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Not the professional sports draft lotteries, but you know, the kinds where you gamble, for lack of a better word. This is a topic that often is on my mind, and has cropped up on to there again over the last two weeks as the two big American multi-state lotteries have made news for big jackpots (Powerball recently had a single player win $340M, and the jackpot for Mega Millions is currently at $128M for the 25 Oct. drawing).

My mom spent her entire career save two years working for the Illinois State Lottery, starting as a mainframe programmer and ending up as the Deputy Director of Marketing for Instant Games. I worked there a little bit on my own, as well, as an intern for Information Technology back in high school (and even did a bit of grunt work for the launch of the Mega Millions game). That meant I and anyone at my house couldn't legally play, but my grandparents next door could. So growing up, I guess I saw both sides of the industry.

Additionally, I just went and bought $2 worth of tickets for the aforementioned Mega Millions drawing.

What are your thoughts on the Lottery systems in place throughout America and even the whole world? Do you feel that they are beneficial in any way, or just a hypocritical way for the government to tax its citizens while still giving them hope that it will pay off for them? What's the middle ground?

Growing up, I believed that the lottery system could be very beneficial. Most lotteries run essentially as a not-for-profit system in their states; money that comes in after payout of jackpots and overhead costs like personnel, marketing, etc. generally gets dumped into the school system. God knows the school system needs all the money it can get, right? But as I grew less naive, I started to wonder - where does this money come from? Generally, like all games of chance, the odds are stacked against the player. And this is a pure game of chance, no different than shooting craps. In many other forms of gambling, be they poker, blackjack, or roulette, the player has options. They can't guarantee that they beat the house, but they can make smart plays to try to increase their chances. Not so with a lottery, but I don't think it's quite as obvious.

With that being the case, I think you can find that most studies show that lotteries are more played by the desperate and blindly hopeful than those who are educated and savvy. If that's really the case, the lottery is a game skewed to be played by the poor and uneducated, and the whole concept becomes essentially a tax on those who can least afford it, while a handful of them suddenly become wealthy. At the same time, though, I believe in a person's right to do what they wish with their money and lives, as long as it doesn't directly damage others'. So I don't want to see the lotteries abandoned. That leaves no real solution other than status quo, which is a little bit frustrating.

So what do you think about them? Are they good in any way? Bad in any way? Should they even exist?

If you want to talk about what you'd do with the money, I'd suggest resurrecting this topic. I might even do so myself soon.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Lottery story time:

This past Powerball drawing, some woman in Oregon won the whole shebang. Everyone knows that. What people don't know is that because he matched 4 or 5 numbers on the ticket, one of our senators (Sen. Judd Gregg from New Hampshire) won $900,000. Naturally, as a politician, you'd think they already have enough dough. Nope. While someone else already well off would've given the money to some cause or another, Judd Gregg played the "politicians needs munney too" card. Way to represent New Hampshire as a greedy simpleton state, jerk.


Ok, so maybe I'm just jealous because I didn't win any cash from this Powerball drawing. Now I have to think about what I could've done with the $3 I spent on tickets. The Gatorade that could've been still lingers in my mind

This post has been edited by Sabin on 24th October 2005 18:00

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"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

The lottery is for people who don't understand math.

No, seriously. Buying a ticket because throwing away a dollar on a fun gamble is one thing, but that's not where lotteries really get their money from. Many people who play the lottery spend money that they really can't afford to throw away because they feel like they're screwed anyway without some huge windfall. In that sense, the lottery perpetuates hopelessness by selling a dream of a quick fix to all of life's problems. (It's also interesting to note that a large portion of lottery winners end up declaring bankruptcy a few years down the road.)

From a public service end, most of the money that a state makes from the lottery (and other forms of gathering) does not wind up spent on education, roads, or whatever it's being promoted as a funding source for. Does this necessarily make a difference? Maybe not. Is any money we can get for education worth the means? That's a different discussion, I guess.

I think the lottery is wrong in the sense that it encourages people to make stupid choices. They have every right to make those choices, but it's wrong of the government to prey on those who can least afford it in order to fund programs that they ought to be funding anyway.

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

I have a very bad view of the lottery system; for me, it's just a waste of time and money, and can lead to addiction.

I'd never buy a ticket myself, and I don't understand why other people do. I've known people who will spend about 20$ a week on lottery tickets, and continue to do so, even if they're losing money rather than winning. Couldn't that money go to something better?

Now from reading your post, Josh, I know it's not all bad. The people who work for the lottery, like your mother, make a good living out of it. And sometimes the right people win. But, I still don't have a very good impression of it. I wouldn't cry if the lottery system was banned, though I'm sure it'd still happen illegally.

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I had an old signature. Now I've changed it.

Quote

Karasuman:  It's also interesting to note that a large portion of lottery winners end up declaring bankruptcy a few years down the road

Can you provide some type of proof to back this statement up?

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Join the Army, see the world, meet interesting people - and kill them.

~Pacifist Badge, 1978

why is it that the people who dont need things like this seem to win the most? some friends of ours live down the road from us, they're doctors. they have a 3.5 million dollar house, extremely successful careers, 4 great kids, and everything else they could possibly want. well, just 2 months ago, the husband wins an brand new truck in a drawing at a party. a year before that, they won a 2 weeks paid vacation to the bahamas.

but i digress, i really wanted to address karasuman's point about how the lottery perpetuates hopelessness. i wouldn't neccesarily say so. for many poor families, the hope that playing that ticket might net them enough money to pay the bills, or that scratching off the right square might get them enough money for gas for the next few days is one of the few things that they really CAN hope for.



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moé in the streets, senpai in the sheets

I believe its a waste of time myself. I just don't find the extremely small chance of wealth alluring when I have to pay for that extremely small chance.

I do think the lottery prays more on people who shouldn't be spending their money on it. It is their choice, but sometimes its not just their own well being thats at stake. A parent with some financial troubles shouldn't be buying lottery tickets.

The lottery can make someone's dreams come true, I guess, but when you think about it in a broader sense it could seem like a bad thing. If I'm not mistaken, basically what is happening is the money all the people have spent trying to win is given to one individual instead of remaining spread out among the original owners of the money. If you are thinking about the well being of large amounts of people as a whole, having one person get all that money doesn't seem like that good of an idea. But I suppose the government tax helps with that a little, though I don't agree with the government taking that much of someone's winnings. But I don't agree with so many people wasting their money just so one person can get rich either.

So I guess I think the lottery is a bad idea. For the player at least. I'm sure its beneficial to some people, even if it kinda takes advantage of the financially challenged. I just don't think the lottery should played anymore than occassionally, if at all.




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-- You're Gonna Carry That Weight --

Quote (Rangers51 @ 24th October 2005 12:21)

money that comes in after payout of jackpots and overhead costs like personnel, marketing, etc. generally gets dumped into the school system.

Anything that puts more money into the school system is fine by me. I agree with Josh's idea that the poorest people ended up paying the most, but I'm all about gambling anyway, and letting grown people decide what to do with their money. If they want to give some to the school system, that's their decision.

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Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

The lottery is poor people tax, plain and simple. I should feel alot worse about taking money from dummies, but someone is going to do it either way so....whatever. It's good that people who don't know what to do with what little money they have are given a system where the money actually goes to something worthwhile like schools and whatnot.

However, here in GA we have something called the Hope scholarship which is run off lotto money. The Hope scholarship allows lots of people to get close to a free college education if you stay in the state of GA for school. However, I'm not sure that money is neccesarily going to good use, I think tons of people who get the HOPE scholarship didn't need it anyway or don't really have any reason to go to college. So I dunno. I guess it's really a toss up.

This post has been edited by The Ancient on 31st October 2005 14:48

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