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Off Topic : Playing the Lottery

Ing

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I admit : sometimes I play a lottery. I spend money for the possibility to win millions. I did that years ago, not so often now. Why not?

Here s the reason why:
Of course I know, that winning possibillities are bigger to throw a coin out of the window on a 1000 km journey and meet a dog with the coin.

But first : the possibility to win raises infinitely with the first lot you buy.
Second : when I buy a lottery ticket, I buy it for a dream. I now can have a more realistic dream of having money, which I didn t have te earn.
Years ago:Mybe I spend 12 € for a ticket.(Much less that the tickets of the policeman btw.) Than I put the ticket behind the sun visor of my car. I had it 3 months there. The time, which I had time to get my millions.
So, for 12 € I bought a dream for 3 months. Not so much in my opinion! Maybe 2 or 3 times a year.


Nowadays its all online: buy online, after the lottery is done, I get an email and know my fail after 3 days. 12€ for 3 days dream.

Well, thats not worthy. Therefor I dont play lotterie any more.

But maybe I should buy another 3 months dream again offline? ;)

Thanks for reading
 
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Not only do the odds suck...

But they are still 70 percent bad even if you win.

Over the past couple of years several news organizations have attributed a statistic to the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) stating that 70 percent of lottery winners end up bankrupt in just a few years after receiving a large financial windfall.

There is a problem with the mindset of at least 70 percent of people that play the lottery. None of them think that they will be one of the majority... But it keeps replaying over and over...

Lottery amounts of money are possible in business and come with much higher odds. The other HUGE advantage... It builds the character required to keep it once you earn it. Be there for the sacrifice.
 
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alexkuzmov

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I admit : sometimes I play a lottery. I spend money for the possibility to win millions. I did that years ago, not so often now. Why not?

Here s the reason why:
Of course I know, that winning possibillities are bigger to throw a coin out of the window on a 1000 km journey and meet a dog with the coin.

But first : the possibility to win raises infinitely with the first lot you buy.
Second : when I buy a lottery ticket, I buy it for a dream. I now can have a more realistic dream of having money, which I didn t have te earn.
Years ago:Mybe I spend 12 € for a ticket.(Much less that the tickets of the policeman btw.) Than I put the ticket behind the sun visor of my car. I had it 3 months there. The time, which I had time to get my millions.
So, for 12 € I bought a dream for 3 months. Not so much in my opinion! Maybe 2 or 3 times a year.


Nowadays its all online: buy online, after the lottery is done, I get an email and know my fail after 3 days. 12€ for 3 days dream.

Well, thats not worthy. Therefor I dont play lotterie any more.

But maybe I should buy another 3 months dream again offline? ;)

Thanks for reading
The lottery, any lottery, is a tax on the poor.
Dont buy tickets, sell tickets.
 

Ing

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Sure you are right.
But I don’t think, you have read that Out of my post I meant.
 
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alexkuzmov

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Sure you are right.
But I don’t think, you have read that Out of my post I meant.
Sure, I get it, you risk loose change for potentially life changing outcome.
My point was that the real money is made by the people who organize the lottery.
 

EVMaso

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YouTuber Mr Beast recently spent $100,000 on scratch and win lotto tickets and won back $66,000. He did something similar in an earlier video and got a similar spent/won ratio.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jokVbbLqV_E


For me I get scratch and win tickets and give them out to friends and family and coworkers during the holidays. It's a cheap but fun gift. Usually I end up with a few leftovers and I just scratch them off myself and get back almost all of what the leftover tickets are worth.
 

Ing

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Sure, I get it, you risk loose change for potentially life changing outcome.
My point was that the real money is made by the people who organize the lottery.
I sure will not get anything of a Lotterie I dont own. nothing more.
I just use it like a cinema and bUy a 3 months head cinema!
Just forget it!
 
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BellaPippin

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Poker is so much more fun and you can play with friends! And your odds are better.

Disclaimer: I haven't played for real money yet but I'm getting good at it and I've won several games in which I tripled my chips! I'm starting to get confident to use a few hundred and see if I can turn it into a bit more for funsies.
 

Kak

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Poker is so much more fun and you can play with friends! And your odds are better.

Disclaimer: I haven't played for real money yet but I'm getting good at it and I've won several games in which I tripled my chips! I'm starting to get confident to use a few hundred and see if I can turn it into a bit more for funsies.

Totally agree.

I LOATHE casino gambling, but poker night and horse races are both fun social events and I'm usually betting inconsequential amounts of money.

It usually costs 100 bucks to go out and have a fun time no matter how you slice it. Dinner and a movie. A round of golf. Nicer dinner. Whatever.

You won't find me waiting in line for lotto tickets or playing casino games any time soon.
 

lowtek

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Not only do the odds suck...

But they are still 70 percent bad even if you win.



There is a problem with the mindset of at least 70 percent of people that play the lottery. None of them think that they will be one of the majority... But it keeps replaying over and over...

Lottery amounts of money are possible in business and come with much higher odds. The other HUGE advantage... It builds the character required to keep it once you earn it. Be there for the sacrifice.

Hmm.... looks like I need to reevaluate my retirement plans.
 
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TreyAllDay

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I'll still play the 50/50 or whatever at sporting events for the experience but I stopped actively playing the lottery. It's widely reported how fast lottery winners go broke again.

Weirdly enough though I actually know a few people who have won and are doing well..

1) My travel agent (owns a very successful agency) won the million but still works of course - paid off house and vehicles and the rest is a nest egg.

2) My buddies old teammate I met a few times - his parents won TWICE. They won the million on a lotto ticket and then the year after won the dreamhouse lottery. $800,000 home + a BMW they sold both.
 
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Ing

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Poker is so much more fun and you can play with friends! And your odds are better.

Disclaimer: I haven't played for real money yet but I'm getting good at it and I've won several games in which I tripled my chips! I'm starting to get confident to use a few hundred and see if I can turn it into a bit more for funsies.
Poker with friends is big fun, yes.
And it can be a good, dignified money transfer!
 
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ecommercewolf

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Personally I like sports betting more than the lottery. I've never bought a lottery ticket.

At least there is a much greater chance of winning money.
 

alexkuzmov

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How would one manage selling lottery tickets? Would it be something like setting up a raffle?
No idea. My guess is that something like a lottery is intensly regulated.
I would look into the law side of things first and go from there.
 

msufan

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It usually costs 100 bucks to go out and have a fun time no matter how you slice it.

:wideyed::wideyed: I can have fun for $20 or less. For $50, my whole family can easily have a fun outing.

Back to the lottery, though: there are some +EV opportunities out there in the areas of lottery, skill gaming, casino bonuses, poker, and online slot tournaments. I'm up $300K+ over the past 18 years on this. It just comes down to taking advantage of opportunities and knowing how to look for them. If anyone else on here does that sort of thing, please reply here! I'd love to find other people with whom I can share tips and ideas.

"If gambling is exciting, you’re doing it wrong.”
― Jordan Ellenberg, How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking
 
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gryfny

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Personally I like sports betting more than the lottery. I've never bought a lottery ticket.

At least there is a much greater chance of winning money.
I used to do sports betting. But it's too addictive for me. I always ended up watching shitty games because I have money on it, or (even worse) just refreshing the scores on my phone.

This year I decided to close my account. I requested my financial overview to see how I did. In the end I bet around 10k and won 90 euros. It was a nice feeling to know that I did win, but 90 euros profit over 11 years is nothing of course. That was my confirmation that my time and energy is better spent doing meaningful activities, instead of getting riled up over games that I don't really care about.
 

ecommercewolf

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I used to do sports betting. But it's too addictive for me. I always ended up watching shitty games because I have money on it, or (even worse) just refreshing the scores on my phone.

This year I decided to close my account. I requested my financial overview to see how I did. In the end I bet around 10k and won 90 euros. It was a nice feeling to know that I did win, but 90 euros profit over 11 years is nothing of course. That was my confirmation that my time and energy is better spent doing meaningful activities, instead of getting riled up over games that I don't really care about.

I hear you. Try to avoid it as much as possible because it can be addictive like you said depending on the personality type.

With the amount of time you have to spend researching the matchups it ends up not being worth it in my opinion. Definitely not fastlane.
 

Chip01

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I understand the negativity around the lottery for slowlaners because they don't know any better and that's usually they're plan for wealth...

But personally I find it ridiculous that it seems frowned upon within the fastlane community to buy lottery each week. I don't know what it costs in USA but in UK it's £2 per line - hardly a massive expense. Yeah okay you probably won't win but you might? It's hardly a lot of money to be spending.

Obviously watch out for addiction but playing every so often isn't exactly going to ruin your chances at wealth, is it?

In the UK, the lottery is used to help fund communities etc. so it's also for a good cause.

I'll still play the 50/50 or whatever at sporting events for the experience but I stopped actively playing the lottery. It's widely reported how fast lottery winners go broke again.

Surely I've read this wrong. Please don't tell me you've stopped playing the lottery because of the fact how fast lottery winners go broke. If you recognise that then... do what you should so you DON'T 'go broke' if you ever do win. Just because you win the lottery doesn't mean you HAVE to go broke.

Focus on your fastlane, of course, but if you want to buy the lottery every week and you're not spending a huge chunk of your money then go for it. Live a little, jeezo.

This is probably worse than the people who tell you to stop buying your daily coffee so you can save £1095 over the course of the year. At least something like the lottery gives you even the slimmest of chances to make money off the expense.

Sorry if I've got the wrong vibe, just seems like people get on at others for buying the lottery.
 
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minivanman

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My friend buys the $20 & $50 tickets almost daily and wins a lot of money from them.

I buy the $2 tickets and I'd say if I've spent $5000 on tickets in my life, I've made a $2 profit. I just like to scratch it off to see if I was lucky.... usually NOT! Of course, I WON the lottery the day I met my lil woman!

Like someone else said, I buy them for gifts all the time.
 

scottmsul

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tbh I don't think I'd want to win the lottery. This might sound silly but that money wouldn't feel earned.

Back to the lottery, though: there are some +EV opportunities out there in the areas of lottery, skill gaming, casino bonuses, poker, and online slot tournaments. I'm up $300K+ over the past 18 years on this. It just comes down to taking advantage of opportunities and knowing how to look for them. If anyone else on here does that sort of thing, please reply here! I'd love to find other people with whom I can share tips and ideas.
There was a story about two separate groups, one in Michigan and one at MIT, that gamed the Massachusetts lottery. They'd wait for the jackpot to get high enough then buy thousands of tickets. The story about it is here.
 

msufan

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tbh I don't think I'd want to win the lottery. This might sound silly but that money wouldn't feel earned.


There was a story about two separate groups, one in Michigan and one at MIT, that gamed the Massachusetts lottery. They'd wait for the jackpot to get high enough then buy thousands of tickets. The story about it is here.

Yup. I'm from Michigan, and we still have +EV opportunities...
 
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James Orman

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I always wonder for the scratch tickets that they simply don't ever create a winning ticket so they never lose money on their lotto haha.
 

Ing

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deleted; s o might be offended.
 
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MHP368

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I have an idea. What if for every dollar you spend on lottery you immediately have to give the same amount to charity?
 
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hobbit303

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Well in my opinion, lottery should be just seen more for fun. Don't take it too seriously. If you win it, then it's your lucky day. Spending $12 shouldn't be too much of a waste of money. I think we all spend more on other stuff anyway.
 

tstick

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It is nice to dream, but based on the odds, anyone who plays has a better chance of getting hit by lightning than they do winning the lottery.
I prefer gambling, especially online slots like 7s wild. The best chances of winning.
 
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