The utility function of money could be superlinear, making the quote rational. But mostly the lottery continues to be a tax on people who are bad at math.

My roommate spends about $20 per month on the lottery.

He's always said that if he wins big, I get 1/4 of the winnings.

More power to him ;)

You can't win if you don't play. A slim chance is better than no chance.

ZAZ: The utility function of money could be superlinear, making the quote rational. But mostly the lottery continues to be a tax on people who are bad at math.

Or it could be considered a "tax" on people who for the price of one cup of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks have 2 chances a week to win millions of dollars.

People who buy coffee at Starbucks deserve to be taxed more.

ZAZ: The utility function of money could be superlinear, making the quote rational. But mostly the lottery continues to be a tax on people who are bad at math.

This goes for casinos as well. GaryPDX has it about right though.

I am good at math but will buy a lottery ticket once and awhile... same as going to the casino -- makes no financial sense, but it is entertaining and you DO have that (mathematically bad) chance of winning a significant amount of money.

So if I drop $5 on a scratch off, that $5 will not realistically be missed, but if I win $1000 -- that is a big chunk out of my mortgage or my car payment.

/the coffee comparison is a good one -- and you can't even win money buying a cup of $5 coffee!

muzzrphochr: This goes for casinos as well.

I much prefer the roulette wheel. I have never walked away from the table at a loss. Then there was that time, by a fluke, I hit a 7 grand keno ticket over breakfast and almost spit my hash browns across the table. That was a good day.

But I do spend 10 bucks on the powerball and the megabucks every cycle. Ya just never know. But then again, back in the 70's, I ran a crap game in back of the gym in highchool..good times good time.

/my baby needs a new pair of shoes..zing!

I'm paying for two things when I do play the lotto (over $100 million only. Not because I'd take less but because that way I don't rationalize my way into spending more):

1. A voluntary tax to add a little bit to education programs and a lot to the administrator farks who take off the top.

2. The right to fantasize about what I'd do with the money for a few days.

If I won, that would be gravy but I don't expect to.

Minnesota Twins: I am good at math but will buy a lottery ticket once and awhile... same as going to the casino -- makes no financial sense, but it is entertaining and you DO have that (mathematically bad) chance of winning a significant amount of money.

So if I drop $5 on a scratch off, that $5 will not realistically be missed, but if I win $1000 -- that is a big chunk out of my mortgage or my car payment.

/the coffee comparison is a good one -- and you can't even win money buying a cup of $5 coffee!

And I'm not even sure if you can buy a coffee at Starbucks for $2.

I will play the powerball when it gets over a hundred million. I know I wont win but you can't win if you don't play. It is a tax on anyone who plays. But then again, you only rent beer.

I understand the odds, and I still play on the rare occasion. Sometimes, I just like to dream. Plus, around here, the money goes to outdoor projects like parks and trails, and also to schools, so, it's not like it's totally lost. I don't play often, because I don't like to waste my money, but sometimes, I think it would be nice to win a hundred mil or something. Knowing I have almost no chance of winning, it still worth a couple bucks to dream.

Voluntary taxes are far better than non-voluntary ones. The lottery is a tax I don't mind paying, voluntary, semi-targeted toward a single purpose, and some tiny hope of something good coming out of it.

arkansas: Voluntary taxes are far better than non-voluntary ones. The lottery is a tax I don't mind paying, voluntary, semi-targeted toward a single purpose, and some tiny hope of something good coming out of it.

"Sin" tax is something I have a real problem with. Beer, wine, other alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco ... Come on. The outrage would be enormous if we started taxing caffeine and chocolate ;)

I play the game weekly also. Whats 2 bucks that I would just piss away on something else anyway? At least there is the slim chance that I could pick up a few unexpected dollars.
Can't wait for this to hit the main page when the liters that are too smart to spend 5 bucks on TF come in to tell us what a bunch of stupid losers we are.

I sometimes spend a few dollars when the Mega-millions gets up high, probably around $5 a month, if that (since someone won last week, it will probably be mid-August until the jackpot is big enough to entice me again). Just a little inexpensive fun. I occasionally win a few bucks, but nothing major.

What always amazes me are the people who regularly buy $20, $30 or $40 worth of tickets. I could understand it if it were an office pool and everyone was just throwing a few bucks at a dollar and a dream and I was behind the ticket buyer, but some of these people are just buying the tickets for themselves. Crazy.

/going to AC in a few weeks, a little more expensive fun

GaryPDX: You can't win if you don't play. A slim chance is better than no chance.

Actually, that's not true, because you're not doing the math properly.

You need to compare the cost you definitely expend, which is most certainly not infinitesimal, against the probability of success, which is.

Basically, you're paying for nothing.

drevil877: Minnesota Twins: I am good at math but will buy a lottery ticket once and awhile... same as going to the casino -- makes no financial sense, but it is entertaining and you DO have that (mathematically bad) chance of winning a significant amount of money.

So if I drop $5 on a scratch off, that $5 will not realistically be missed, but if I win $1000 -- that is a big chunk out of my mortgage or my car payment.

/the coffee comparison is a good one -- and you can't even win money buying a cup of $5 coffee!

And I'm not even sure if you can buy a coffee at Starbucks for $2.

I thought you could buy it for $1 now.

damageddude: I sometimes spend a few dollars when the Mega-millions gets up high, probably around $5 a month, if that (since someone won last week, it will probably be mid-August until the jackpot is big enough to entice me again). Just a little inexpensive fun. I occasionally win a few bucks, but nothing major.

What always amazes me are the people who regularly buy $20, $30 or $40 worth of tickets. I could understand it if it were an office pool and everyone was just throwing a few bucks at a dollar and a dream and I was behind the ticket buyer, but some of these people are just buying the tickets for themselves. Crazy.

/going to AC in a few weeks, a little more expensive fun

As should be obvious: these are people who think that they're multiplying their odds each time, and so it's reasonable. E.g. they think that if they're buying 8 tickets, then they have eight times the probability of winning. Usually, their eyes gloss over when you explain that the odds aren't linear like that.

mattharvest: Basically, you're paying for nothing.

You're paying for a fantasy. That's all. Everything above that is gravy.

I buy a ticket every now and then, mainly for entertainment. I probably spend $20 a year on the lotto. I've blown money on worse things.

Paid for nothing? I got to make small talk with the cute cashier, and she gave a piece of pretty pink paper with numbers on it! Well worth 2 bucks.

You have cute cashiers where you are? Damn.

What people don't seem to realize is that every dollar you spend on the lottery is a tax deductable donation to state educational systems. You can write off every losing dollar up to the amount of your winnings. Essentially, if you spent $10 to win $5 you just broke even.

You're paying for the dream -- much like the economics and reality of a $20 lap dance.

They still make PCP folks. If you want to dream big, I mean really @#$%ing big, it's your best bet.
And now that a lot of cops are using copper bullets it practically pays for itself if you have medical coverage and can find a scrap yard.

GaryPDX: You can't win if you don't play. A slim chance is better than no chance.

It's demonstrably worse than no chance at all.

arkansas: Voluntary taxes are far better than non-voluntary ones. The lottery is a tax I don't mind paying, voluntary, semi-targeted toward a single purpose, and some tiny hope of something good coming out of it.

The problem is never smart people who have a rational, if escapist, reason for playing. I assume that you're not choosing between lottery tickets and baby formula in your weekly budget. Well, guess what. The Congressional districts with the greatest lottery expenditures are generally the same ones with the highest welfare receipts.

For you and me, the lottery is just this harmless, silly diversion with a feel-good educational funding aspect. But don't fool yourself that it's a positive force in society. Lotteries don't work long term, and during the time that they do work, it's on the backs of the most vulnerable among us. Lotteries, and the hacks who promote them, are fundamentally disgusting things.

lottery threads are as predictable as global warming or iraq war threads.

cmunic8r99: lottery threads are as predictable as global warming or iraq war threads.

At least the lottery has solid statistics and data backing it up.

The outrage would be enormous if we started taxing caffeine and chocolate ;)

I read a science fiction novel in which children from an alternate universe America are delighted to be able to sample the forbidden treat chocolate, which is treated like a drug where they come from. (The novel was written by a Libertarian.)

I've only played several times and that was when the Powerball was over 200 million. Even then, I wouldn't know what to do with all that money if I got it. It's like Joker's line about him being a dog chasing after a car, I wouldn't know what to do with that car once I got it.

People who do things that I don't like to do are stupid.

TheXerox: Even then, I wouldn't know what to do with all that money if I got it.

I would. It's easy. 1) Quit job and (temporarily at least) school. 2) Nice big vacation, say a month of circling the globe. 3) Take the first of those bigass yearly checks and use it as down payment on a nice, but not extravagant home. 4) Live modestly but very comfortably off said checks, making sure that a large portion is going into savings or investments.

People who feel that they're entitled to be rich without working for it probably shouldn't be in charge of their own finances...

50% of Americans believe that winning the lottery is the only way they could possibly become a millionaire in their lifetime.

/Are kidz is lernin goodly

GaryPDX: You can't win if you don't play. A slim chance is better than no chance.

If you can afford it.

advice on not wasting money from a website of people that drink themselves half to death, how touching.

If he invested that same $20/wk, in 20 years he could have $40,000 (assuming 8% growth, %2 inflation and a starting balance of $0).

Pretty cool investment calculator here (new window)

basemetal: I will play the powerball when it gets over a hundred million. I know I wont win but you can't win if you don't play. It is a tax on anyone who plays. But then again, you only rent beer.

Beer is required for survival though. Lottery is not.

error 303: People who feel that they're entitled to be rich without working for it probably shouldn't be in charge of their own finances...

WIN.

Yes, it's just a tax on people that failed statistics in school.

OTOH for $1, I get to fantasize about having enough money to swim naked in a pool full of cash. That's worth it.

For $1 I can dream about having enough money to get the f*ck out of California.

For most it is cheap entertainment or a small diversion in their daily lives -- just something to do.

Buyer beware, though. Some states have come under criticism for continuing to sell scratch tickets even *after* the grand prize ticket has been sold.

i don't waste my money on the lottery because i'm smart, now if you will excuse me i need to go buy some cigarettes and an expensive bottle of bourbon.

staplermofo: They still make PCP folks. If you want to dream big, I mean really @#$%ing big, it's your best bet.
And now that a lot of cops are using copper bullets it practically pays for itself if you have medical coverage and can find a scrap yard.

Thanks for that, I laughed.

Coronach: What people don't seem to realize is that every dollar you spend on the lottery is a tax deductable donation to state educational systems. You can write off every losing dollar up to the amount of your winnings. Essentially, if you spent $10 to win $5 you just broke even.

You just made a bunch of accountants do spit takes into their morning coffee.

Maybe in your particular state, under your particular tax laws, lottery tickets are deductible as charitable contributions. But at least in the vast majority of US states, and under the federal tax laws, lottery tickets are not considered charitable contributions (no matter what the profits go to). Lottery tickets are considered gambling, and gambling losses can only be deducted to offset gambling winnings. In other words, if you actually win a $500 lottery prize, you have to report the $500 as income, but then you can deduct $500 -- and no more than $500 -- of losing ticket purchases (provided you can prove you bought the losing tickets).

/not an accountant; not legal or tax advice
//not to be taken internally
///may cause drowsiness; alcohol may intensive this effect

SpinStopper: My roommate spends about $20 per month on the lottery.

He's always said that if he wins big, I get 1/4 of the winnings.

More power to him ;)

So he says you would get a quarter of the winnings? Like 25 cents?

ZAZ: The utility function of money could be superlinear, making the quote rational. But mostly the lottery continues to be a tax on people who are bad at math.

I came here to say this with more words and far less concisely.

Marginal utility of $1: 0
Marginal utility of an extra vacation: significant lifetime memories

Why do you need to buy the ticket to dream? I sometimes ask myself what I'd do with $20 million and get some good daydream enjoyment from it. Why do people have to go buy tickets to get that feeling?

/I also daydream about what it will be like when I'm retired at 40 because I save my money and invest wisely.