Definitely not for a measly $100 million or $500 million....

I think I'm waiting for Mega Millions to hit a billion. Being anything less than a billionaire just isn't worth my time, y'know?

I find it ironic how almost half of the folks answering this poll say "It's a suckers bet", yet we all still try for the Bunnies Ogling Carrots whenever we can.

jma89 wrote:I find it ironic how almost half of the folks answering this poll say "It's a suckers bet", yet we all still try for the Bunnies Ogling Carrots whenever we can.

If you get a Bunnies Ogling Carrots then you know you get something, even if it's incredibly crappy. For the lottery, the vast majority of people end up with just a slip of paper.

Not too useful unless to like toilet paper that chafes pretty bad.

I figure if I want to throw my money away, I will flush it directly down the toilet. It spins around, the vortex of swirling money is cool, and you have pretty green and blue colors dancing around.

after 276 votes, exactly how i would have predicted the percentages would be.

wondering how it will hold up over a few thousand votes.

jma89 wrote:I find it ironic how almost half of the folks answering this poll say "It's a suckers bet", yet we all still try for the Bunnies Ogling Carrots whenever we can.

It doesn't cost money to sit and F5 a webpage every so often while browsing normally

I do it myself, but I always have to laugh at how so many folk won't play the lottery for a measly $100 million, but at $500 million, everyone decides it's time to go all in.

I'm a sucka. My Grandad started playing a set of numbers when the lottery (Classic) started in my state. When he died my Mom picked it up. When she gave up on it I took it on. My Mom is the smarter of us I guess. Almost 40 years,same numbers, twice a week and so far we've hit just chump change. BUT SOMEDAY.....
So yeah, I play for no apparent reason.

If you do the math (correctly, that is) the lottery is a bad bet and a miserable investment, particularly when you look at the scratch-off games. But, in the immortal words of Robert Heinlein, via his character Lazarus Long, "Certainly the game is rigged, but you can't win if you don't play!" For people who can afford a dollar played, once in a while, that dollar is a cheap dream, and one of the few "taxes" an individual actually has a chance of benefitting from directly ... if only on a 1-in-32-or-so basis. You can even view it as a donation to "the cause", whatever the cause the particular state you are in commits lottery profits to. It's the second dollar that you have to call into question, since the first dollar takes you from "no chance at all" to "I've been struck by lightning, so why not win this?" while the second dollar really doesn't change the situation noticeably. So, feel superior for not paying the "stupidity tax" if you want, or play a buck when you can afford it. It really isn't going to matter all that much ... unless you win.

I only play if the lottery jackpot is over 176 Million dollars. At that point the return becomes greater than the risk. If your odds of winning are 1: 176 Mill, then why not take a chance by paying 1 dollar for a chance at more than 176 Mill.

"odds of winning 1 in 32, odds of winning jackpot 1 in 176 million, PRIZES EQUAL 50% OF EARNINGS"

So in the long run, you will end up with 50 cents for every dollar you put into the lottery. Low-risk stock investments have a better payout, and high-risk stock investments have a better chance of winning. Take a wild guess where my money goes.

I do have a firm belief that if I buy one lottery ticket in my lifetime, I will hit the jackpot, but if I buy two or more, every one will be a loser. I'm still waiting for the perfect time.

I don't play the lottery to win... that IS a sucker's bet. But I DO play the lottery to be able to dream of winning.

Let's face it; people spend lots of time and money to entertain themselves. It costs ten bucks or more to see a first-run movie! So a dollar - or even five -- for the dream of being a millionaire and the slimmest of chances to make that dream feel all the more real? TOTALLY WORTH IT.

I have a friend who calls the lottery "stupidity tax"; I respectfully disagree and call it "optimism tax".

I still haven't won, but I sure have had fun -- and the fun is what I buy the ticket for. It's all good!

I play every week. It's a dream. A couple months ago I won $150. That covered almost three years of dreaming.

crabil88 wrote:I only play if the lottery jackpot is over 176 Million dollars. At that point the return becomes greater than the risk. If your odds of winning are 1: 176 Mill, then why not take a chance by paying 1 dollar for a chance at more than 176 Mill.

Better to calculate it post-taxes... so it'd probably need to hit closer to $300 million.

spectralguy55 wrote:If you do the math (correctly, that is) the lottery is a bad bet and a miserable investment, particularly when you look at the scratch-off games. But, in the immortal words of Robert Heinlein, via his character Lazarus Long, "Certainly the game is rigged, but you can't win if you don't play!" For people who can afford a dollar played, once in a while, that dollar is a cheap dream, and one of the few "taxes" an individual actually has a chance of benefitting from directly ... if only on a 1-in-32-or-so basis. You can even view it as a donation to "the cause", whatever the cause the particular state you are in commits lottery profits to. It's the second dollar that you have to call into question, since the first dollar takes you from "no chance at all" to "I've been struck by lightning, so why not win this?" while the second dollar really doesn't change the situation noticeably. So, feel superior for not paying the "stupidity tax" if you want, or play a buck when you can afford it. It really isn't going to matter all that much ... unless you win.

Of course the problem is that those buying tickets are typically those who cannot afford it...
But the rest of us will continue to subsidize them till we go down the road to Greece

gryphoncat wrote:I don't play the lottery to win... that IS a sucker's bet. But I DO play the lottery to be able to dream of winning.

Let's face it; people spend lots of time and money to entertain themselves. It costs ten bucks or more to see a first-run movie! So a dollar - or even five -- for the dream of being a millionaire and the slimmest of chances to make that dream feel all the more real? TOTALLY WORTH IT.

I have a friend who calls the lottery "stupidity tax"; I respectfully disagree and call it "optimism tax".

I still haven't won, but I sure have had fun -- and the fun is what I buy the ticket for. It's all good!

I couldn't agree more. It isn't about the math, it's about the dream.

I will, every now and again, throw a dollar into the "wish machine". I have little hope of winning. The odds are too highly stacked against you. If you bank on winning, you are making a terrible investment. I've heard the phrase, "The lottery is a tax on people that can't do math." I actually agree. I play for the potential "what if" factor. That translates to a cheap $1 entertainment cost. Oh, and I admit... I have a ticket for tonight's big lotto. That's right... I'm a "potential" multi-millionare. Respect.

gryphoncat wrote:I don't play the lottery to win... that IS a sucker's bet. But I DO play the lottery to be able to dream of winning.

Let's face it; people spend lots of time and money to entertain themselves. It costs ten bucks or more to see a first-run movie! So a dollar - or even five -- for the dream of being a millionaire and the slimmest of chances to make that dream feel all the more real? TOTALLY WORTH IT.

I have a friend who calls the lottery "stupidity tax"; I respectfully disagree and call it "optimism tax".

I still haven't won, but I sure have had fun -- and the fun is what I buy the ticket for. It's all good!

It is just entertainment. You pay a buck (or a few bucks) to be able to dream about what you'd do with ridiculous amounts of money that you have a near-zero yet finite chance of winning. Sure you can dream without putting the money in, but you do lose that random chance possibility. The way I see it is buying a lottery ticket is like going to the movies. More likely than not, going to a movie is not going to benefit your life in a measurably positive way and you're still out a few bucks. At least the lottery (and gambling) gives you a possibility of a net gain after you've enjoyed your entertainment.

lifevirusx wrote:It doesn't cost money to sit and F5 a webpage every so often while browsing normally

I don't know... my time is valuable. Definately more than $1.

ThunderThighs wrote:O M G! We could make millions! Charge per F5!

Off to write the business plan!

I'm surprised you haven't raised the price on the Bunnies Ogling Carrots. You could double the price. For every 1,000 sold, you make an extra $3,000.

It may not seem like much, but if I was given $3,000 every time there was a Woot-Off, I'd be able to pay my mortgage with it.

My first few jobs were at gas stations, so I was playing a lot then. I never won more than $50 so I stopped for about 10 years, but then someone in my extended circle won $300K ($203K after taxes) off a scratcher last fall so now I've started playing again.

Won $200 (just dollars, not K, sadly) in December. And I did not win $640 million tonight.

I think I've played maybe 10 times. I never buy more than one ticket, and usually it's when the jackpot is crazy high and I feel like wasting a dollar. The way I see it, I'm playing so I can pretend for a couple days that I'll strike it rich. yeah, I won't win, but meh- I can dream.

Entity325 wrote:I do have a firm belief that if I buy one lottery ticket in my lifetime, I will hit the jackpot, but if I buy two or more, every one will be a loser. I'm still waiting for the perfect time.

Same here.

" ... the lottery is the state tax on gullibility ..."

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175 million or so. The odds of me becoming a millionaire in any other way are quite a but worse than that.

Never played. Seems odd to buy a ticket to win misery.

They needed an option for "Yeah, but it's a sucker's bet."

I play in the office pool, but I fully acknowledge that it's a waste of money.

I know it's a suckers bet but i still play occasionally. However I don't play to win, I play to burn off some bad luck.

lumpthar wrote:They needed an option for "Yeah, but it's a sucker's bet."

I play in the office pool, but I fully acknowledge that it's a waste of money.

But think how you'd feel if they won and you weren't in it.

the lottery is stupid tax. i'd just as soon waste my money on bags full of random crap. oh, wait..

d) ALL OF THE ABOVE