Do you play the lottery?

[fat_moogle]

As the title states, does anybody here play the lottery?

I get tickets for the Lotto every Wednesday and Saturday, and I've also recently started playing the Health Lottery for the same days. I've chosen my own numbers for both, so I'm pretty much locked in for life now because GOD FORBID I MISSED A DAY AND MY NUMBERS CAME UP D:

I occasionally play Euromillions, but I just do a lucky dip for that and only buy a ticket if there's a rollover... £80 million this Friday. Imagine that just nestling its way nicely in to your bank account.

P.S I won £25 tonight. God knows how much I've spent on tickets to get it...probably £80 million

[Ayen]

I don't, but my dad has played the lottery for as long as I can remember. With the money he spent on lotto tickets he probably could have put it away in a fund or something to help pay some bills. I can't talk since I'm not much better handling my own money.

[Laddy]

Played it once on my 18th Birthday. Waste of a dollar I could of used on a Mountain Dew: Livewire.

[Depression Moon]

I play like once a month. I did end up winning a hundred one time off a scratch-off, but a dollar or two a month isn't anything, so I'm not risking anything really, so in the event that I really do win big I never really wasted much in the process.

[Shorty]

Played once because my boss said something about how we should all buy lottery tickets that day or something, so we all did. Not really one to play a game involving such poor chances of winning.

[Raistlin]

I don't know anything about UK lotteries, but major US lotteries are every bit of a scam as selling snake oil cures for cancer -- with about as much of a chance of success. Sure, there's a 1 in a billion chance of a freak reaction, but there's a 99.999999999999999% chance that it's a total loss.

No, I don't play the lottery.

[Depression Moon]

Well, your chances are higher when playing scratch-offs.

[Psychotic]

http://uklottosim.appspot.com/

All the fun of playing without losing any money. Have fun.

If one of my debt clients tells me they play the lottery, I let this bad boy run on the screen during the interview and as we talk it goes into thousands of years and we still haven't won. Do I do it to help save them much needed money, or because I enjoy seeing the "Mind. Blown." expressions on their faces when they realise the lottery is actually a con? Now that is the question...

[blackmage_nuke]

I play maybe 3 times a year when I feel some numbers strike me or when Im feeling so down that losing $5 cant bring me down worse.

[Old Manus]

I think I played once or twice when I turned 16 for the fun of it. A lot of the money goes to good causes. I think if you're going to gamble you may as well play a card game or bet on a horse, or something that doesn't just rely on pure luck.

[Mirage]

No, I spend my games on things that are more likely to make me happy, such as games.

If I really had to gamble, I agree with Manus. I really dislike games based purely on luck.

[fat_moogle]

Well, your chances are higher when playing scratch-offs.

I never have any luck on scratch cards. I don't get them as often as I do lottery tickets, just every now and again. Might pick another up when I go to town tomorrow. I'll post here with my results!

No, I spend my games on things that are more likely to make me happy, such as games.

I'm guessing you meant to say "money"? xD

[Mirage]

...perhaps.

[noxious.sunshine]

Nah. My dad says it's stupid to not buy one scratch off (or numbers ticket) a week, but any more than that and you're wasting money. Esp if you buy the $25 scratch offs.

[Madame Adequate]

I don't play myself, but only because I could never be arsed going to a shop and doing something like this regularly.

The talk about how unlikely you are to win is a little misguided though. I know the odds are atrocious, but so does pretty much everyone - that's why successful lottery playing isn't called "A prudent investment with a sound return on your money", it's called "Beating the odds". The whole point is that "if". However remote and unlikely, because hey - every week or two SOMEONE wins. Could be me. And if it is, everything changes.