I'd be happy if every American sent me just a penny:). There are trillions of non-essential dollars floating around looking for a market.

I figure my odds of winning without buying a ticket are almost as good as those who do.
Jim

Simple! Why not save the money and buy a shark for your bathtub.

My wife looks at it as entertainment, I don't care for gambling much, though if I get a hot hand with the dice, or start killin' 'em at the blackjack tables, I will stand there and let them pay me.

As bad as the odds are with lotto, getting rich with a shark in my bathtub seems a little harder.

wealth only leads to misery. Everyone always thinks they'd be happy if they were rich, but most psychological studies on "happiness" conclude that most people get the most satisfaction from IMAGINING a goal while WORKING TOWARD a goal than when they actually attain the goal. Now, if you were filthy rich and could afford to buy anything, what happens to your goals?

I'm not saying that it is impossible for the wealthy to be happy... it's just a lot harder.

Rammstein quote: "So my plan, if I made it huge somehow, would be to do things with the money to make OTHER people happy. I think the biggest thing I would do is contribute both money and TIME to childrens' hospitals. If anyone deserves the best, it's a bunch of kids who are sick due to no fault of their own. I'd like to help hard working families who are trying to pay for cancer treatments of their kids. I'd want to go to hospitals, with a playstation in tow, and play video games with the little buggers, who no doubt would kick my ass all over the place.

I think that would keep me together bigtime- too much to live for in that scenario."

This is what I would do if I won the money. Of course, I would bring the Wii also.

:D

money can't buy you happiness, but, hell, it can buy your choice of misery!

Agreed, you probably have 10x the people buying tickets when the jackpots get huge. Far better odds when you're looking at "only" 10M. Pocket change I know, but somehow I could get by......

CJFusco comment on wealth and happiness..... reminded me of a nice story...

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf.

He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.

"You aren't going to catch many fish that way," said the businessman to the fisherman, "you should be working rather than lying on the beach!"

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And what will my reward be?"

"Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the businessman's answer.

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling.

The businessman replied, "You will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat which will then result in larger catches of fish!"

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.

The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman's questions.

"You can buy a bigger boat and hire some people to work for you!" he said.

"And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman.

The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!"

Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?"

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"

The fisherman, still smiling, simply looked up, nodded and said: "And what do you think I am doing now?" He then looked at the sunset, with his pole in the water, without a care in the world.

Great story, Matteo. For some reason I picture Charles Bronson in the role of the fisherman.

I just want 2 million...I don't even want the 2 million, just the interest from it.

If anyone has an extra 2 million floating around, let me know. Don't worry, I'll give it back when I die. We can make a contract and everything, I'll even pay the legal preperatory fees, not a problem...:D

The problem with those who have won big and ended up miserable is that they were incredibly stupid people before they won. Then they go on tv for their press conference, so everyone knows who they are and then the hands come reaching out of the woodwork. I've seen some documentaries on these people and they should be thankful that breathing is an involuntary reflex, or they'd have died long ago.

I play lotto about 5-8x per year and have never ever made a special trip to buy a ticket. I just happened to already be at the 7-11 buying something and decided to get a few numbers. IF I won, before I claimed my prize, I'd have a lawyer and financial advisor all lined up, change my phone number, have my mail forwarded to a PO box and pray that the lotto commission didn't require me to give a televised press conf. in order to claim my prize.

I like that story too Teo, but can't help but wonder how many fish he had in the bank. The story didn't say he was a "poor" fisherman :).

Lottery odds are very bad. Something like 50% is taken off the top. However, after a few rounds with no winners - your odds (using the law of large numbers) have greatly improved. The combinations are so many though - that you still aint gonna win!

There's a joke about the guy who's donkey died so he held a raffle. First prize was a donkey. His friend says 'Didnt anyone complain the donkey was dead?' - 'Just the winner and I gave him his money back.'

Lottery's are are a chance to pay $1.00 for 10 cents of value (or less). I choose to pass. And they take money from the segment of society that can least afford it.

Lottos don't take anything, except maybe taxes from the winner. They're voluntary. People are free to choose how to spend or waste their money. And your abstinence ain't affecting any of it. Do you also oppose cigarette taxes because they disproportionately affect the poor?

Actually, with a set number of possible numbers combinations, the odds remain constant. When the jackpot gets huge, more people buy. This increases the odds of somebody winning. However, no matter how many people buy, no matter how many tickets sold, YOUR odds of winning with each ticket you buy remain the same on any drawing.

I dunno about the girl, but I'd surmise that in almost anything the fantasy is better than the reality. ;)

Lotteries 'take' or 'collect' or 'earn' revenue, it's only semantics. (And our lottery winnings are tax free here). I didn't say they should be banned, just that I oppose the. It's not my place to stop people that can't afford to feed their kids from buying into the dream of lottery millions. It's sad, but it's not my problem.

My abstinence affects my wallet. That's all I care about. But lottery prizes are based on sales, so while negligible, my choice diminishes the size of the pot, at the lottery's prescribed rate of return. To suggest otherwise is to posit that lotteries would exist in the absence of paying customers.

I oppose cigarette taxes because they do not cover the added costs they put on our health care system, they are, in fact, too low. If cigarettes were only a financial burden, like lotteries, then yes I would agree with your logic. Lotto's don't kill people, cigarettes do.

You're right. The odds don't increase, but they also don't decrease. I will edit my post.

What DOES decrease, as the player pool increases, is your odds of being a SOLE jackpot winner.