So who's giving up the lotto in October?

[Einion Yrth]

The odds are so bad that they are only slightly worse of finding the winning ticket dropped in the street, so you don't have to be in it to win it. Tyranny of large numbers.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

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.

Exactly. For £2 I get to while away hours on the train or in the bath planning how to spend my millions. The wife and I discuss the house we'll buy, the cars, the holiday home, etc.

Best value going I reckon. I can't think of anything else that gives me as much entertainment for such a small outlay.

[Gandahar]

This bunch have a monopoly on it so it no wonder it gets more tight fisted as we go on.

Being a capitalist society we should have at leat two main players competing against each other and not have the government sponging off it.

We wish ....

[dieselgrunt]

Those who do it for fun, why not put the £2 in a jar and have the same dreams. because it's never going to be a reality. Why have that slight crushing feeling when checking the numbers.

Edited by dieselgrunt on Friday 4th September 20:38

[Mr E]

Axionknight said:

If people are aware of their odds of winning but happy to take the chance anyway, how would that be mathematically inept?

If you're happy to have a punt, crack on. I tend to when the jackpot is sufficiently high.

But, if you want to gamble, roulette gives significantly better returns for pure randomness.

[groucho]

Greg66 said:

GroundEffect said:

I'm still amazed that people play it. I never have.

Quite. If someone said to you "Pay £2 for the chance to pick up *exactly* 5000 grains of sand in the palm of your hand, and win big if you do", would you pay the £2?

Your chances of winning that "game" are considerably better than winning the lottery.

Maybe, it they were offering £10m.

[Oakey]

dieselgrunt said:

Those who do it for fun, why not put the £2 in a jar and have the same dreams. because it's never going to be a reality. Why have that slight crushing feeling when checking the numbers.

Edited by dieselgrunt on Friday 4th September 20:38

£104 a year, living the dream!

[Axionknight]

Mr E said:

Axionknight said:

If people are aware of their odds of winning but happy to take the chance anyway, how would that be mathematically inept?

If you're happy to have a punt, crack on. I tend to when the jackpot is sufficiently high.

But, if you want to gamble, roulette gives significantly better returns for pure randomness.

No doubt about it - I'm partial to the odd casino visit to be honest. I've won, I've lost, I've walked out even, but recently I won £1900 playing blackjack (top threes at 180/1, total long shot obviously). I haven't been back since and likely wont for a good length of time - I wanted to keep that cash, rather than hand it straight back over,

[HOGEPH]

4v6 said:

You have more chance of getting hit by lightning than winning any lotto jackpot anywhere,

I've been struck by lightning. ...

[ruggedscotty]

so £ 2 a week.... of £208 a year - thats not much really in the grand scheme of things - but then again if you won £5 million you would be pretty pleased..... put the £208 away and you would save £5 million is just over 24 thousand years....

Yes the odds are stacked against you but Ill take my chances and see what happens.... it can be any of us.

[EskimoArapaho]

dieselgrunt said:

because it's never going to be a reality.

(cough) 3900 millionnaires from the UK Lottery alone. You could have said "unlikely" instead of "never" but that would take us back the point that it's not about the odds, it's not about the average return to the gamblers, it's not about fun, it's not about the 'good causes'.

It's all about the wafer-thin chance of a life-changing win. Which is still, if we're doing stats, infinitely greater if you do the lottery than if you don't.

As I said above, if you can find that £2 and you would like that sort of money, it's stupid not to play.

[Mr E]

Hence the opinion "a tax on hope"

[dandarez]

Zod said:

GroundEffect said:

I'm still amazed that people play it. I never have.

Me neither. I once got a birthday card with a ticket in it and forgot to check whether the numbers came up.

Bloody hell, Zod! I'm in agreement with you.
Anyway, you know that lottery £4.6million that was never claimed?
That was your ticket!!

My Mrs does the Lottery every week without fail, while I put my 2 pound coin in the piggy every week. Buys a few drinks at Xmas while she lauds about the tenner she won but not the 90 quid she lost.

Last Xmas I decided to buy 100 quids worth of premium bonds for a change instead of drinks ...I had a very nice surprise this week, a bit more than a tenner!!

[anonymous-user]

groucho said:

Greg66 said:

GroundEffect said:

I'm still amazed that people play it. I never have.

Quite. If someone said to you "Pay £2 for the chance to pick up *exactly* 5000 grains of sand in the palm of your hand, and win big if you do", would you pay the £2?

Your chances of winning that "game" are considerably better than winning the lottery.

Maybe, it they were offering £10m.

Hmm. If for the sake of argument a random handful of sand contains between 2500 and 7500 grains of sand, your chances of winning are 5000 to 1. At £2 a go for a £10m return, that's not bad, as long as you have £10k to "invest" in the first place.

But the lottery is (IIRC) something like 14 million to one. So you need to "invest" £28 million to be sure to win. And sure, you might win >£100m, but you might win £10m.

And who has a spare £10k to invest in my game of chance, let alone a spare £28m.

[Gargamel]

Funny that no one mentions the charity angle of the lottery and the community projects it pays for.

I consider it a donation. with a slim chance of a return. I did win a £1000 once on the main lottery, which kept me interested.

[Axionknight]

:But it probably wont be", is more accurate I think.

Really, probably almost certainly wont be,

[Oakey]

swerni said:

I assume you're posting that from your mansion?
"Buying a dream" you've got to love marketing

As Getcarter said, get premium bonds, makes open the post interesting again

It could be you.

But it won't be

I've won about £200 on premium bonds over the last 18months or so with £3k in but I haven't won anything this year since March.

[JungleJim]

Mr E said:

Hence the opinion "a tax on hope"

If I haven't paid, can I expect the revenue to come knocking?

[Mr E]

JungleJim said:

If I haven't paid, can I expect the revenue to come knocking?

Don't say that too loud, I'm sure there's someone thinking exactly that...

[eccles]

Cheese Mechanic said:

JagLover said:

Sigh
Perhaps it needs repeating the majority of people playing know they have an extremely tiny chance of winning, they are buying a dream not making a rational gamble. What else can you buy for £2 that would match that?

I think thats bks. I go entirely by the people who clog the tills on lottery days buying such false hopes, before we even mention scratch cards.

These people are plainly, often, amongst those who can least afford such, yet they live on false hopes.

Its sad.

No more sadder than the equally high number of people who can least afford it backing donkeys at Haydock park in high street bookies every day, but you seem to think that's ok.