Lottery Fun at 7-11

[aniwahya]

Do you know how long you can hold three large bags of ice?

I didn't until I got stuck behind a lottery nut

I thought the clerk was going to cry when she left and next in line was me. Had my ID ready (moms cigs) and cash in hand, and he looked like I was the answer to his prayers. If only I was cuter and in a better mood I bet he would have proposed

[Mark Healey]

I once heard that lottery is a tax on people who can't do math. Now I think it's a tax on everyone, but the bulk of us pay in time or whatever you want to call that head-shaking amusement induced by people who play it professionally.

Last Weekend's This American Life was teh episode that starts about the lottery.

I once figured out a way to calculate the expectation of the California lottery, It was like pulling teeth getting the information necessary from the lottery people.

At the time it was only a good bet when it was something like sixtymillion.

Then the bastards changed it.

[karma_gypsy]

I thought the lottery profits went to benefiting schools and such ... ??




I don't play lottery or gamble .... I, like many others, throw only a dollar or two at it on occasion while I'm waiting for my food



I did know a guy who got a $600,000 settlement (it was a cool million before taxes) .... sad thing is - is that a "fool and his money were soon parted." The guy blew most of it on gambling, only to lose, well, most of it. The rest he blew on lavish vehicles, in which he only kept but one or two which were piles.

All these people ... so many *true* friends around him we're telling him, "dude, buy a house. Invest in an apartment complex or buy that bar down the street. You'll still have money leftover ..." Whereas the *hangers-on* were asking him for loans left and right ... guess who he hung out with when he was rich? Guess who are still willing to hang out with him, even after his money is all gone?


He's worse off now than he was before he had the settlement ...

[garth1]

Reminds me of a story one of my friends told me about years ago: Lottery just came to Texas and he happened to be unfortunate enough to work at 7-11 at the time. Some guy came in and bought an entire roll of $1 scratch off tickets. I believe he spent in the neighborhood of $2000 for the roll (might be a little off since it has been so many years and I've managed to kill a few brain cells off with alcohol). He said the guy was going on and on about how he was going to win all this money and make several times over his $2000 investment. Anyways dude comes back in the very next day after scratching all those tickets. His total winnings out of that entire roll......$450. Yes it left the guy with a net loss of over $1500. He said the guy was PISSED and ranting about how the system is rigged, it is all a big scam, the government is bullshit, etc. My friend told him well it does state the actual odds of winning on the back of every ticket which aren't exactly good. My friend then asked him if he wanted to buy anymore tickets. The guy told him to F*(K off and stormed out the door.

I once had a guy that purchased $300 (one) role of scratchoffs and won NOTHING on them, not even a ticket.
Needless to say, I laughfed my ass off.

[Aethian]

I had a guy who came in every morning and bought twenty 2 dollar tickets and a 1 dollar ticket that I could pick. Every time he came in he won on that one dollar ticket. Every friggen time.

So one day we had a brand new twenty dollar ticket and he started to ask if I felt good about it. Shrugging I said no, not really. For over a week he asked me every day if it was good or not, finally laughing I said it was. Guy won...called me his lucky charm. My first couple semesters of school got paid for that way, was really sweet of him. Then his kids came out of the woodwork and the rest of his money dissapeared faster then anything. I'm sad he's gone now but I hope he;s having the last laugh.

[powerboy]

At the most, I have paid $10 on tickets. That was only a couple of times, when I got a bonus at work. Other wise I will spend up to $2.00 dollars on scratch offs. And that is a few times a year

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

There's a chain of convenience stores around here (initials are KT) that I hate going into because I almost always end up in line behind either:

• a lottery whore buying scratch-offs and playing them right at the counter instead of moving to the side like a decent human being so other people can be checked out, or
• a regular BSing with the cashier(s), who invariably stand around and chat with them and ignore the rapidly-growing line of customers behind them, and I don't really want to say anything because I'll probably get snapped at

The stores are always busy too. If I were to buy a container of ice cream there, it'd probably melt before I actually got to the cash register. I'll just go to the grocery store instead.