Imagine Winning the Lottery ……

In PA about 19 years ago, they rigged the pick 3 by injecting a small amount of liquid in all numbers except for 2 numbers (I think 9’s and 6’s) then they placed big money on those combinations. I think it came in triple 6’s. When the numbers were in the machine be blown around all the weighted numbered balls stayed low in the machine and the others rose to the top. the investigation lead to the arrest of the insiders who attempted to pull off this caper.

It is now 10 minutes by the CR clock

I have served my time well

26, I think it makes you an IDEAL pick.

Everyone who is interested should email cc info 26.

ames, really, can’t you imagine some kind of behind the scenes “connection” that you can’t see? I can think of several. The winning balls could have a chip inside them that the computer sends a gust of wind towards. Or, the winning balls could be weighted, as 72 said. Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. Otherwise, how do you explain the magic shows I’ve been to?

Cindarella has been crushed

Is there a mod update on the number of participants so far?

I had a thought – maybe Paypal would be better than CC.

what a lucky day to come visit! Where do I sign to get my share of the winnings?

I believe this to be 72’s life motto:

(ps- I hear ya loud n clear pop ;))

YW Moderator-72

Moderator

areivim,

the myth of magic will always be crushed by the power of being open to educating oneself…

Enjoy the illusions presented before you…

know reality…

never confuse the two.

maybe not his life’s motto- deffinitely his CR motto

Ask him and learn from the pro himself 😉

Jothar, it seems that you are weong about lotto being a tax on the stupid based on this article:

A Can Of Coke Is The Real “Tax On Stupid People”

Scenario I: You’re walking down the street with a friend when you remember that there’s a Mega Millions drawing that night. “One second,” you say, “I’m going to stop into this store and buy a lottery ticket for $1.”

If your friend is like many people, you’ll get a haranguing about how stupid that is, about how the lotto is just a tax on the poor, the desperate, and the stupid, and how you’re much better just putting your money into a bank.

Scenario II: You’re walking down the street, and you’re feeling thirsty. “One second,” you say, “I’m going to stop into this store and buy a can of Coke.”

“Cool,” says your friend.

But really, which is the tax on the stupid, the lottery ticket or the can of Coke? Most people reflexively say the lottery ticket, as WSJ numbers guy Carl Bialik reminds us today. But consider. In the first scenario, you’re out $1, in exchange you get a brief chance to fantasize, and the very remote chance of getting rich, plus a little tension while they pull the numbers.

In the second scenario, you’re out $1, you get a brief sugar high, followed by a crash, followed by tooth decay, sugar addiction, and then obesity, if you make a habit out of it. Clearly the Coke is worse in every way. If someone asked you whether they should buy a lotto ticket every day, or a Coke every day, you’d have to suggest the lotto ticket. Its superiority isn’t even in doubt.

Probably the reason people freak out over the lotto ticket is because the presence of math seems to make the analysis very clear, and they’re thinking about it strictly as an investment, and since there are so obviously better investments to make, the lottery ticket is dumb.

But for one thing, lottery ticket buyers probably aren’t thinking of them as investments, and really, regardless of how they view them, the fact is there are a lot dumber things you can do with $1, including buying a can full of sugar water. That’s the real tax on the stupid.

The article is specious.

1. The Coke provides a genuine, tangible benefit- a drink (admittedly overpriced) of sugar water, Caramel color,flavorings, and caffeine. The benefit is delivered. The lottery ticket, on the other hand, provides a dimyon of a future benefit, but very rarely delivers on it. It’s a complete waste of money

2. The addiction liability of the Coke is one shared by the lottery ticket as well, and in a much more severe form. One imagines “If I triple my investment, I triple my odds of winning!”, forgetting that 3 times basically 0 are still basically 0.

3. Finally, you can make a bracha on the Coke, delivering an instant shefa of bracha to the world (Nefesh Hachaim part II). No such benefit accrues when buying a lottery ticket. Buy the Coke, but brush your teeth.

You can always buy a Diet Coke.

If you took the dollar bill and lit it on fire, you would have a tangible benefit of watching the paper burn, without any empty calories or tooth decay, and you have statistically about the same chance as wining the lottery.

Yeah, like open your faucet, fill up a couple of bottles and sell them for profit.

sell them for profit in midbar yehuda!!!!

Or during shiur!

yeah, I can already see the $$$ rolling in.

We could collect rain water and sell it or we could find a stream and collect the water. Profit!!!

Woooow! I’m in awe! It is mod 80!

Mine will have Motsoai Yom Kippur mikveh water and will sell at a premium!

From a newspaper article today:

When Lou Eisenberg struck it rich in 1981, winning $5 million in what was then the largest lottery payout ever, people started asking him for advice about money.

“All of a sudden, people were asking, ‘Lou, what about this?’ ‘What about that?’ ” Eisenberg, now 81, recalled.

It turns out he was the one who needed the answers.

Nearly 30 years after picking winning numbers, all that’s left are memories of his lucky day and the whirlwind life of TV appearances, cheering fans, travel and luxury.

The former multimillionaire now lives in a mobile home in Lake Worth, Fla., on $250 a week from his Social Security and pension checks.

you left out some details that explain how he spent his money:

With installments of $219,000 a year, $130,000 after taxes, paid out over 20 years, he was able to quit his job and buy a $130,000 condo with an ocean view and a terrace in Brighton Beach.

As his fame grew, so did his spending. There were days at the track, trips to Europe and Hawaii, and dinners where the newly minted millionaire always picked up the check. “Whoever needed something, I gave cash. I wanted to be nice to people,” he said.

He said he gave a big chunk of his winnings to his second ex-wife. He married a third time, but that didn’t last either.

By 2001, after he cashed the last lottery check, he was broke.

Eisenberg now spends time at a dog track in West Palm Beach, Fla., and still bets “a penny” here and there.

Mybat, the hard part here is winning, with the odds of winning statistically zero. This point is, even lu yitzur you win, there’s no guarantee the galgal hachaim will keep you that way.

sit and shtieg

The bankruptcy issue is tied to the instant gratification mentality that is predominant amongst lottery players. The delayed gratification mentality is what motivates a person to work hard in school, go to college, get an entry level job in hopes of moving up, save money for retirement, etc. Instant gratification is the predominant mentality in poor societies – the ghetto kids who are always looking for their “ticket” out, for example, and all the buddies who hope to ride out with him on his ticket.

Therefore, it is not surprising that a large percentage of lotto winners end up bankrupt – since a large percentage of lottery players are imbued with an instant gratification mentality (which is what drives them to spend their paycheck on lotto tickets in the first place). This observation is a purely sociological one, and I believe it completely undermines the value of your statistics. The chances of you going bust before you win the lottery are probably about the same as they were for you before you won.

Jothar, you are right in semantics. The statistics ARE correct. It is your conclusion that is incorrect. Merely winning the lottery is not a valid predictor for bankruptcy. Rather, the predictor is the predisposition of the lottery winner.

Squeak, the lottery winning is siman, not a sibah. Winning the lottery isn’t causative, but a lottery winner usually is the type who plays lotteries, and it’s indicative of the personality type.