So who's giving up the lotto in October?
Discussion
Disastrous said:
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It's much more constructive to look at the Lottery odds in isolation and decide whether 1 in 14 million looks sufficiently attractive to you to spend a pound on.
They seem like good odds to enough people it seems, which I can't fathom, but I think it's ridiculous.
Is it really that difficult to understand? It's much more constructive to look at the Lottery odds in isolation and decide whether 1 in 14 million looks sufficiently attractive to you to spend a pound on.
They seem like good odds to enough people it seems, which I can't fathom, but I think it's ridiculous.
Many people on here are fortunate enough that they wouldn't even notice if a
So, they are paying a negligible cost for a negligible chance at winning a fortune, whilst donating to good causes.
mini me said:
really! thats a lot of bad luck. My previous was people killed by lightning, sorry.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.225...
Anyway, injured pfft! thats kinda the equivalent of getting 3 numbers for a tenner isn't it?
How many people struck in the UK per year?
Or a more specific comparison - how many people per year in the UK who buy lottery tickets get struck by lightning ?http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.225...
Anyway, injured pfft! thats kinda the equivalent of getting 3 numbers for a tenner isn't it?
How many people struck in the UK per year?
Here are the odds for various things happening, from National Geographic:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/13...
Obviously they're talking about America but I imagine you could probably keep the ratios about the same and increase or decrease for population size. I expect America gets more Lightning than UK though?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/13...
Obviously they're talking about America but I imagine you could probably keep the ratios about the same and increase or decrease for population size. I expect America gets more Lightning than UK though?
To focus on the odds is missing the point of the lottery.
The chances of winning a jackpot are almost infinitesimal - as a bet, it's a very bad one and it's perfectly justified to look to other means of gambling if you're looking for more chance of success.
However, the lottery remains the only method of gambling that can yield truly life-changing amounts for such a low outlay.
This Friday, I can invest £2 on the Euromillions and potentially win £17m. That's not possible through other forms of gambling, no matter the odds.
For some people, the lottery represents their only opportunity to get access to that kind of money, and therefore opportunity.
(Most) People who play the lottery know that they will likely go their whole lives without winning big. However, there is a tiny, tiny chance that they won't. £2 is, to them, worth that chance.
I see no problem with that. If you are an analytical sort who can't see past the odds then fine, don't play - it's not compulsory.
The chances of winning a jackpot are almost infinitesimal - as a bet, it's a very bad one and it's perfectly justified to look to other means of gambling if you're looking for more chance of success.
However, the lottery remains the only method of gambling that can yield truly life-changing amounts for such a low outlay.
This Friday, I can invest £2 on the Euromillions and potentially win £17m. That's not possible through other forms of gambling, no matter the odds.
For some people, the lottery represents their only opportunity to get access to that kind of money, and therefore opportunity.
(Most) People who play the lottery know that they will likely go their whole lives without winning big. However, there is a tiny, tiny chance that they won't. £2 is, to them, worth that chance.
I see no problem with that. If you are an analytical sort who can't see past the odds then fine, don't play - it's not compulsory.
New game. better odds.
you lot all invest £2 each and the last one to get killed by lightning strike wins the pot.
Il look after the pot.
If you die from means other than lightning I will refund your £2 or you may sell your space to someone else for £2.
If I die from lightning strike the next person in the alphabetical list of players takes my place.
you lot all invest £2 each and the last one to get killed by lightning strike wins the pot.
Il look after the pot.
If you die from means other than lightning I will refund your £2 or you may sell your space to someone else for £2.
If I die from lightning strike the next person in the alphabetical list of players takes my place.
heads on Facebook doing it all the time now.
On a more empirical note: does anyone know anyone in their immediate sphere of contact who has won a serious sum on any lottery? Say more than £100k. Must be family, immediate friends or colleagues (not brother-in-law's sister, mate of a mate, etc). Genuinely interested to hear; I have rarely bought a ticket, but I live in fear of some close friends who are regular punters 'winning big'.
EskimoArapaho said:
Those who don't do the lottery because of the odds, and/or claim "it's an idiot tax" haven't really thought it through.
Lottery players don't risk £2 for the odds; they risk £2 for the chance of a life-changing amount of money. The £2 they play each week will never produce a fraction of that figure over their whole lifetime. Every one knows they've got a tiny chance ... but they also know that non-players have no chance at all.
So, assuming you can fairly easily find £2 from somewhere in your personal budget, and assuming you really would like a significant windfall of money (whether to give up work and live a jet-set lifestyle, dream of starting your own business, become a philanthropist, etc), it can just as easily be argued that NOT playing is genuinely idiotic.
It's surely not that difficult to understand? There's a quality/quantity thing here - it's not about percentages, it's about a life-changing event.
You can look at this conundrum in many ways: e.g. being locked in a room with 10 tigers is not 400% worse than being locked in a room with 2 tigers. Even when the statisticians try to convince you that it is.
Depends on the person - I put £2 into the Euromillions whenever there's an absolutely massive jackpot going but many lottery players will put in many lines, twice a week, every week. And they'll play the same set of numbers so they feel compelled to keep playing.Lottery players don't risk £2 for the odds; they risk £2 for the chance of a life-changing amount of money. The £2 they play each week will never produce a fraction of that figure over their whole lifetime. Every one knows they've got a tiny chance ... but they also know that non-players have no chance at all.
So, assuming you can fairly easily find £2 from somewhere in your personal budget, and assuming you really would like a significant windfall of money (whether to give up work and live a jet-set lifestyle, dream of starting your own business, become a philanthropist, etc), it can just as easily be argued that NOT playing is genuinely idiotic.
It's surely not that difficult to understand? There's a quality/quantity thing here - it's not about percentages, it's about a life-changing event.
You can look at this conundrum in many ways: e.g. being locked in a room with 10 tigers is not 400% worse than being locked in a room with 2 tigers. Even when the statisticians try to convince you that it is.
Now that they are changing the numbers system, it is indeed a chance for those addicts to break their habit.
redrabbit said:
On a more empirical note: does anyone know anyone in their immediate sphere of contact who has won a serious sum on any lottery? Say more than £100k. Must be family, immediate friends or colleagues (not brother-in-law's sister, mate of a mate, etc). Genuinely interested to hear; I have rarely bought a ticket, but I live in fear of some close friends who are regular punters 'winning big'.
A couple nearby won big on the Euro a few years back, somewhere between 40 million and 140million - I can't remember the exact figure.Don't really get the 'idiot tax' thing - it's 2 quid a go, less than the cost of a Starbucks which some people think sustains life itself. If you want to spend that at ridiculously long odds then who is to tell you otherwise?
A bloke in our warehouse at work - spent 20yrs picking and packing car parts - won £10 million several years ago. What I liked most was his call in to his shift manager on the Monday, "I can't come in today, I've got a bit of a problem at home"
I still see him around from time to time, is very happy with his lot!
A bloke in our warehouse at work - spent 20yrs picking and packing car parts - won £10 million several years ago. What I liked most was his call in to his shift manager on the Monday, "I can't come in today, I've got a bit of a problem at home"
I still see him around from time to time, is very happy with his lot!
TheJimi said:
redrabbit said:
On a more empirical note: does anyone know anyone in their immediate sphere of contact who has won a serious sum on any lottery? Say more than £100k. Must be family, immediate friends or colleagues (not brother-in-law's sister, mate of a mate, etc). Genuinely interested to hear; I have rarely bought a ticket, but I live in fear of some close friends who are regular punters 'winning big'.
A couple nearby won big on the Euro a few years back, somewhere between 40 million and 140million - I can't remember the exact figure.My point is that I wouldn't care if it was a stranger, albeit one fairly local to me. Someone close would annoy me. On the rare occasions I think about it for more than a few minutes I buy a ticket, purely as some sort of 'jealousy hedge'. I know: pathetic.
Edited by redrabbit on Thursday 8th October 15:33
doogz said:
redrabbit said:
On a more empirical note: does anyone know anyone in their immediate sphere of contact who has won a serious sum on any lottery? Say more than £100k. Must be family, immediate friends or colleagues (not brother-in-law's sister, mate of a mate, etc). Genuinely interested to hear; I have rarely bought a ticket, but I live in fear of some close friends who are regular punters 'winning big'.
There's a PHer than won a decent sum a while back.
Captain something? I think?
Red - a few towns away, but A) I'm in the West of Scotland and that means it can be a matter of minutes
and B) In terms of closeness, no, I don't know 'em but I'm separated by about 1 or 2 degrees.Muzzer79 said:
However, the lottery remains the only method of gambling that can yield truly life-changing amounts for such a low outlay.
Exactly right. What odds would a bookmaker give for Tottenham winning the Champions league next year, having finished in the top 4 this year. I'd be lucky to get 500-1. The lotto gives me 14m-1 and winning the lotto is a far more likely scenario! 
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