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Gambling is stupid tax, end of discussion. Anything bigger than poker night with the fellas and you're going to get screwed, one way or another. The real sucke

Gambling is stupid tax, end of discussion. Anything bigger than poker night with the fellas and you're going to get screwed, one way or another. The real suckers are people who still think easy money exists when you aren't a billionaire.

kenjackson 11y ago
It actually seems rational to me in many cases. If your very poor, but not so poor that a dollar per week makes a huge difference, then buying a lottery ticket makes sense. While the expected value of the ticket is less than a $1 -- given you only live once -- you're betting on the fact that there is a slight chance in this one life you might hit it big. That seems completely rational to me. Especially if the odds of improving your lot substantially via other means is also low -- and not contingent on the accumulated $1 you spend on lottery.
- vinceguidry 11y ago
  There's also the fact that expected payout is not the only value a lottery ticket offers. There's the entertainment value as well. If you think about it, entertainment is the biggest factor involved in the decision about whether to partake in gambling or not. I do not generally enjoy any sort of gambling, that's why I don't do it. But I will happily pony up a few bucks to play Keno with a cute girl at the bar. If gambling wasn't fun, nobody would do it.
- aidenn0 11y ago
  And so is debt-financing of non-necessities by the poor; most of the poor in the US are already likely to be bankrupted at some point in the next 10 years (even living fairly frugally they don't get paid enough to cover expenses for a likely period of unemployment, or a large bill due to unexpected health problems), so they might as well have fun before that happens.
  - bittercynic 11y ago
    If you choose to employ this strategy, be sure to use a type of debt that can be discharged through bankruptsy.
- FussyZeus 11y ago
  That's fair enough, as long as you realize going in that the chances of you getting that payday are basically impossible. There's a better chance of you finding that money in a duffel bag in a dumpster than you winning it through the lottery. But then, on the other side of that you have the lottery winners who do hit it big after years of trying, then go bankrupt near-immediately because the reason they were poor in the first place is they didn't understand how money works.* *No I'm not saying all poor people are poor for this reason, I'm saying a certain subset of them are.
- rgbrgb 11y ago
  The problem is that nobody spends just $1 on lotto tickets. Many people who buy lotto tickets (mostly poor people) are spending a significant percentage of their yearly income on them [0]. I was at a gas station in the boonies a few weeks ago and the 5 people ahead of me in line each spent at least $30 on scratchers. [0]: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/31/poor-people-spend-9-of-income-on-lottery-tickets-heres-why/ http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/31/poor-people-spend-9-o...
- bduerst 11y ago
  Lottery tickets are an experience, not a payout. People buy them for the moments of fantasy they enable. It's a rational suspension of disbelief (though irrational for addicts).
FussyZeus 11y ago
Look at the bad karma rain down from people who don't like hearing the truth.

kenjackson 11y ago

It actually seems rational to me in many cases. If your very poor, but not so poor that a dollar per week makes a huge difference, then buying a lottery ticket makes sense. While the expected value of the ticket is less than a $1 -- given you only live once -- you're betting on the fact that there is a slight chance in this one life you might hit it big. That seems completely rational to me. Especially if the odds of improving your lot substantially via other means is also low -- and not contingent on the accumulated $1 you spend on lottery.

vinceguidry 11y ago
There's also the fact that expected payout is not the only value a lottery ticket offers. There's the entertainment value as well. If you think about it, entertainment is the biggest factor involved in the decision about whether to partake in gambling or not. I do not generally enjoy any sort of gambling, that's why I don't do it. But I will happily pony up a few bucks to play Keno with a cute girl at the bar. If gambling wasn't fun, nobody would do it.
aidenn0 11y ago
And so is debt-financing of non-necessities by the poor; most of the poor in the US are already likely to be bankrupted at some point in the next 10 years (even living fairly frugally they don't get paid enough to cover expenses for a likely period of unemployment, or a large bill due to unexpected health problems), so they might as well have fun before that happens.
- bittercynic 11y ago
  If you choose to employ this strategy, be sure to use a type of debt that can be discharged through bankruptsy.
FussyZeus 11y ago
That's fair enough, as long as you realize going in that the chances of you getting that payday are basically impossible. There's a better chance of you finding that money in a duffel bag in a dumpster than you winning it through the lottery. But then, on the other side of that you have the lottery winners who do hit it big after years of trying, then go bankrupt near-immediately because the reason they were poor in the first place is they didn't understand how money works.* *No I'm not saying all poor people are poor for this reason, I'm saying a certain subset of them are.
rgbrgb 11y ago
The problem is that nobody spends just $1 on lotto tickets. Many people who buy lotto tickets (mostly poor people) are spending a significant percentage of their yearly income on them [0]. I was at a gas station in the boonies a few weeks ago and the 5 people ahead of me in line each spent at least $30 on scratchers. [0]: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/31/poor-people-spend-9-of-income-on-lottery-tickets-heres-why/ http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/31/poor-people-spend-9-o...
bduerst 11y ago
Lottery tickets are an experience, not a payout. People buy them for the moments of fantasy they enable. It's a rational suspension of disbelief (though irrational for addicts).

FussyZeus 11y ago

Look at the bad karma rain down from people who don't like hearing the truth.