The Lottery

[Valisk]

If this thread inspired anyone to go out and buy a ticket for the hell of it, don't forget about me

What about the negative aspects of winning the lottery? That has to be pretty stressful as well, to be thrown in your lap. "Just enough to solve your problems, too much will kill you." "Mo' money, mo' problems." "Money can't buy happiness." etc.

I imagine if some people won, they wouldn't know where to start. I would be hesitant too. Who could you trust? Would you become paranoid? Death threats, getting robbed, family getting kidnapped, ransom notes, extortion, crooked cops/lawyers. Drugs, hookers, strippers, groupies, illegitimate children, child support, risky investments, taxes. You can get yourself into a lot of trouble if you aren't careful.

[miokomioko]

I'd probably be a coke head if I won.

[NynJa]

lol@ "1$ is too much to spend"

think of it this way. If you make 10$/hr, and you spend 10 minutes at work jerking off to anime or posting on BG, you technically arent spending 1$ that you earned since you werent working.
You'll slave around for a dismal 10$/hr but wont drop a dollar to potentally be set for life? cmooon.

And work pools are the worst. You know you wont win, but you dont want to be the fuckhead going "naww not putting in" and they do win.

[Thunder]

My mother plays every week and growing up I always made fun of her when she was happy about winning 5-50 dollars.

But is whatever you spend on the lottery over your adult life going to alter the way you live your adult life? No, it doesn't have to mean you LOSING 5 pizzas, 2 tickets to whatever, a bottle of whatever, etc etc. Your life wont have any significant impact on it at all by playing, and losing, the lottery. If 52 dollars a year(or whatever it'll cost you) has an impact on you then the lottery isn't for you(I share sentiments of another poster who thinks it sucks that lower class is playing the lottery as often as they are since that kind of money means more to them than it does someone in middle class; and if they won it would mean as much to them as it would the guy in the middle class).

It comes down to relativity, I think. Because all of you against the lottery should be against insurance by the same logic since they're a business and make a profit off of it. But if you can afford it without living on the streets it is worth not having to worry about falling off of a ladder putting up christmas lights and having your life, and your family's lives, ruined because you can't work.

[Chrius]

Scratch offs are tax for those bad at math.

I will never be playing blackjack and get millions per dollar. It's the american dream for quick bucks.

Please note this doesn't justify spending your baby's food money on a dream, but I don't think people are idiots for getting powerball tickets. I am playing one line of it tonight, good luck to me.

[idklol]

If this thread inspired anyone to go out and buy a ticket for the hell of it, don't forget about me

What about the negative aspects of winning the lottery? That has to be pretty stressful as well, to be thrown in your lap. "Just enough to solve your problems, too much will kill you." "Mo' money, mo' problems." "Money can't buy happiness." etc.

Yeah i agree that money can't buy happiness. If i won i'd still go to work and do all the regular shit normal people do. Ok i'd probably chill while i was at work, would just make sure the boss was compensated for it. Way i look at it is when i am on holiday from work. Sure it's nice to have some time off and recharge the batteries but after the first 4 or 5 days i'm itching to go back because there's nothing to do. Most of my friends work similar times to me so it's not like i can hang with anyone.

That being said i'd certainly make sure my life was 'comfortable', who wouldn't. Would definately being contributing to charities too. Be greedy not too.

[arus2001]

If I won, there'd be a big initial splurge in moving, new house, new car, new clothes, and so on, but after that, I'd probably be more like a hermit that enjoys his toys with the occasional trip to town in search of booty and good food. Don't need drugs or a new car every year, let alone some oversized house that would largely collect dust.

[bluefan]

I justify my tickets this way.

I don't smoke. I rarely drink (maybe once every half year). $100 on tickets every year doesn't seem so bad in comparison. My brother goes through $2000-2500 in cigarettes every year lol.

[Francisco]

If this thread inspired anyone to go out and buy a ticket for the hell of it, don't forget about me

What about the negative aspects of winning the lottery? That has to be pretty stressful as well, to be thrown in your lap. "Just enough to solve your problems, too much will kill you." "Mo' money, mo' problems." "Money can't buy happiness." etc.

I don't really buy into those types of saying that much. Sure, money isn't a cure for depression. All the big screen TVs and cars in the world won't compensate for any emotional deficiency one might have. But millions upon millions of dollars? Shit, it's a good start.

Money like that gives you the freedom to leave you job, if you hate it - and if you like what you do, you can probably just wind up doing it on your own terms somehow.

I would personally probably spend a lot of time traveling, and even more time in school - learning new things for the hell of it.

I think for "money to buy happiness" - you need to already be a generally happy person, where the money just serves as a way to see your ambitions realized.

And as much as I say "Hey, I could quit my job" - I still feel there is value in "work". I'm not sure I could win the lottery, collect $300M and just live the good life, without putting some sort of effort into something productive. It would feel kind of wrong to me, like the money was undeserved (which it basically is, in the case of the lottery).

Doesn't mean I'd have a 9-5 job, or would be out delivering pizzas to crippled basement people, but I'd have to be doing something I felt was productive or worthwhile.

I imagine if some people won, they wouldn't know where to start. I would be hesitant too. Who could you trust? Would you become paranoid? Death threats, getting robbed, family getting kidnapped, ransom notes, extortion, crooked cops/lawyers. Drugs, temptation, illegitimate children, child support, risky investments, taxes. You can get yourself into a lot of trouble if you aren't careful.

If I won, I'd probably immediately google how to set up a trust, or whatever is needed to anonymously collect the money, since I have no idea.

As for telling people - this is a tough question. I wouldn't want to tell anyone... but how else would I explain quitting my job, moving into an amazing townhouse and suddenly living la vida loca? That's the messy part, because friends might tell friends who tell friends, and suddenly a bunch of unsavory characters know about your fortune.

Best solution I can think of is to lowball your winnings. "Yeah, I won a couple of mil, spent most of it on this place... I got a few grand left over for food and bills while I go to school" or something.

I'd be most worried about the ransom factor - which is why I'd want to keep it as low key as possible. My parents live in the country, about 1/4th of a mile from the nearest house and 100 yards off the road. No one would see shit if something shady was going down.

As for everything else - not too worried. I'd just stay clear of the whole shady business world, and be relatively low key.

[Anoat]

I got 5 quickpicks for the powerball tonight for the lulz. If I won:
Pay off my student loans, and the loan on my vehicle. Pay off the mortgage of my parent's house. Pay off the mortgage of my brother's shitty house and get him out of debt so he can start new (his divorce really fucked up his life financially). Donate a good bit of it to charity, probably the Ronald McDonald House or Make-A-Wish, as I've seen firsthand the awesome things those organizations do. My best friend from college just had a baby 6 months ago, I told them a while ago if I won Powerball I would pay for her daughter's college fund if she went to our alma-mater so I am honor bound to do that lol...

Probably buy a few shiny toys but nothing extravagant like a ferrari or yacht. Hit up a club and fuck some straight 10s while acknowledging they are only with me for the money. Don't really know what I would do after that.

[ChooChooTrain]

I'd like to play but never really remember nor know how. lol.

HOWEVER, if I won, I'd live life as normal for 2 years (I'd take the lump sum at a lower price and put it into a high interest savings account)
Assuming its above 100mil, I'd give 1mil to each of my close friends (some of which I work with) with the condition they must put it in a high interest savings account. so -10 or so mil
Pretty much wait till I finally get aggravated enough with my job and pull a Half Baked Quitting scene.
Fuck you, fuck you, etc.
Finish school, get better job, never tell my future kids shit cause i don't want spoiled fuckers

[ChooChooTrain]

I'm a retard and push wrong buttons.
Edit: see above

[Anoat]

Winning numbers : 1 10 37 52 57 PB 11. I didn't win. Dashed my dreams of boats and hoes.

[Francisco]

I hit the powerball!

And only the powerball.

I won $4.

Think I'll spend it on a yogurt and some water on a lunch break. Or put it aside and save up for a pizza.

[Kerberoz]

I was expecting a Shirley Jackson thread

[Zetanio]

I won.

Later BG.















































































































(Not really)

[bluefan]

Spoiler: show

I won.

Later BG.















































































































(Not really)

Why later BG? You could buy it and own us all.

[Zetanio]

I was just gonna go get my big ass check so I could sign it over to Sono for his secret plan to take over the Internet.

I play the lottery every week.

I don't read into it too much.

When I win I'm buying a decent house on a beach somewhere awesome and giving 75% of the money away. (post-50% tax)

[NynJa]

Anyone who says money cant buy happiness clearly doesnt have money, and is a broke fuck trying to justify being broke.

Not that its much, but I'm a LOT happier having money in my savings account a clean visa bill and spending money in my checking account instead of having no savings account, a checking acct almost empty and a visa bill exceeding 4k. Its a huge relief.

[Valisk]

Anyone who says money cant buy happiness clearly doesnt have money, and is a broke fuck trying to justify being broke.

What about actual rich people/celebrities who say that? Money can't buy happiness but it can certainly lease that mothafucka. I think the famous saying comes from people having other voids in their life and money not being able to fill them. Depends on your definition of both happiness and money in relation to the quote. Some people consider happiness as being in love, having a family, having nice things, having an enjoyable job, being better off than others, etc. Some people consider the "money" part as being financially stable, filthy rich, debt free, middle-class, upper-class, a certain lifestyle, etc. It varies.