The number picker's dilemma - Page 2

jimhelm · 03-30-2012, 10:07 AM

i passed this time. Either I'll be the only one working here, or the only one with my $10.

wolf · 03-30-2012, 10:31 AM

I don't pay the tax on stupid people. Or maybe they aren't stupid. They just can't do math.

Okay, I admit that I have occasionally played, but mainly when a group of people at work decided to go in to a big batch of losing tickets.

I had an uncle who played a lot who would go on and on about his wins, a hundred here, a thousand there ... near as we could determine, he probably spent at least five grand a year on tickets and never made it back. But, you only remember the wins, right?

JBKlyde · 03-30-2012, 02:31 PM

If the winner of the lottery gets "stoned to death" then the lottery is evil.

Spexxvet · 03-30-2012, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBKlyde

If the winner of the lottery gets "stoned to death" then the lottery is evil.

What if (s)he just gets stoned?

Sundae · 03-30-2012, 03:02 PM

I play the Euromillions Lottery on the closest draw after payday. Sometimes twice a month, depending on finaces. Never more.

I always play "lucky dip" (numbers randomly selected).
I don't expect I'll ever win, but £2-4 a month buys a lot of dreams. And it's cheaper and healthier than a pint of beer.

pastortoy · 03-30-2012, 08:47 PM

In Chicago, Peter Muiznieks bought a ticket at a liquor store. He knows his chance of winning is a long shot, and that the money the country is spending on tickets could go elsewhere. He still couldn't help himself, and laughed as the apparent contradiction of his opinion and his actions.

"Lottery and games of chance are a stupidity tax and the more we all buy into this, the less rational we are as a society," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/americans-bet-...203515291.html

Tonight's jackpot is estimated at $640 million (annuity) or $462 million (lump sum).

pastortoy · 03-31-2012, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae

I play the Euromillions Lottery on the closest draw after payday. Sometimes twice a month, depending on finaces. Never more.

I always play "lucky dip" (numbers randomly selected).
I don't expect I'll ever win, but £2-4 a month buys a lot of dreams. And it's cheaper and healthier than a pint of beer.

Wow, they give playing advice on the Euromillions site.

http://www.euro-millions.com/informa...mbers-2295.asp

I also see they do not tax the winnings. I wish they did that in the US.

ZenGum · 03-30-2012, 06:47 PM

Sundae has it.

You shouldn't buy lotto tickets thinking it's a good investment. As Wolf points out, it isn't.

You can reasonably buy lotto tickets because they give you the right to have nice and ever-so-slightly plausible daydreams about becoming suddenly rich and all the things you could then do.

Like hitting the tip mug so hard it shatters.

classicman · 03-31-2012, 06:22 PM

Play for next week. No one else will be.

infinite monkey · 04-02-2012, 07:07 PM

You are all aware of the gambler's fallacies, right?

I'm surprised the mathemagicians didn't jump all over this thread. The lottery is, indeed, a fun dream. And people do win. I saw old bar patrons win the mega mill a few years ago. One of the city departments. An office pool.

But no instance of a number being drawn has any effect on any other number being drawn, except it lowers the pool of numbers. There are no 'patterns.' It's just pure dumb luck (for lack of a better word.)

I buy a few, here and there. And I dream about that log home. But I don't think there's a system to random number drawing games. Because there isn't.

infinite monkey · 04-02-2012, 07:30 PM

aka what Zen said.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

You are all aware of the gambler's fallacies, right?

I'm surprised the mathemagicians didn't jump all over this thread. The lottery is, indeed, a fun dream. And people do win. I saw old bar patrons win the mega mill a few years ago. One of the city departments. An office pool.

But no instance of a number being drawn has any effect on any other number being drawn, except it lowers the pool of numbers. There are no 'patterns.' It's just pure dumb luck (for lack of a better word.)

I buy a few, here and there. And I dream about that log home. But I don't think there's a system to random number drawing games. Because there isn't.

Blueflare · 04-03-2012, 10:27 AM

I got some numbers randomly selected by the "lucky dip" and now I just use those. I only ever buy a ticket when there's a super huge jackpot.
I have played the main lottery three times in my life and the Euromillions twice. Never won anything.
It's random chance, don't delude yourselves, people.

ZenGum · 04-03-2012, 07:28 PM

Uh-ohhhh, trouble brewin.

Quote:

FIFTEEN Maryland McDonald's employees remain in financial limbo today as a co-worker who claimed to hold a $105 million Mega Millions lottery ticket stays in hiding amid suspicions she is either being greedy or perpetrating a cruel hoax.

Three winning tickets were bought for Friday's record-breaking $656 million Mega Millions drawing.

While no one has come forward to claim the prize, Mirlande Wilson's boast to a newspaper that she selected the ticket has caused ill-will at a McDonald's where she works.

Ms Wilson bought tickets for a pool of co-workers, but told the New York Post that the winning ticket she claimed to have purchased was bought separately.

Lottery officials in Maryland, however, downplayed Ms Wilson's claim to the golden ticket without proof.

03-30-2012, 10:07 AM	#1
jimhelm a beautiful fool Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: 39.939705 Posts: 4,504	i passed this time. Either I'll be the only one working here, or the only one with my $10. __________________ There's a Shadow just behind me. Shrouding every step I take. Making every promise empty, pointing every finger at me. _tool

03-30-2012, 10:31 AM	#2
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I don't pay the tax on stupid people. Or maybe they aren't stupid. They just can't do math. Okay, I admit that I have occasionally played, but mainly when a group of people at work decided to go in to a big batch of losing tickets. I had an uncle who played a lot who would go on and on about his wins, a hundred here, a thousand there ... near as we could determine, he probably spent at least five grand a year on tickets and never made it back. But, you only remember the wins, right? __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

03-30-2012, 03:02 PM	#5
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	I play the Euromillions Lottery on the closest draw after payday. Sometimes twice a month, depending on finaces. Never more. I always play "lucky dip" (numbers randomly selected). I don't expect I'll ever win, but £2-4 a month buys a lot of dreams. And it's cheaper and healthier than a pint of beer. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

03-30-2012, 06:47 PM	#8
ZenGum Doctor Wtf Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 12,861	Sundae has it. You shouldn't buy lotto tickets thinking it's a good investment. As Wolf points out, it isn't. You can reasonably buy lotto tickets because they give you the right to have nice and ever-so-slightly plausible daydreams about becoming suddenly rich and all the things you could then do. Like hitting the tip mug so hard it shatters. __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.

03-31-2012, 06:22 PM	#9
classicman barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy. Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 23,401	Play for next week. No one else will be. __________________ "like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt

03-30-2012, 02:31 PM	#3
JBKlyde Banned Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Encrypted Into an AmpitheaterWall Posts: 1,722	If the winner of the lottery gets "stoned to death" then the lottery is evil.

03-30-2012, 08:47 PM	#6
pastortoy --- Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 38	In Chicago, Peter Muiznieks bought a ticket at a liquor store. He knows his chance of winning is a long shot, and that the money the country is spending on tickets could go elsewhere. He still couldn't help himself, and laughed as the apparent contradiction of his opinion and his actions. "Lottery and games of chance are a stupidity tax and the more we all buy into this, the less rational we are as a society," he said. http://news.yahoo.com/americans-bet-...203515291.html Tonight's jackpot is estimated at $640 million (annuity) or $462 million (lump sum).

04-02-2012, 07:07 PM	#10
infinite monkey Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 13,002	You are all aware of the gambler's fallacies, right? I'm surprised the mathemagicians didn't jump all over this thread. The lottery is, indeed, a fun dream. And people do win. I saw old bar patrons win the mega mill a few years ago. One of the city departments. An office pool. But no instance of a number being drawn has any effect on any other number being drawn, except it lowers the pool of numbers. There are no 'patterns.' It's just pure dumb luck (for lack of a better word.) I buy a few, here and there. And I dream about that log home. But I don't think there's a system to random number drawing games. Because there isn't.

04-03-2012, 10:27 AM	#12
Blueflare Hand-of-Kindness Extender Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Suffolk, UK Posts: 130	I got some numbers randomly selected by the "lucky dip" and now I just use those. I only ever buy a ticket when there's a super huge jackpot. I have played the main lottery three times in my life and the Euromillions twice. Never won anything. It's random chance, don't delude yourselves, people. __________________ "Never trust quotes you find on the internet." - Abraham Lincoln

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)