Subduction Zone
Veteran Member
I rarely play the lottery. When it hits 300 million or more I might buy a ticket. I know that I am going to lose, but it is cheap entertainment. Other than that I do not gamble. I have a housemate that does and if I have to pick her up I can walk through the casino without even the slightest temptation.And not if you do.
While it is arguable that all gambling is a mug’s game, nowhere is this more true than with lotteries. The odds offer atrocious value, 100 times worse than slot machines, and as every gambler knows, only fools play those regularly.
Casinos work by draining the cash from the addicted. Lotteries work on a different basis. A huge number of the players are like me. Throw the state a buck or two, I won't miss it. Meanwhile my housemate's part time boyfriend, who makes more than I do, can't even afford his own home and has to at times live where he can do home repair to help with rent. He is the sort of person that casinos love. He can hold down a good paying job, but his money is gone quite often before his next paycheck.