I spent $14 this time around. Last time, (last week), maybe $8. This week, we also spent $18 office pool for 9 people.
This time, I had $14 in my pocket and went to lunch with a coworker. He told me he didn’t want me to chip in for lunch, so I told him I’d take that $14 and buy Powerball tickets, and if I won, I’d split it with him. So I spent the whole $14 on tickets.
I have a good friend who gambles constantly at casinos. She is far from rich and she doesn’t admit what she blows, but I’m sure it’s more than she can really afford. To me, people spending tons on lottery is no different. Normally, I won’t spend more than $20 a year total.
They say the odds of winning are very very tiny, but if you don’t buy any ticket at all, your odds of winning are zero. I feel that “very very tiny” is a bit better than zero. I usually only buy if there’s a big jackpot. I don’t count on winning ever in my life.
Once I was in a deli and saw this guy buy about $80 worth of scratch off tickets. To me, that’s a big waste but no different then my friend who spends who-knows-what at the casino.
I view a casino the way I view a bar – not only does it take a lot of money but it’s a lot of time you could be spending doing something more productive.
I told someone once “casinos are not big, beautiful buildings because they’re giving their money away.” In other words, they’re big, beautiful buildings because they take in more than they give out.