[preferentialtreatment]

My opinion is that, the mega millions lottery has serious flaws.What are your thoughts on this guys?

[xlabel]

I very rarely play Megamillions, it's the worst bang for the gambling buck IMO. Even if you get 3 outta 5 numbers w/o megaball (which is damn near impossible) the payout is like $7.

The only MI lottery games I play are the scratch offs where you can submit the losing tickets in for a second chance drawing or merchadise like a Harley Davidson Prize pack I won a few years back.

I'd rather go to the casino if I'm going to waste money gambling; at least the slots pay off decent once in awhile and you can play some games that where by skill and strategy you can affect the outcome to your favor sometimes.

[grhtex]

The lottery is just another tax that specifically targets folks who were bad at math.

[MTUCache]

Originally Posted by grhtex

The lottery is just another tax that specifically targets folks who were bad at math.

Ditto.... an extremely regressive tax at best. Even worse, instead of adding the lottery money into the school funding (like they promised they would do), they've simply replaced the former school funding with lottery moneys. Using money from people who are bad at math to teach math to their kids? That's messed up in all kinds of ways.

The idea that the government is actively encouraging people to gamble in their system while discouraging them from gambling outside of their system creates a very serious conflict of interest.

I personally couldn't care less how people choose to irresponsibly spend their money (hell, most of mine goes towards junk food ), but this is yet another thing that the government should definitely not have their hands in.

I'd honestly feel better about it if the lottery were still a privately run business.

As for which lottery games or programs are better than others.... I have no clue. I think I bought a few scratch-offs once when I was drunk, and maybe put a couple bucks into an office pool for a big jackpot, but I don't actively play.

[xlabel]

It has nothing to do with people being bad at math. Most players know damn good and well what the odds are and that it would be a ridiculous long shot to hit the jackpot, it's entertainment and a chance at a dream is all it is.

A lot of gamblers are quite proficient at math. How about the college students from MIT who developed and implemented their system of play that won them millions at Las Vegas blackjack tables? You think they were bad at math?

[michigan83]

The government should not be running a lottery. Thomas Jefferson is rolling over in his grave.

[Coldjensens]

The lottery serves one purpose IMO. It gives people hope. maybe it is a false hope, but still it is fun to plan what youwoudl do if you win. It also gvies people something to look to if things are going really badly. If people spend a dolalr on a ticket, it is not really a big deal and it can be good for them. If people are spending a hundred or a thousand dollars on tickets, then there is a problem. Maybe they should limit the number that you can buy, or at elast the number that you can buy at one time. Thus if someone gets lotto fever and can only buy five tickets, they are elast have a cooling off time while they go to another store to buy more. That will make it more difficult for lotto pools to buy tickets, but maybe some accompdation can be made for pools to sign up in advance or something.

From what I understand, the lotto is just a tax. It was supposed to boost education and nothing would go to the general fund. However when they gave the Lotto money to teh schools, they reduced or partially stopped increasing what they would spend on schools. Thus, while the schools got the same amount of moeny that they would have gotten fromthe state without the lotto, the state paid les to teh schools and kept more money in the general fund. Thus, the lotto money was essentially transferred to the state general fund. Although the legislators cannot cut the amount of lotto money that the schools get, they can cut the state funding and let the lotto cover more of the school funding.

All said and done, the lotto is a general fund money raiser. Technically it is nto a tax since no one is obligated to buy lotto tickets. So see it as a donation to the state. One thing is clear, if they did nto have the lotto to collect money, they would just collect the same money another way (i.e. tax increases), so at least this way provides somethign for people in return. To me it is no different than if the State had a abke sale and asked people to donate baked goods to their fund raiser. Raffles lottery, bingo, etc are jsut another way to raise money. Charities and non-profits use these methods, the State uses the same methods as well. Maybe the State should start hosting fund raising dinners, silent autcions, bake sales, rummage sale donations, or other means of fund raising.

UNfortunately we cannot get them to just do away with wasteful stupidity instead. I wonder what percentage of government money is wasted through stupid rules and procedures or graft/corruption. Probably 40% or more.

I beleive that if the state woudl get rid of less than half of their wasteful practices, the budget would balance.

[MTUCache]

Originally Posted by xlabel

It has nothing to do with people being bad at math. Most players know damn good and well what the odds are and that it would be a ridiculous long shot to hit the jackpot, it's entertainment and a chance at a dream is all it is.

A lot of gamblers are quite proficient at math. How about the college students from MIT who developed and implemented their system of play that won them millions at Las Vegas blackjack tables? You think they were bad at math?

Of course not... but you don't exactly have to be good at math or statistics to see what kinds of odds you have for a wager. Hell, the lotto tickets actually have your odds of winning right on the ticket.

I don't have any particular qualms about the odds offered (or even how good at math you need to be to identify a longshot). I do have a problem with the government basically preying on peoples' desperation in order to subsidize government programs that don't benefit those people. They're literally selling people false hope and an addictive rush. That to me is wrong. I don't have a problem with people gambling and getting those things on their own (or through private enterprise), I do have a problem with the government controlling these like they are measurable commodities.

[magellan]

I don't ever think of the lottery until there's some jackass buying 15 of them at the gas station when there's a line of 10 people. Oh, and then throw in a $6 pack of Camel Lights.

[michigan83]

I don't ever think of the lottery until there's some jackass buying 15 of them at the gas station when there's a line of 10 people. Oh, and then throw in a $6 pack of Camel Lights.

I know!! I have a tendency to turn around and leave in that situation.