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Oh thank heaven
By roadman on Tue, 05/05/2015 - 4:33pm
for some common sense at 7-11. Went in there earlier for my daily chocolate fix, and saw notices by every register that they are now only accepting cash for scratch ticket purchases (no more debit cards).
Now,I typically stay far away from buying scratch tickets, but I'm still curious. Is this is a 7-11 policy or a Mass Lottery one? If it is a Lottery policy, perhaps the state could go one better and eliminate 90% of the current games - especially the ones that are so old the odds of winning any prize, especially the one remaining big prize, are almost next to nil.
Yes, I'm one of those people who almost always seems to be stuck behind the "I'll take three #10s, and give me 4 number 28s, and oh - I'll also take a couple each of number 23, 36, and 40. And while you're at it, I'd also like to play these numbers (while pulling out a stack of paper forms as they're speaking to the clerk)".
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Comments
Hmm
I thought that was the general rule for lottery sales anyways.. cash only.
I know paper tickets you can't use a credit card. I tried when the jackpot gets up very high and I decide to play.. which is rare.. but I also rarely carry cash on me anymore.
Edit: changed debit to credit because after some thought, I did ask to buy tickets with a credit card. I rarely use my card as a debit card so it would have been credit, and yes he was right when he said no. (of course he could have offered debit, but that's beside the point.. I just went to the ATM next door)
Apparently the Lottery's rules for buying
scratch tickets changed in 2011.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/12/21/new-way-to-buy-lottery-tickets-in-...
Of course, I buy so little at 7-11, I always use cash. So even when I buy a paper ticket on a high jackpot game, it never occurred to me whether or not I could use the debit card.
So want to eliminate 90%
Of the "idiot tax," no way in hell!
Why not. Because if you eliminate
90% of the games - all of which are stale, the Lottery can then improve the odds of the remaining games - provided they change the active games every six months or so. This has the appearance of increasing the odds among those people who are mathematically challenged. As such, this strategy will actually boost sales of the tickets. Plus, fewer games means less production costs for the Lottery, and less litter among other things.
The concept of "well, we've decided we're not making enough money, so let's keep forty or so scratch games active" is almost as ludicrous as the mindset of the average buyer who purchases multiple tickets at a time. As an example, a former coworker of mine actually purchased a full book of tickets once. For his $1,000 investment (500 tickets at $2.00 each), he netted about 40 bucks.
Just like at any casino...
...the house always wins.
Delusional thinking of the lottery player
That's exactly the delusional thinking of the lottery player. Or the slot machine player for that matter. No matter how much endless money they dump into these things, if they win $5 or $10 or $100 they still think they've "won".
Slot players
Really the dumbest people on Earth. The computer is programmed to make $X every day, folks.
How is that different than any of the other games?
Craps, roulette, blackjack, etc.?
Blackjack has elements of skill
as does poker
I believe the only honest game at a casino...
is Craps. And that is because you roll the dice.
Correct, Same Concept
All games of chance at casinos have expected outcomes that can be (and are) calculated by the casino. The individual plays are random, so individual players may have a chance to win big, but aggregated over thousands of players, the casino has a pretty predictable range of how much money they will make for a given game. I imagine the same is true for lottery games.
" For his $1,000 investment
" For his $1,000 investment (500 tickets at $2.00 each), he netted about 40 bucks."
Hey, that's better than a savings account!
I once joked to a friend buying a scratch ticket
to just deposit her dollar directly into the big trash barrel next to the counter rather than hand the clerk the dollar, get the piece of cardboard, scratch at it for a few seconds, realize it was worthless, and then deposit that in the wastebasket. Just overall more efficient for her to put her dollar there in the trash in the first place! She did not think it so funny at the time.
She could've just given you
She could've just given you the dollar and then you could've said, "No, you didn't win anything."
A friend gave me a similar
A friend gave me a similar speech, talking the whole time about the 'idiot tax' as I took two dollars from my change at the bar, bought a two dollar scratch ticket, and won $100. I know this is the exception and not the rule in so many ways, but it was so satisfying to interrupt him with my 'tax refund'.
Back before Powerball
was introduced in Massachusetts, a former co-worker who lives in Brockton told me and others of the time, when the jackpot was really large, his wife asked him to drive to Rhode Island to buy her some Powerball tickets.
He told us that he responded to his wife by explaining to her that the state lottery is a sucker's bet, including a comment that the probability of him being killed in a car crash on the trip to and from Rhode Island to secure the tickets would be far greater than actually winning any prize.
Best part of the story is that he actually indicated he was surprised when the wife made him sleep on the couch for a week after that.
Not what I expected
I thought your story was going to end with her cashing in a big insurance policy when he was killed in a car crash driving to RI.
MA Lottery Policy
actually, your logic isn't all the way true. the lottery buys back old scratch ticket books that have paid out the largest prize(s) from their agents, so you won't see them anymore. therefore, the oldest book in the selection has a slightly higher chance of you receiving a better payout because of this policy, albeit the statistics being low for receiving any sort of payout higher than what you've paid in. for example, if you still come across christmas or st. patrick's day themed tickets, you're probably going to be pleasantly surprised if you find that the book is still there deliberately -- the major prizes will still be out there.
You know guys,
Sometimes people just like to take small risks, live on the edge a little, like buy one or two lottery or scratch tickets, just for the hell of it. And at the end of the day, someone(s) does indeed 'hit the jackpot', it's not like nobody never wins. I myself will occasionally buy a scratch ticket and play the lottery, you know, just for the hell of it, for kicks.
So lighten up,guys. No, you shouldn't blow your rent / mortgage $, or kid's tuition....yes, absolutely, you then qualify as having a 'problem', but dropping a buck here and there is no big deal, and it's a cheap thrill. Again, people do indeed win considerable $ on the lottery, usually purely by luck.
A litte bit of harmless fun
True, Anon, playing can add a spark to someone's day. But it hurts to go to a convenience store in any of the poorer parts of town and see people waiting in line to buy tickets that you would surmise don't have a lot to spare just for a little harmless fun. It hurts them; but we taxpayers get the benefit of their (and everyone who plays) either desire for a little harmless fun or their desperate search for a way to turn their life around. A state-sponsored lottery is pitiful — or, rather, let's face it, is preying on those who can afford it least. As long as we admit that's what we're doing.
I would argue
that the real issue revolves around mental health. Most people who obsessively play, hold up cashier lines, etc., have primarily a mental health issue, not a poverty issue. Yes, our mental heath laws and infrastructure in this state and country are pitiful. And it's BIG reason why we have mass shootings, suicides, etc.