Do you buy lottery tickets?

300rag

It's Not Going to Shift Itself
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Not the mega millions or powerball, but lotteries that are sponsored by local or regional charities. I got my invitation in the mail to buy my annual ticket in the STARS (Shock, Trauma, Air Rescue Service) lottery, and it came to me that it has been 20 years since my wife first spent $25 on a single ticket. That one lonely ticket was all it took. In 1998 she got a phone call from the lottery. She missed the drawing on live TV that morning. I got a call at work on that Thursday morning, and on Saturday we went for a 200 mile drive to see this...

$25 well spent

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I'll play Powerball or Mega Millions when it gets ov e $300 million.
 
That's a nice house. That had to be a memorable day for your family. Did you need to change your living arrangements and move 200 miles to live there?
I've played the lottery for sometime, but usually only when it gets into the crazy money now. Once hit 5 numbers out of 6 on the lotto and took home $1600. If I had the last number it would've been $3M.
A 20 year old from Florida just won the $451M Mega Million jackpot the other day. He gets to keep the $20 I gambled away. His life will never be the same.
 
Not the mega millions or powerball, but lotteries that are sponsored by local or regional charities. I got my invitation in the mail to buy my annual ticket in the STARS (Shock, Trauma, Air Rescue Service) lottery, and it came to me that it has been 20 years since my wife first spent $25 on a single ticket. That one lonely ticket was all it took. In 1998 she got a phone call from the lottery. She missed the drawing on live TV that morning. I got a call at work on that Thursday morning, and on Saturday we went for a 200 mile drive to see this...

$25 well spent
What you're calling a lottery in my neck of the woods are called raffles regardless of the size of the prize. I will sometimes do these more as a donation to support the organization with no hopes of winning. As far as the mega millions or powerball not really. I've thrown a buck or two into a pool with coworkers a few times over the years.
 
... Did you need to change your living arrangements and move 200 miles to live there?
...

No change. I just had to keep up the place, and pay the taxes and utilities while it was on the market. Took about 4 months to sell. At that time I was traveling the province regularly, so stopped in there to cut the grass and check on things. My real estate agent took care of the day to day stuff like dealing with the alarm company. At least proceeds from the sale of the house were considered a lottery winning, so no taxes due in this country. The hard part about selling this type of home is that all buyers know you won the house, and offer accordingly.
 
I only play the lottery a few times a year when it is big. I never spend more than the singles I have in my wallet, so generally 1-3 tickets. I will occasionally enter a $25 ticket raffle for a car.
 
The hard part about selling this type of home is that all buyers know you won the house, and offer accordingly.
Regardless of how you got it those cheapskates should still realize it has a market value. You won the lottery not them
 
I only play when it gets to a large payout, I had plans for that Mega Millions and that kid in Florida went and won it on me, LOL. I have to keep working:)
 
When we first got the state Lottery in TX, I played it some. Tried to do multiples with some sort of (yet undermined system, years later). No wins. When I'd win a dollar or two on the scratch-offs, I'd reinvest that into another ticket that won nothing.

Every now and then, I'll do a QuickPick and let it got at that. Won $3.00 a while back. At least, I know the "charity" it's going to. Now, if that 20-year-old in FL plays his pennies right, he'll put the majority into some kind of interest-bearing//appreciating financial instrument. An indexed annuity might be good. Then live off of the interest and make philantrophic donations. Bad thing is that some people who have those big winnings have usually squandered it or killed themselves doing that.

Best of luck to the winner!

CBODY67
 
I tend not to play when it gets big as your odds are even less for winning anything, yes? I’ll play the state lotto on occasion and it doesn’t need to crazy big, I’d be fine with 700K after taxes.
 
Do you buy lottery tickets?
The question opens the door to a discussion of gambling, in general. If you're looking for a return on your investment, the stock market has far better odds. If you really care about a particular charity, donate directly to the organization; then, your offering won't be reduced by bureaucracy.
 
My father was a true believer, every year he bought a ticket for the Irish Sweepstakes and never won a dime. Then he got into 7/49 draws and had all kinds of charts and stuff to look at all previous winning numbers to try and divine a winning combo. He won under $100 every once and long while. As he got older he gave up and just bought draw tickets for hospital, legion, Salvation Army etc at generally $100 a pop. Well after 82 years the luck god blessed him with a win, a 30' cabin cruiser which fortunately the winner could either take or receive $130K in cash. Well he took the cash and stuck it in his bank chequing account where it sat collecting zero interest until the day he died.
My mother on the other hand never entered draws with significant prizes, however she made a killing on raffles. I can't even count the number of table radios, dodads, blenders, BBQs, lawn mowers, etc that she won. Every win was a double blast, the first when she won and the second when she gave the prize away to a friend or neighbor.
In my case, my mathematical training tells me buying a lottery ticket is waste of time if you expect to win. After all, your chances of being hit by lightening is 1 in 700,000 and I don't even consider worrying about a lightening hit. So I buy the $25 and $100 tickets supporting good causes and look upon them as charitable donations. One type I do like and actually have had good luck with are the 50/50 draws popular at car shows. They are fun, instant cash that my wife never know about!
 
If you really care about a particular charity, donate directly to the organization; then, your offering won't be reduced by bureaucracy.

While this is true, I still support the $100 tickets for big ticket items like houses. The reason, all the "bureaucracy" generates lots of hype and draws in major dollars from "the gamblers". The gamblers basically chase prizes and really don't consider the charity aspect, at least until someone questions the amount they gamble and they reply "its for a good cause". The biggest legal con there is!
 
I'm glad the young man in Florida won.

I wonder if he is going to follow through with his I'm going to help people statement or is it something his lawyer/financial planner told him to say.
 
I'm glad the young man in Florida won.

I wonder if he is going to follow through with his I'm going to help people statement or is it something his lawyer/financial planner told him to say.
he has 6$ less thanks to my winnings. too bad it cost me $10 :(
 
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