toldailytopic: Powerball and State Lotteries. Good? Bad? Neutral? Do you play? Why or

[Nathon Detroit]

The TheologyOnline.com TOPIC OF THE DAY for November 5th, 2010 09:44 AM

toldailytopic: Powerball and State Lotteries. Good? Bad? Neutral? Do you play? Why or why not?

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[Seydlitz77]

I don't participate in any lotteries or gambling

 

[Quincy]

I don't gamble period. Rather spend my money on something I can get a solid return on.

 

[Nathon Detroit]

I will occasionally play Powerball when the jackpot gets REALLY high.

I know that I am going to lose a couple bucks, but it's worth it so that I can have a few days of imagining how I would spend my millions. I would build a really cool church/offices/studio for Denver Bible Church.

I would help Personhood USA and Personhood CO.

I would travel more with my wife and kids.

Those are the things I like to dream about. For two bucks I get a few days worth of dreaming. Then, I lose and try again in a couple months.

 

[Granite]

We buy tickets when the jackpot's big or just on a whim. Why not? It's a good way to supply revenue short of taxes, which is fine by me. And who knows? You might actually win.

 

[Nathon Detroit]

We buy tickets when the jackpot's big or just on a whim. Why not? It's a good way to supply revenue short of taxes, which is fine by me. And who knows? You might actually win.

It's better than wasting money on cigarettes and booze!

Although the flip side is... some morons get addicted to it. We actually have a relative who is planning their life around the notion that they will eventually win. That's not wise.

 

[Granite]

It's better than wasting money on cigarettes and booze!

Hey, hey, hey now--it's a waste if you're talking Colt .45 and Newports, it's well-spent if you're discussing Laphroaig and Nat Shermans!

Although the flip side is... some morons get addicted to it. We actually have a relative who is planning their life around the notion that they will eventually win. That's not wise.

...nooooo, not at all. That's actually a disaster waiting to happen.

As with any vice, there will always be abusers. That's the price we have to pay, unfortunately, and I don't see any way of really regulating that when it comes to lotteries, jackpots, and the like. It'd be next to impossible to trace and or prevent, unless we start ID'ing people, and I don't care for that idea at all.

 

[Dena]

I've played a few times. The first time I bought a ticket felt strange because I grew up being told it was a "sin" to do such a thing (though my dad gambled). My sister just told me last week that her husband spends at least $100 a month on lottery tickets. I think that is extreme, especially given that they apparently have financial issues.

 

[Rusha]

Since last month, I have started playing $20 towards Powerball and will continue to do so until I hit the big one.

 

[TomO]

I have decided to play the odds. I read once that there is a greater chance of being killed or maimed by a falling soda vending machine than of winning a state lottery.

:think: I figure it this way....I'm a pretty good sized, strong guy so chances are I'll just get maimed (unless it falls from really high or something). Once this happens I can sue the drink manufacturer as well as the soft drink producer and also toss in the distributor for good measure. The resultant insurance settlement should be about the same payout as the Lottery.

So I linger around vending machines. lain:

 

[Ktoyou]

I will occasionally play Powerball when the jackpot gets REALLY high.

I know that I am going to lose a couple bucks, but it's worth it so that I can have a few days of imagining how I would spend my millions. I would build a really cool church/offices/studio for Denver Bible Church.

I would help Personhood USA and Personhood CO.

I would travel more with my wife and kids.

Those are the things I like to dream about. For two bucks I get a few days worth of dreaming. Then, I lose and try again in a couple months.

You might ask Warren Buffett, who plans to leave his wealth to charities, if he cares about the Personhood movement? I would leave out the family vacation part as you would need to travel anyway as spokesman for the Personhood movement.

It's an idea

 

[Ktoyou]

Is the lottery bad? I do not know if I would say it is bad, I do think it is negative, but how, I am not sure? It has an effect on people, which is not good, but I cannot say it is bad, just undesirable from my point of view. I never purchased a ticket, but I do not claim a higher moral ground, just money tight.

The only times I gambled were the old casino and never lost more than ten dollars because I am too tight about money to gamble more. Sometimes I would play roulette; now you know the odds of red or black is a bit less than 50% and each turn has a slightly less than 50% chance to go red or black, yet the odds of three reds in a row, is very high. My point, I would stand there and watch until I saw three in a row, then bet the other color, thus betting against four in a row, make sense?

 

[zoo22]

The only times I gambled were the old casino and never lost more than ten dollars because I am to tight about money to gamble more. Sometimes I would play roulette; now you know the odds of red or black is a bit less than 50% and each turn has a slightly less than 50% chance to go red or black, yet the odds of three reds in a row, is very high. My point, I would stand there and watch until I saw three in a row, then bet the other color, thus betting against four in a row, make sense?

Uh oh! Actually, no. Each spin of the roulette wheel is independent; the past doesn't effect the future in roulette. So even if black came up three times in a row, the odds that the next (new and independent) spin will come up black are the same as they are for red. (Barring a faulty wheel or whatever).

If you bet that black wouldn't come up four times in a row before the four spins were made, that'd be a good bet. But of course, it's not an option.

As far as the lottery goes, I think it suckers people, but I'll still buy a few tickets every year or so for fun (and of course profit :-/ ). I think there are a lot of problems with the state lottery, mostly that the demographics are so skewed... The people who can afford it the least spend the most.

 

[Ktoyou]

Uh oh! Actually, no. Each spin of the roulette wheel is independent; the past doesn't effect the future in roulette. So even if black came up three times in a row, the odds that the next (new and independent) spin will come up black are the same as they are for red. (Barring a faulty wheel or whatever).

If you bet that black wouldn't come up four times in a row before the four spins were made, that'd be a good bet. But of course, it's not an option.

As far as the lottery goes, I think it suckers people, but I'll still buy a few tickets every year or so for fun (and of course profit :-/ ). I think there are a lot of problems with the state lottery, mostly that the demographics are so skewed... The people who can afford it the least spend the most.

I know that seems the logical conclusion; however, the odds of coming up two reds is a separate probability. Now you are right, spin for spin, they are independent, yet if you were to bet on three reds in a row, the odds would be a long shot. This is probability theory and even though each spin is .48, the odds of three red spins are (.48)(.48)(.48), then betting black is betting against (.48)^4, while on back it is (.48) and while this seems independent, the chances uf so many heads coming up on a toss of a coin, when it does so three times, does predict the next toss with be tails.\

If you bet that black wouldn't come up four times in a row before the four spins were made, that's be a good bet. But of course, it's not an option.

Yes, you see it them and that is what you are doing betting in your head so many same colour, then you actually bet against the odds at some point, thus you are looking ahead.

Now if you know Junior 300/3000 probability theory, I am sure you will make some points, where I would have to review my book, if I have it, so, if that is the case, I will agree it is not as simple as I have made it appear.

 

[Psalmist]

toldailytopic: Powerball and State Lotteries. Good? Bad? Neutral? Do you play? Why or why not?​

I went to buy a lottery ticket,
When I started the car it sounded funny, like clicket.
Made one stop on the way to buy the winning ticket,
But my car would not start, this time it went click, click, clicket.
That's right, it was the battery and it was dead,
So Firestone got a bit more, including my lottery ticket money.


Seriously, I do not do the lottery buying ticket thing.


But I did buy a new battery today.​

 

[Delmar]

The odds of winning are not very good :idunno:

 

[Delmar]

I will occasionally play Powerball when the jackpot gets REALLY high.

I never really understood that strategy. Seems like the odds of winning when the jackpot is two or three million is at least as good, and it still only costs a buck to play. Yes, I guess I would rather win 300 million than 3 million, but it would be fun either way.

 

[Ktoyou]

I would still call it 'suspension of disbelief'.

 

[zoo22]

I would still call it 'suspension of disbelief'.

:chuckle:

I wonder what the "prayer to jackpot amount" ratio is.

 

[Nick M]

It's better than wasting money on cigarettes and booze!

I beg to differ. Those things are not a waste!

I rarely play. Huge jackpot, maybe. I don't play because it is a voluntary tax.