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The Lottery

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lisa-in-FL

lisa-in-FL

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Does anyone play on a regular basis? Ever win anything? What are your thoughts about it?

I've spent maybe $5 on tickets in my life and I won $5 once so I figure we're even. :) I also had 75% of my college tuition paid by lotto funds so I guess that kind of counts as "winning".
 
I usually play every week, but never win, but at least here in PA a small part of the proceeds go to help the elderly so at least my money is not going to waste.
 
That last post brings up an important aspect of this: people who can do this responsibly with an attitude like that are hopefully why laws got passed to create this in the first place.

It'd be really interesting to see how much of the proceeds go to those who need it, in comparison to government redistribution of wealth efforts which are notoriously inefficient.

The other side of the coin is those for whom the lottery is effectively a "poor man's tax;" I've seen a lot of that. These are the people who spend what they cannot afford, and tell themselves they've found a way to make it pay off big. Of course this is far worse when they have dependents.
 
I don't buy lottery tickets. I have never purchased one. The closest thing I do close to gambling is my part-time farming. Every year I invest a few thousand dollars to put seed in the ground and hope that I am blessed with adequate moisture, heat, sun, and dry weather at the appropriate times so that my seed will produce a good harvest. I've had years when I spent more than I made and I've had years when I was blessed with plenty.
 
WIP said:
I don't buy lottery tickets. I have never purchased one. The closest thing I do close to gambling is my part-time farming. Every year I invest a few thousand dollars to put seed in the ground and hope that I am blessed with adequate moisture, heat, sun, and dry weather at the appropriate times so that my seed will produce a good harvest. I've had years when I spent more than I made and I've had years when I was blessed with plenty.
Click to expand...

Never? Never ever? Not even in a workplace lottery pool? Good for you!
 
Razeontherock said:
That last post brings up an important aspect of this: people who can do this responsibly with an attitude like that are hopefully why laws got passed to create this in the first place.

It'd be really interesting to see how much of the proceeds go to those who need it, in comparison to government redistribution of wealth efforts which are notoriously inefficient.

The other side of the coin is those for whom the lottery is effectively a "poor man's tax;" I've seen a lot of that. These are the people who spend what they cannot afford, and tell themselves they've found a way to make it pay off big. Of course this is far worse when they have dependents.
Click to expand...

Yes, I think its a voluntary tax and that's why governments love it so much. Plus, when someone wins those huge multi-state jackpots in their state they get a nice windfall of tax money too. I saw one of the billboards on my way home from a stressful day at work. Nearly $200 million. Its very tempting but I can't bring myself to go to 7-11 hand over paper money for worthless slips of paper.
I like to think that I'd donate so much of it and support church and missionaries, but the truth is, God doesn't need that money.
 
for_his_glory said:
I usually play every week, but never win, but at least here in PA a small part of the proceeds go to help the elderly so at least my money is not going to waste.
Click to expand...

FHG,

What are the chances of winning Gold Lotto? I'll quote the Australian chances:

In Australia Gold Lotto 6/45, players choose six numbers from 1 to 45. The Australian Lottery chooses 2 bonus numbers, for a total of 8 winning numbers drawn. Drawings are held twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday.

The odds of winning the first prize Gold Lotto jackpot are one in 8,145,060. Because of the supplementary numbers drawn, there are 5 prize category ways to win Gold Lotto. The lowest prize is won by matching 3 winning numbers plus one of the bonus numbers (Australia Gold Lottery Winning Tips).​
So, to win first prize, there is a chance of 1 in 8.1 million. Why waste out money?

Wouldn't it be better to donate the amount spent on the lottery to your favourite charity?

Then there's a bigger question: Does God want us to gamble on the lottery?

Oz
 
lisa-in-FL said:
Does anyone play on a regular basis? Ever win anything? What are your thoughts about it?

I've spent maybe $5 on tickets in my life and I won $5 once so I figure we're even. :) I also had 75% of my college tuition paid by lotto funds so I guess that kind of counts as "winning".
Click to expand...
I've spent maybe 10 or 20 bucks on it over the years. Only when it has gotten absurdly high and then only a buck at a time.
 
Went to 7-11 today because . .well, it is 7-11 and as I walked past the little stand where you pick your lotto numbers I noticed all the pencil cups where empty (they usually have those little half golf pencils I think).

I had to laugh because I thought, "what a great way to get people to stop playing the lotto?! no pencils!"

:)
 
WIP said:
About the closest I come is when I purchase a ticket to support some organization such as a charitable fund drive or something along those lines. Never bought a ticket just to take a chance at winning something in return, at least not that I can remember.
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Yeah...I do these.
When children's baseball teams raffle off a weekend in Gatlinburg TN I pitch in...
Don't play if you don't want the prize either.
 
Not to mention the fact that your life that you once had is over.

You went from working and having a career that provided income from which you enjoyed the fruits of your labor to just protecting the money pot. Your friends at work will drift away as well as others in your current life...to be replaced with others whose goals and objectives are suspect.

Almost like retirement but worse all at the same time.

There are plenty of tales about people winning the lottery but then losing their family and friends because of the money. They implode from drugs and alcohol. (Dissapation)
Which is what killed Alexander the Great. He had conquered the "whole world" and there were no more goals for him to achieve.

Which brings up the question (if you will allow me to be philosophical for a minute)

What goals are we working towards?
Why those goals?
What do we really need in the way of challenges to be happy?
 
As far as gambling goes, I cannot recall a time that I did lottery tickets, bets on anything for/with real money (do Doritos count as a betting currency? lol), or any betting pools. The closest thing I come to scratch card is an app on my phone, which does not require me to spend any amount of money.

Although, I think about the Biblical aspect of it when it is mentioned. It is not mentioned specifically in the Bible that lotteries are wrong or gambling itself, but it isn't given in the best light such as when they cast lots on Jesus' clothes (Matthew 27:35).

In Proverbs 16:33, it mentions casting lots for making decisions. The Hebrew word is gowral meaning:

1. lot
- lot - pebbles used for systematically making decisions

2. portion
-lot, portion (thing assigned by casting lots)
-recompense, retribution

So besides the fact there isn't any outstanding evidence, it depends on our intentions on why we decide to bet, buy a lottery ticket, etc. Is it the love of money? (We are warned against this in Matthew 6:24, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:10). Is any of the money in this transaction considered dishonest? (Proverbs 13:11). Are we attempting to avoid working in any manner/intentionally being lazy thinking we are going to strike it rich? (1 Thessalonians 3:10-12). Do we covet something in our heart and this is the reason why we need the money? (Exodus 20:17). It seems to lie with motive.

I tend to avoid it as much as possible for other reasons such as odds aren't ever exactly in your favor. I think if I spend $20 on lottery tickets and don't make that $20 back then I've wasted my time on applying that money elsewhere such as groceries, gas money, etc.
 
Oooohhhhh
My wife and I have been talking about my ideas about "winning the lottery".

I say that I like my life and the challenges it has.
She says that money is just a tool and that our challenges can change and be bigger.
And that I am against financial advancement. (She has no ability to claim I'm lazy...I work way too much on too many things for that to stick)
 
kiwidan said:
Millions of people lose and one person gets a billion dollars. Its a joke.
Click to expand...
The part that really emphasizes our greed is the longer a lottery continues without a winner, the larger the prize becomes and the more tickets are sold. One's odds of winning haven't changed a bit but with the bigger prize people are willing to spend more to have that shot.

Here's the kicker. Most of the larger lotteries begin with a substantial prize in the millions so why is winning even more such a high draw? For example, the Powerball lottery starts out at $40,000,000.00. Even after taxes, the remaining monies would be more than enough for the winner to be financially independent and then some. What difference does it make if the winning prize goes even higher?

A person winning a $40,000,000.00 prize could retire immediately at any age, never use the base amount of their funds, and still confidently have approximately $1,200,000.00 per year salary. Check it out.

The highest federal tax bracket is 39.6%. The highest MN tax bracket is 9.85%. Not accurate but assuming the final taxable income for that winning year is the $40M, the total tax liability would be approximately 49.45% leaving the winner with approximately $20,220,000.00. Even at the least conservative estimate, it should not be much of a problem to invest that money and get an average return of over 6% annually. I would expect 8% to be attainable with reasonably minimal risk.

$20,220,000.00 x .06 = $1,213,200.00 annual return on the investment. Here in MN, a middle class income is considered to be $60,000.00 - $70,000.00 per year. Using the $70,000.00 figure, the $1,213,200.00 is enough to supply 17 middle income salaries.

How much more does one need??

Of course, this is all assuming the winner doesn't spend about half of the money defending against the flood of frivolous lawsuits aimed to get their piece of the pie.
 
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