Insights and issues regarding state lotteries

[Clair_Schwan]

I hope this is the right place to post this information. It deals with an important aspect of personal finance that troubles many people.

The lottery is a big scam and the wrong thing for governments to get involved with. It is also the wrong place for frugal and self-reliant people to put their money.

There are two new pages to my website that are filled with reasoning for my views, based on logic and math. I think you'll find them interesting, insightful and helpful.

One page discusses powerball/lotteries and the odds of winning (using California as an example), and there is a link to another page that shows the math behind calculating the odds of winning.

In addition to throwing my ideas out there to be helpful, I would appreciate critical feedback regarding the math. As you'll see, the odds of winning claimed by the lottery are very different than my calculations. Something is wrong somewhere. Any math wizards out there?

This link takes you directly to the powerball/lottery page: http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com/powerball.html

Point me in the right direction if my high school math and computer screen calculator just aren't cutting it on this one. I think my calculator is fine, but high school was more than 30 years ago and there might be some new "lottery math" that I'm not aware of.

My website endorses the BHM philosophy of "show them how to do it", so I want to make certain I am showing the math correctly.

Clair

[EarthMother]

i applaud your attempt to educate people on the gambling scams but why Bother? The majority won't care and the rest are smart enough to already know it but as my sister says for her excuse to wasting her money this way... " Well, someone's gonna win it and it might as well be me." Personally, I was praying to win a $28,000,000 lotto, telling God what wonderous things I could accomplish in His name. Well a visiting pastor was preaching...he stopped and told the crowd that he had just had a message laid on his heart and said, "Folks, God doesn't play the ponies, the lottery nor the one armed bandits." I never bet again. This is my story however I hope you do get someone to listen. Thanks for letting me vent.

[ryanmercer]

i applaud your attempt to educate people on the gambling scams but why Bother? The majority won't care and the rest are smart enough to already know it but as my sister says for her excuse to wasting her money this way... " Well, someone's gonna win it and it might as well be me." Personally, I was praying to win a $28,000,000 lotto, telling God what wonderous things I could accomplish in His name. Well a visiting pastor was preaching...he stopped and told the crowd that he had just had a message laid on his heart and said, "Folks, God doesn't play the ponies, the lottery nor the one armed bandits." I never bet again. This is my story *however I hope you do get someone to listen. Thanks for letting me vent.

:)

[cinok]

We have a debate about a lottery going on in Arkansas they say it takes advantage of the poor, spending their money on a dream. Let me ask a question isn't America built on dreams, not being able to manage your money is not my problem if i want to take a chance on a $1.00 or $500 dollar lotery thats my choice. Most states use the money for education or senior benifiets while it my not managed the best at least it helps offset taxes. If you think that by spnding $1.00 on a ticket will make you a millionair over night you have some serios problems.

[Clair_Schwan]

cinok:

I've heard the argument about the poor. It is the same one that is offered when folks want to increase beer and cigarette taxes. It's not a good argument at all. We don't need to be protecting others from wasting their money, even if they have none to waste.

A much better argument is that "running numbers" is illegal now, so how does it become okay to do if the state starts "running numbers" and calls it a lottery?

Lotteries are often conceived in the name of voluntary revenue to offset or supplement taxes. We fall for the educational ploy, but I don't know of one state that has lowered its taxes because of it. In fact, California has one of the oldest and largest lotteries in the country, and some of the highest income taxes, and they're broke. What happened to all the billions from the lottery?

My main concern is that the odds advertised are simply outrageously inconsistent with common sense and logic, and therefore the government is engaged in an otherwise illegal operation, and handing us a great big bright glossy lie about our odds of winning.

Any other private enterprise behaving in this manner would have been shut down long ago, or forced to have truth in advertising.

California still hasn't responded to my request about how they calculate their odds, and they probably never will. No surprise here.