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Quick Study: A Look at the Lottery

rd.com — $8.50: Amount a college-educated player spends on the lottery each month in Texas --- $16: Amount spent each month by the typical player without a high school degree...

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 10, 2009

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  • swordedge, on 01/10/2009, -6/+91$0, the typical amount I spend on the lottery each month. I win!
  • shadowspawn, on 01/10/2009, -5/+80My dad taught me that the lottery was a tax on those that failed math.
  • oboshoe, on 01/10/2009, -1/+49"In Kansas and Iowa, lottery money pays for compulsive-gambling programs"

    Hmmm. Thats a bit of circular logic nonsense that only government could love.
  • vic42482, on 01/09/2009, -3/+49I remember seeing an article about people who win the lottery, and ruin their life because of it - Like their wife divorcing them, or people trying to get their money, or going bankrupt in a few years. A lot of times winning it is not the best thing.
  • jennaprovencio, on 01/09/2009, -3/+46Yea, a lot of the time it isn't good, but could YOU HONESTLY say that like $100 Million ruined your life? Even if it did ruin my life, I don't think that I could say the words "Winning all of this money.. ruined my life." Nope.
    In fact, right now I'd feel comfortable saying that winning all of that money would probably un-ruin my life :D
  • cowsgonemadd3, on 01/10/2009, -3/+40The amount smart people spend on the lottery is zero. You have a greater chance of being struck by lightning.
  • ileftfark, on 01/10/2009, -2/+38Haha - poor people waste their money on the lottery. Educated people do smart things with their money, like day-trading, OTB, and investing in Enron!
  • deadlydentures, on 01/10/2009, -1/+34I think people enjoy the lottery, because it gives them hope that they could quit their miserable ***** job, and live rich forever.

    The lottery lets people fantasize.

    The problem are those who do it compulsory. (the 5% buying 50% of the tickets)
  • Opiatus, on 01/10/2009, -2/+31I buy a ticket every once in a while with leftover change I have in my pocket. It's fun spending the day of the draw just dreaming what you would do with the money. I'm not addicted and I'm not an idiot. I know my chances are about as low as a digg user getting laid but it doesn't hurt my life in any way.
  • Sonan, on 01/10/2009, -2/+31Just look at Hurley from Lost!
  • onClipEvent, on 01/10/2009, -2/+28What you DON'T hear are the positive stories that the jackpot has helped the winner. Negative or unexpected stories tend to make it to the front page.
  • Chompy, on 01/10/2009, -6/+27Agreed. Lotteries are a tax on stupidity.
  • oboshoe, on 01/10/2009, -2/+19Well POT isn't addictive either.

    Perhaps the government could sell POT to fund anti-drug initiatives?

  • YME1280, on 01/10/2009, -2/+19I never play the lotto, because I'm generally unlucky.
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -4/+20hai, we can has a boring lottery argument now?

    Cue up "WAH LOTTERY TAX ON STUPID" vs "WAH $1 FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO DREAM"

    Who will win? The answer is none of you. You all fail.
  • idavidtang, on 01/10/2009, -0/+15Dugg because today's your lucky day.
  • OneOfNone, on 01/10/2009, -0/+14The only way to reliably profit from the lottery is to organize it and overcharge for tickets. Or tax the winnings. This statement is statistically correct and not a cliche (unfortunately).
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -1/+15but would it be lightning made of money?
  • lansuggs, on 01/10/2009, -1/+14Just to be the devil's advocate, is there perhaps some value in the pleasure gained from a perceived potential in a great gain? There's probably some neurotransmitter associated with it, though not sure which, that is released for people who purchase lottery tickets, and perhaps their lives are slightly happier than those who don't (for little cost). Just speculating...
  • iSeven, on 01/10/2009, -1/+13I don't know what they want from me it's like the more money we come across, the more problems we seeeeee....
  • lolwaffle, on 01/10/2009, -3/+15But you can't win if you don't play! Cliche, but true.
  • Chompy, on 01/10/2009, -2/+14That's because the people who play the lottery are very often the same people who have no idea how to handle money. That's why they bought tickets in the first place.
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -0/+11*parted.
  • Khast, on 01/10/2009, -0/+11I used to work at a grocery store. I hate to put any one race in the spotlight here....but our big lottery purchasers were always Chinese. Damn, I remember one night in 2005 when one of them spent nearly $300 on lottery tickets, followed by one with about $100....through the night, I think I sold nearly $3,000 worth of lottery tickets to mostly Chinese, and East Indians.

    on a side note, from all the tickets purchased....we only had 4 $1 winners, and 1 $10 winner. Yay for the stupid tax.
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -3/+14I spent none.
  • cl2yp71c, on 01/10/2009, -2/+13I disagree.

    Stupidity is not the best thing.
  • ryan83189, on 01/10/2009, -9/+19Everyone who participates in the lottery fails at applying statistics. On top of the incredibly low odds of winning some buy tickets only if the jackpot is really high. They think that all of the money will be for themselves, instead it is more likely that they will have to split it with other people. It is like the prospect of a normally high payout would not be enough to entice them, but this un believable amount sure sounds good. Fools and their money are soon departed, however at the end of the day one of those fools wins half of the other fools money.
  • marthaphoebe, on 01/10/2009, -0/+10The Chinese are big on fortune, luck, and gambling.
  • itsradBrad, on 01/10/2009, -0/+9Fools and their money go on trips together?
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -0/+9My mom works for the Florida lottery. It's incredible the amount of people who will take their last dime and spend it on a scratch off ticket. People who are on state funded food stamp programs, WIC, etc, all lining up just for a shot at it. Oh well, keeps food on our table, not to mention great health care benefits.
  • JCH897, on 01/10/2009, -0/+9I justify my gambling by considering it a 'donation' to the state of Massachusetts. The letdown is always so much less severe if you consider it entertainment instead of prospect.
  • Leo21k, on 01/10/2009, -0/+9Lottery tickets are cheap and it's fun to dream.

  • Chompy, on 01/10/2009, -2/+11I live in Las Vegas, and lemme tell you something: the house always wins. If it didn't, the house wouldn't exist. That goes for casinos and state lotteries.. but hey, don't believe me, that's cool: gambler ignorance pays my taxes.
  • GoatMonkey2112, on 01/10/2009, -0/+9Buying a lottery ticket allows me to sit in my cube and dream about what I would do if I won for a little while after I buy it.

    Any time I have a discussion about it, I learn who would not get anything from me on the off chance that I do win. All of the people who stand around and talk about how it's "stupid tax", etc., they will get nothing.

  • idavidtang, on 01/10/2009, -1/+9When I win the lotto, I'm going to get a house made entirely of gold.

    And host a big golden party with golden utensils, golden foods, and golden servants.

    .. and you're all welcome to come if you're golden too.
  • idavidtang, on 01/10/2009, -0/+8Very well, you may use the guest bedroom shower.
  • doctechnical, on 01/10/2009, -0/+8If you quit NOW, perhaps. The law of averages always catches up.
  • uallsuck, on 01/10/2009, -0/+8Lotteries commodify hope. Lots of "smart" people seem to understand the expected value of a lottery ticket in numeric terms but they obviously failed economics! There's nothing wrong with spending a couple dollars a week on lotto tickets if the hope you get from it is worth that much to you, no matter how smart you may be.
  • twiztidsinz, on 01/10/2009, -0/+8While compulsive-gambling = gambling...
    gambling doesnt alway mean compulsive-gambling.
    So no... It's not circular logic.
  • inactive, on 01/10/2009, -0/+8I like golden showers.
  • JCH897, on 01/10/2009, -1/+8That's great that you can showcase your knowledge of highschool statistics, but not everyone plays the lottery with the intent of winning a jackpot. A lot of people, for example, buy scratch tickets for novelty/entertainment purposes.

    I'd rather sink some money for a lower payout potential, but a greater chance of winning. Hence the scratch tickets.
  • valis, on 01/10/2009, -1/+8Smart people know that high schools issue diplomas, not degrees - and also that playing the lottery is a foolish man's game.
  • Tyrghast, on 01/10/2009, -0/+7When I win the Lotto, I'm going to buy Digg...

    BUWAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAH no.
  • bbardlbradd, on 01/10/2009, -0/+7I work at a gas station/ liquor store. Most of the people that buy lottery tickets are meth heads, no matter what race. You know because all of their teeth have been ground away.

    :^/
  • Barackalypse, on 01/10/2009, -0/+7Its all about opportunity cost. The opportunity cost of the lottery ticket is what you could have done with that dollar, which is basically nothing (you could buy a Coke I guess, but the chances are having or not having that dollar doesn't cause you to live your life any different). Having an extra dollar doesn't make any difference in my life, but having even really long odds on winning $10+ million could fundamentally change it for the better.
  • nukeleearr, on 01/10/2009, -0/+7its funny because you`re dumb
  • marthaphoebe, on 01/10/2009, -0/+7I have no expectations of winning, but a $1 for some quick fun and dreaming is my mini-Vegas.
  • maanwi, on 01/10/2009, -0/+7Every year, a small number of people actually do die from lightning strikes. Your chances may be low, but I'm sure the winners think it's pretty smart that they risked a couple bucks for the opportunity to win a million.
  • MsArtGeek, on 01/10/2009, -1/+7whoops, someone beat me to it. deleted.
  • 420buddah, on 01/10/2009, -1/+7I have a feeling the average digg "commenter" spends zero on the lottery each month...but how is it possible that college educated texans spend $8.50 each month!? How the hell do you graduate college and spend one hundred dollars a year on the lotto!?!?
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