Posted on 01/12/2009 5:23:06 AM PST by Red in Blue PA
NASHVILLE, Tenn. | - Even in these tough economic times, many people are feeling lucky.
More than half of all states with lotteries have reported rising sales over the past six months, and some researchers say financial insecurity might be driving people to risk more of their money than usual on $1 and $5 instant scratch-offs and other daily games in hopes of a big payoff.
''Someday somebody is going to win and I hope it is me,'' said Albert Atwood of Nashville, who spends $100 weekly playing the Pick 5 and Lotto Plus. ''I imagine that I would be a heap better off if I saved this money, but everybody has dreams.''
Driven by regulars like Atwood and a growing number of occasional players, 25 of 42 states with lotteries have experienced higher sales of scratch-off and daily lottery games since July, according to Scientific Games, a maker of scratch-offs.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcall.com ...
Meant $100/week.
Need coffee.
The Obummer economy will be the worst in history.
That guy must be a total dumbass. If he steadily invested that $100/week, he’d do well for himself.
Further proof of the inherent stupidity of the modern American people. As if the recent election wasn’t proof enough.
Income tax for morons...
Yes, but he wins all the time...
It always kills me how these people delude themselves while they gamble away every last penny... some faster, some slower.
On a lighter note, a few things do well in a recession - or depression if Obama fully implements his economic program.
Ebay should do well as people will be looking for bargains on hand me downs rather than buying new.
It’s a high-risk investment with a potentially high payoff. As other investments aren’t offering much security and return, it is rational that lottery sales would increase.
Oh? Where?
I concur.
On the other hand, I am not lamenting the election anymore, as nobody could fix this and remain popular.
Obama is clueless with regard to economics. Clueless.
He has no choice but to hyperinflate, and will.
He will emulate the worst mistakes of FDR - the architect of the Great Depression, and try to blame it all on Bush as much as possible.
All of these Neo-Keynsians are out and about now... for some reason they are all in vogue again. Like people have quickly forgotten one of those minor details about Keynsian solutions: They don't work!
Stiglitz is my favorite.
Okay, he won a Nobel Prize in Economics - but for theories which have NEVER been empirically proven.
His funniest moment came just a short while ago, when again, he was blaming things on Ronald Reagan for deregulation.
Stiglitz is the most clueless economist since Galbraith, yet he is now being feted as some elder statesman with a grasp on economic principles.
Stiglitz's first book was impossible to read, as he went on and on blaming all of the world's ills on Ronald Reagan. He forgot to mention that he spent 8 years on Clinton's cabinet and had ample time to regulate everything.
So it's a good thing that this avalanche we are facing will bury Obama, the bad thing is the damage he will do while it is happening.
Income tax for morons.........
My favorite lottery players are the ones who after paying for their groceries with food stamps immediately head right for the lottery machine and and buy several 20$ scatch off tickets.......simply amazing
Reminds me of Mexico when, in the 60s my wife and I went into Mexico a lot and those people hardly had a centavo to rub together but the little hole-in-the-wall Loteria shops were packed. Same mentality. Stupid is as stupid does, meanwhile depriving their families of basic neccessities.
Locally, I've been behind people who spent a hundred or more dollars on scratch-offs, I don't know how often they do that though; it took me awhile standing in line behind them (they usually took time to scratch off the ticket at the counter) to buy a snack.
Then there's they guy who said when the pot was something like 10 million bucks, "I'm gonna wait until it's worthwhile before I play(!)", I'm sure you've heard that too. Amazing, and we're surprised at getting a Kenyan illegal alien for a POTUS?
Desperate times calls for desperate measures.
Let’s spend the second half of the $350 billion stimulus package on lottery tickets, and distribute them to the public.
I guess if you had to score on an IQ test to buy a lottery ticket, they’d never sell any...
Additionally, with gas prices much lower, many people have extra money in their pocket and use it for impulse buying...magritte
40% loss in stocks, housing. 60%+ loss in working due to taxes. Junk lottery tickets don’t look that bad or irrational.
I used to work nights at a Mobile Station. I’d have regulars come in an spend $100 a night, every night. Working people, managers, retired. Sad.
I think in Massachusetts the pay out rate is around 40 percent. And if you win, they tax that, so the effective rate of return is around 20 percent.
Is there anything more crooked and evil than government?
I suspect that there's interesting data that could be mined from craigslist.
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