 

[FAT$TACKS]

When there is one of those super big ones I'll sometimes do it but, not normally.

 

[HDRchampion]

I pay £5 a week for Euromillions one draw on Tuesday and Friday. I'm starting to think maybe I should just grow the fuck up and invest that money instead. Especially given that the odds of winning are smaller than that of Dr Docking ever getting a real medical degree. (Sorry Doc).



But then again, £5 isn't a big deal... but over the months and years it adds up. But also winning £120m would be really tasty. (Or even £1m if I'm honest).

That's $25,000 in 25 years. That's a really nice lengthy vacation you could have when you retire or 20 to 25 statues.

 

[Ralfakick]

If I have to get gas and have some singles I’ll buy a ticket, that’s about it.

 

[Burning Blade]

I played super/mega/powerball for a few years. Spent maybe $5-10 a month and didn’t win shit. Once in a blue moon I will get a ticket these days. Never fucked with scratchers

 

[Xavier]

Poor people tax.

I see gambling as a form of entertainment, then I lose my money and it's not so entertaining anymore.

 

[neofonta]

I prefer to bet on online betting sites.

For me is more exciting to follow some football leagues that a like to watch and try to get some extra cash month by month.

Trying to have some luck from random balls who have to match with some random numbers I choosed is not enough funny for me.

I know lottery is more money if you win but it's a lot extra difficult.

 

[jro]

No, it's a game only stupid poor people play.

/thread.

 

[100proof]

I prefer my gambling to have odds that aren't astronomically low.

That said, I'll throw in a couple bucks the 2-3 times a year it gets crazy high. Less because I think I have any shot at winning and more to have the fun conversation about what we'd do with "buy an island" money. So yeah, I probably blow $10-15 a year on it.

Could be worse... I could be buying useless toys that not only cost money but take up space in my house.

 

[Heinz]

Gambling is a farce but maybe once a year if for some reason I end up at the Casino I'll put $20 on a roulette table.

 

[SouthtownKid]

No, it's a game only stupid poor people play.

That's what I love about the lottery and what I bring up every time someone says we should get rid of it or whatever.

It's brilliant. It's a tax on stupidity. If you're an idiot, you pay in. Willingly! And if you're not a moron, you are not required to pay. A tax that helps fund schools, and I am not required to participate. Complete win/win.

 

[Dr Docking]

Oof tough crowd...

West Korea has many excellent casinos available for locals and tourists alike! Be sure to visit them! especially the newly built DOCKING GRAND!

Last week a tourist from Germany won the jackpot, an all expenses paid treatment at my clinic! Needless to say he walked in average and walked out KING DICK!

SouthtownKid, seeing as you're not one to gamble perhaps you'd like a sure thing? I can provide it at my clinic and I'd be sure to loosen you up for good if you visit.

 

[GregN]

Poor people tax.

I see gambling as a form of entertainment, then I lose my money and it's not so entertaining anymore.

I hate to be judgemental, but I agree. I think I've bought 3 lotta tickets in my life. Put that money into a ROTH IRA or CD (Not music) son.

 

[Mr. Mort]

No, it's a game only stupid poor people play.

Pretty much. I might play once or twice a year when the PowerBall jackpot gets huge, but that’s it.

If you play the lottery regularly, you may as well just throw your money out the window. I see lots of poor and lower-middle class people playing all the time around here.

 

[StevenK]

Pretty much. I might play once or twice a year when the PowerBall jackpot gets huge, but that’s it.

If you play the lottery regularly, you may as well just throw your money out the window. I see lots of poor and lower-middle class people playing all the time around here.

I think the point of the lottery is (was) that it's so cheap to play that you actually could throw the money out of the window and it would make no difference to your life. It was a weekly tiny flicker of hope. They destroyed the trust of that set up when they brought out scratchcards that people do actually spend real money on.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I think the point of the lottery is (was) that it's so cheap to play that you actually could throw the money out of the window and it would make no difference to your life.

And they were counting on enough people being so stupid as to be incapable of doing addition, so that they would believe all the money that added up week-by-week over the years wouldn't have made a difference in their lives. Yay, idiots!! Thank you for your sacrifice.

Sincerely,
The Rest of Us

 

[LoneSage]

If I won the lottery the first thing I would do is hire wasabi as my lawyer to take care of the money.

 

[terry.330]

Every single fucking time I go to the gas station there is an Indian guy in flip-flops, high water pants and a winter jacket buying scratch off tickets by the dozens. He stands next to the register blocking everyone else and scratches them off to get just enough money to buy more tickets. It would be cheaper to buy smack.

 

[StevenK]

And they were counting on enough people being so stupid as to be incapable of doing addition, so that they would believe all the money that added up week-by-week over the years wouldn't have made a difference in their lives. Yay, idiots!! Thank you for your sacrifice.

Sincerely,
The Rest of Us

The real beauty of the lottery in the UK is 40% of the takings are given back to the community as grants for heritage and the arts. Things like museums, galleries, ballet and the opera. Things the people who play the lottery wouldn't touch in a million years.

 

[theMot]

If I won the lottery the first thing I would do is hire wasabi as my lawyer to take care of the money.

I would pay for a nice new modern bb for ng.com

 

[madmanjock]

The real beauty of the lottery in the UK is 40% of the takings are given back to the community as grants for heritage and the arts. Things like museums, galleries, ballet and the opera. Things the people who play the lottery wouldn't touch in a million years.

Yeah and alot of charities get funding from the UK lottery as well.

I think Steve’s view is similar to mine. £2.50 per draw isn’t alot of money to me, and the weekly dream of giving the boss the middle finger is really the reason I play. And if some of that money helps art or charities, that’s a nice bonus.

 

[SouthtownKid]

The real beauty of the lottery in the UK is 40% of the takings are given back to the community as grants for heritage and the arts. Things like museums, galleries, ballet and the opera. Things the people who play the lottery wouldn't touch in a million years.

Yeah, that is great and I wholeheartedly appreciate the dumb of the world funding that. I am in no way being sarcastic. I love that the lotto exists.

and the weekly dream of giving the boss the middle finger is really the reason I play.

If you ever actually do win, your dream will turn into a nightmare. Look up a website listing past winners and what happened to them afterward. It reads like this:

Bankrupt/in greater debt than prior to winning
Prison
Prison
Prison
Prison
Bankrupt/in greater debt than prior to winning
Death from overdose
Prison
Bankrupt/in greater debt than prior to winning
Prison
Prison
Prison
Bankrupt/in greater debt than prior to winning
Bankrupt/in greater debt than prior to winning
Death from overdose
Prison
Bankrupt/in greater debt than prior to winning
Prison
Prison
Bankrupt/in greater debt than prior to winning
Bankrupt/in greater debt than prior to winning
Death from overdose
Prison
Bankrupt/in greater debt than prior to winning

It's fucking chilling. That's even without the businesses that target winners with all kinds of scams and frivolous lawsuits they get people to pay off to make go away. Unless you are living in an area that allows winners to remain anonymous (a few states in the US do, I have no idea about the UK), you're better off not winning.

Here's one great story:

Bud Post lost $16.2 million within a nightmarish year — and his own brother allegedly put out a hit on him.
Bud Post lost $16.2 million within a nightmarish year — and his own brother allegedly put out a hit on him.

William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988, but he was $1 million in debt within a year.

"I wish it never happened," Post said. "It was totally a nightmare."

A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a third of his winnings, and his brother was arrested for allegedly hiring a hit man to kill him in the hopes he'd inherit a share of the winnings.

After sinking money into family businesses, Post sank into debt and spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector.

"I was much happier when I was broke," he said, according to The Washington Post.

Bud lived quietly on $450 a month and food stamps until his death in 2006.

 

[Heinz]

If I won the lottery, not that I play, but if I did I would literally move overseas for the rest of my life. Best way to put distance between your rich self and poor, potentially violent family members/friends.