The lottery is really really stupid. (1 Viewer)

[Scoresman]

I hate scratchers tickets. People will scratch them, buy more with the tickets that pay out until they run out of money. People will literally spend hundreds of dollars a day for scratchers. They hold up the line at the convenient store while they take their sweet time picking which ticket they want to throw their money away on. It's a tax on the stupid. I've never seen a normal, intelligent person buy a scratchers ticket. The only time a regular person will play is if they got a ticket for their birthday from an aunt that hates them.

 

[eoMMan]

A lot of money goes back to the state which in turn helps things like education. I know here in Florida, billions and billions have gone to education.

So there's that.

 

[Cjw_55106]

I never hold up the line. I spend everything I have, saving just $10. I take that $10 and scratch my tickets while waiting in line at Chipotle.

 

[Scoresman]

A lot of money goes back to the state which in turn helps things like education. I know here in Florida, billions and billions have gone to education.

So there's that.

That's pretty ironic then. The stupids of society are feeding money into the education system.

 

[nirad3]

I hate scratchers tickets. People will scratch them, buy more with the tickets that pay out until they run out of money. People will literally spend hundreds of dollars a day for scratchers. They hold up the line at the convenient store while they take their sweet time picking which ticket they want to throw their money away on. It's a tax on the stupid. I've never seen a normal, intelligent person buy a scratchers ticket. The only time a regular person will play is if they got a ticket for their birthday from an aunt that hates them.

The bolded is what chaps me. That said, I've bought scratchers a few times on a whim. But I've never held up a line in order to browse the selection.

 

[Quez]

I find the hypocrisy with gambling hilarious. If the fears of gambling are genuine, then there shouldn't be any. Someone could become addicted to lotto, just as easily as black jack.

The same is going on with DFS. It's amazing how the NFL rolls out the red carpet for fantasy football, but betting on simple lines is taboo.

 

[17seconds]

I find the hypocrisy with gambling hilarious. If the fears of gambling are genuine, then there shouldn't be any. Someone could become addicted to lotto, just as easily as black jack.

The same is going on with DFS. It's amazing how the NFL rolls out the red carpet for fantasy football, but betting on simple lines is taboo.

I think the NFL likes all of the marketing angles you get with people playing fantasy and caring about individual players and stats. You don't get that kind of involvement with simple game betting.

 

[Thunderlips]

I worked at a mom and pop grocery back in the day, and you used to reasonably be able to pick the "random" winners. Like every 3rd or 4th on the roll was a winner. We used to pick them off.....but then people would get pissed if you tried to sell them one of the (unscratched) losers that had been torn off the roll.

 

[Buckfast 1]

Oh, and as an aside, I'm so pissed at that guy who found the bug in all the video poker machines in Vegas, then stupidly got caught when he went for one big payday cashout instead of just hopping from machine to machine for small $500 hits here and there and staying under the radar forever.

Do you know what the bug was? How was he beating the system?

 

[heckmanm]

A lot of money goes back to the state which in turn helps things like education. I know here in Florida, billions and billions have gone to education.

So there's that.

That's pretty ironic then. The stupids of society are feeding money into the education system.

The lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

 

[moleculo]

buying one ticket is worth while. By paying one dollar, you have increased your odds infinitely: you cannot win if you don't play, and something, as small as the odds are, is infinitely bigger than nothing.

buying two tickets is a waste, as 2:1,000,000 isn't a whole lot better than 1:1,000,000.

 

[Capella]

I always liked the saying that the lottery is a tax for those bad at math.

 

[kevzilla]

It's the only game in town.

 

[Swing 51]

I always liked the saying that the lottery is a tax for those bad at math.

Ha, never heard that before.

 

[General Tso]

It's the Dumb Tax.

 

[Apple Jack]

great last minute stocking stuffers

 

[eoMMan]

great last minute stocking stuffers

Yup, and for bungholes you don't want to spend much on cause you know they won't be getting you much or anything at all.

 

[NCCommish]

It's really stupid until you win. Personally I don't do scratch offs and I only play the lottery on very rare occasions.

 

[shady inc]

A lot of money goes back to the state which in turn helps things like education. I know here in Florida, billions and billions have gone to education.

So there's that.

But if your argument is that the lottery is helping educate the stupid people that buy the tickets, then wouldn't the lottery stop being effective after education is implemented?

 

[shady inc]

buying one ticket is worth while. By paying one dollar, you have increased your odds infinitely: you cannot win if you don't play, and something, as small as the odds are, is infinitely bigger than nothing.

buying two tickets is a waste, as 2:1,000,000 isn't a whole lot better than 1:1,000,000.

doubling your odds of winning isn't a whole lot better?

 

[Kanil]

I always liked the saying that the lottery is a tax for those bad at math.

The thing about this is that winning $25 million changes my life just about as much as $500 million (never going to work again, the generations of my family I'll live to see are set, travel as much as I want to, etc..). So as far as the reason people play lotto (changing your life), the value is about the same whether the jackpot is $50m or whatever $ amount you determine is "mathematically" correct.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

In what part of the country are we calling scratch-offs "scratchers"?

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Sorry I'm into real gambling.

 

[Scoresman]

In what part of the country are we calling scratch-offs "scratchers"?

The normal part of the country.

 

[Peyton Marino]

I never hold up the line. I spend everything I have, saving just $10. I take that $10 and scratch my tickets while waiting in line at Chipotle.

Oh hell yes. Chipotle is awesome.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

In what part of the country are we calling scratch-offs "scratchers"?

The normal part of the country.

Unless you're referring to Canada...sounds like what they'd call them there

 

[Abraham]

A lot of money goes back to the state which in turn helps things like education. I know here in Florida, billions and billions have gone to education.

So there's that.

doesnt seem to have helped.

 

[johnnycakes]

I hate scratchers tickets. People will scratch them, buy more with the tickets that pay out until they run out of money. People will literally spend hundreds of dollars a day for scratchers. They hold up the line at the convenient store while they take their sweet time picking which ticket they want to throw their money away on. It's a tax on the stupid. I've never seen a normal, intelligent person buy a scratchers ticket. The only time a regular person will play is if they got a ticket for their birthday from an aunt that hates them.

scratchers.

 

[belljr]

Scratchers? Lmao

 

[Cjw_55106]

Sorry I'm into real gambling.

Like walking around Detroit?

 

[Ketamine Dreams]

Voluntary taxation

 

[Scoresman]

https://www.google.com/#q=scratchers

 

[TheAristocrat]

I buy a PowerBall ticket when it gets over the $150M - $200M range. It's not going to break me and as moleculo notes, I have infinitely better odds of never having to work another day in my life.

Scratch-offs I only buy when I'm traveling. Don't know why but I seem to have luck with this. Not huge scores but $10 in to win $25.

Now, pull tabs. Those things are the devil. I might say I'm only in for $40 but I never hold that line. Especially in groups.

 

[culdeus]

There was a study that said that if you allowed parlay cards for nfl you would make something like 4x the profit as the scratchoffs with much less overhead, of course that was killed before ever going to a vote here.

 

[Cjw_55106]

I buy a PowerBall ticket when it gets over the $150M - $200M range. It's not going to break me and as moleculo notes, I have infinitely better odds of never having to work another day in my life.

Scratch-offs I only buy when I'm traveling. Don't know why but I seem to have luck with this. Not huge scores but $10 in to win $25.

Now, pull tabs. Those things are the devil. I might say I'm only in for $40 but I never hold that line. Especially in groups.

Never understood the pull tab rage. People buy them by the bunch and the top prize is like $208?

 

[Kanil]

I buy a PowerBall ticket when it gets over the $150M - $200M range. It's not going to break me and as moleculo notes, I have infinitely better odds of never having to work another day in my life.

Scratch-offs I only buy when I'm traveling. Don't know why but I seem to have luck with this. Not huge scores but $10 in to win $25.

Now, pull tabs. Those things are the devil. I might say I'm only in for $40 but I never hold that line. Especially in groups.

Never understood the pull tab rage. People buy them by the bunch and the top prize is like $208?

WTF is a pull tab?

 

[Scoresman]

I buy a PowerBall ticket when it gets over the $150M - $200M range. It's not going to break me and as moleculo notes, I have infinitely better odds of never having to work another day in my life.

Scratch-offs I only buy when I'm traveling. Don't know why but I seem to have luck with this. Not huge scores but $10 in to win $25.

Now, pull tabs. Those things are the devil. I might say I'm only in for $40 but I never hold that line. Especially in groups.

Never understood the pull tab rage. People buy them by the bunch and the top prize is like $208?

WTF is a pull tab?

 

[E-Z Glider]

Id be embarrassed to buy a lottery ticket. Its like smoking cigs or drinking soda.

 

[TheAristocrat]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pull-tab

 

[Mr. Ected]

Wait, they let you browse the selection at some stores? I thought everywhere, they just gave you the next ticket off the roll.

Browsing the tickets beforehand is a game-changer. There are some scratcher games that are beatable if you can look at the ticket before you buy it. Most of have been solved but occasionally new ones come out with different versions of the same flaw.

Also, if anyone has the ins for a lotto-drawing ticket-buying consortium, please send me details. Read recently that some states have beatable drawings, but it takes tens of thousands of dollars to buy enough tickets, which has left a handful of investment groups pooling money. Starting a new group, of course, would just further divide the winnings, but I'd love to invest in one of the existing groups if anyone knows of any.

I think the 'browsing' is selecting which one of the dozens of different 'games' that the scratcher can choose from.

 

[TheAristocrat]

I buy a PowerBall ticket when it gets over the $150M - $200M range. It's not going to break me and as moleculo notes, I have infinitely better odds of never having to work another day in my life.

Scratch-offs I only buy when I'm traveling. Don't know why but I seem to have luck with this. Not huge scores but $10 in to win $25.

Now, pull tabs. Those things are the devil. I might say I'm only in for $40 but I never hold that line. Especially in groups.

Never understood the pull tab rage. People buy them by the bunch and the top prize is like $208?

Top prizes vary but that's usually the range. I don't know why they hook me but they do. I put away a fair amount of money just for pull tabs when I visit MN.

 

[Capella]

Id be embarrassed to buy a lottery ticket. Its like smoking cigs or drinking soda.

I like to buy my scratchers when I'm getting my smokes and cokes and you can take that to the bank scratchoffmigos.

 

[sbonomo]

Oh, and as an aside, I'm so pissed at that guy who found the bug in all the video poker machines in Vegas, then stupidly got caught when he went for one big payday cashout instead of just hopping from machine to machine for small $500 hits here and there and staying under the radar forever.

Do you know what the bug was? How was he beating the system?

The standard multi-game video poker machine, one of the games in the machine had a bug. I don't remember the exact game, it was like Bonus Deuce's Wild or something. Basically, he'd play the machine for a penny a hand. When he was dealt a "made" hand, like, a straight or a flush or better, before drawing any additional cards (the hand so strong he'd hold all 5 anyway), then he'd back out of that game by going to the game menu and selecting a different game (like Jacks-Or-Better). He'd then play one hand of that game for the max bet on the machine (say $1). After one hand, the game would register his new stakes, and he'd go back to the game menu and select back to Bonus Deuce's Wild. The hand he left open would still be there, sitting on the screen, waiting for him to select cards to hold/draw. However, the game would register the current bet as $1 and have the payouts set accordingly. He'd hold all 5 and get the max.

TL;DR: bug let you select your wager stakes after you saw the hand it dealt you. He'd burn through a penny a hand until getting dealt a great made hand, then up his bet 100x.

ETA: got caught when he kept hitting the same machine for payouts so big he needed to fill out an irs form to cash out. Casino recognized him after the second time hitting big on their same machine. Tallies also showed that one machine was losing thousands consistently while the ones around it were steady money makers, so they were on the lookout.

Do you get in trouble for this or does the casino merely remove the machine?

 

[belljr]

I actually like playing the dickfer kind.

 

[Scoresman]

I actually like playing the dickfer kind.

are those the same as the penisdo kind?

 

[belljr]

Most likely. Probably depends on location.

 

[FUBAR]

I hate scratchers tickets. People will scratch them, buy more with the tickets that pay out until they run out of money. People will literally spend hundreds of dollars a day for scratchers. They hold up the line at the convenient store while they take their sweet time picking which ticket they want to throw their money away on. It's a tax on the stupid. I've never seen a normal, intelligent person buy a scratchers ticket. The only time a regular person will play is if they got a ticket for their birthday from an aunt that hates them.

doesn't "convenience store" = beer, soda, cigar, and lottery store?

 

[Scoresman]

I hate scratchers tickets. People will scratch them, buy more with the tickets that pay out until they run out of money. People will literally spend hundreds of dollars a day for scratchers. They hold up the line at the convenient store while they take their sweet time picking which ticket they want to throw their money away on. It's a tax on the stupid. I've never seen a normal, intelligent person buy a scratchers ticket. The only time a regular person will play is if they got a ticket for their birthday from an aunt that hates them.

doesn't "convenience store" = beer, soda, cigar, and lottery store?

Yes?

 

[spOOfy]

Oh, and as an aside, I'm so pissed at that guy who found the bug in all the video poker machines in Vegas, then stupidly got caught when he went for one big payday cashout instead of just hopping from machine to machine for small $500 hits here and there and staying under the radar forever.

Do you know what the bug was? How was he beating the system?

The standard multi-game video poker machine, one of the games in the machine had a bug. I don't remember the exact game, it was like Bonus Deuce's Wild or something. Basically, he'd play the machine for a penny a hand. When he was dealt a "made" hand, like, a straight or a flush or better, before drawing any additional cards (the hand so strong he'd hold all 5 anyway), then he'd back out of that game by going to the game menu and selecting a different game (like Jacks-Or-Better). He'd then play one hand of that game for the max bet on the machine (say $1). After one hand, the game would register his new stakes, and he'd go back to the game menu and select back to Bonus Deuce's Wild. The hand he left open would still be there, sitting on the screen, waiting for him to select cards to hold/draw. However, the game would register the current bet as $1 and have the payouts set accordingly. He'd hold all 5 and get the max.

TL;DR: bug let you select your wager stakes after you saw the hand it dealt you. He'd burn through a penny a hand until getting dealt a great made hand, then up his bet 100x.

ETA: got caught when he kept hitting the same machine for payouts so big he needed to fill out an irs form to cash out. Casino recognized him after the second time hitting big on their same machine. Tallies also showed that one machine was losing thousands consistently while the ones around it were steady money makers, so they were on the lookout.

Do you get in trouble for this or does the casino merely remove the machine?

http://www.wired.com/2013/05/game-king/

 

[spOOfy]

Oh, and as an aside, I'm so pissed at that guy who found the bug in all the video poker machines in Vegas, then stupidly got caught when he went for one big payday cashout instead of just hopping from machine to machine for small $500 hits here and there and staying under the radar forever.

Do you know what the bug was? How was he beating the system?

The standard multi-game video poker machine, one of the games in the machine had a bug. I don't remember the exact game, it was like Bonus Deuce's Wild or something. Basically, he'd play the machine for a penny a hand. When he was dealt a "made" hand, like, a straight or a flush or better, before drawing any additional cards (the hand so strong he'd hold all 5 anyway), then he'd back out of that game by going to the game menu and selecting a different game (like Jacks-Or-Better). He'd then play one hand of that game for the max bet on the machine (say $1). After one hand, the game would register his new stakes, and he'd go back to the game menu and select back to Bonus Deuce's Wild. The hand he left open would still be there, sitting on the screen, waiting for him to select cards to hold/draw. However, the game would register the current bet as $1 and have the payouts set accordingly. He'd hold all 5 and get the max.

TL;DR: bug let you select your wager stakes after you saw the hand it dealt you. He'd burn through a penny a hand until getting dealt a great made hand, then up his bet 100x.

ETA: got caught when he kept hitting the same machine for payouts so big he needed to fill out an irs form to cash out. Casino recognized him after the second time hitting big on their same machine. Tallies also showed that one machine was losing thousands consistently while the ones around it were steady money makers, so they were on the lookout.

Do you get in trouble for this or does the casino merely remove the machine?

IIRC, casino paid him out, but banned him from ever coming back. The company that makes the video poker machines (IGT?) patched them all before this got published in the news.

nope, they tried to have him tried for a crime, actually. just posted a link. it's from 2013, so not sure what has happened since then.