I am all in favor of lotteries because they are a tax on poor people. It is even funnier when a poor person wins a lottery, and is poor again in 2 to 5 years. The only thing that sucks is probably at least half of the money spent on lottery tickets by poor people is taxpayer money.
A few years ago, a ne’er-do-well of somewhat advanced years, in a small forestry town on the Island, won a few million in a lottery. At that time, he said he planed to spend it all as quickly as humanly possible. Then, he set out to make good on his word. He set up a private trailer court, for himself and his his closest drinking buddies (because the one he lived in wouldn’t allow that much partying). He went through the money quickly, and was interviewed about his experiences last year. He said (paraphrasing): “I spent almost all the money on booze, cars, parties, women, and more booze. The rest I spent foolishly.” A lot of people around here enjoyed his escapades vicariously.
This country sold its’ soul to Satan when the government officially sanctioned gambling.
It’s one thing to tolerate it, a completely other thing to actually encourage it.