Try your luck.
The luck of the draw.
Tough luck.
And.
Better luck next time.
The way of the lottery.
Billions of dollars are spent on the lottery each year, right here in the United States. I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes. Americans spend more on the lottery than any other form of entertainment. Even bowling.
As the popular game show asks — “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”
The lottery isn’t new in modern terms here in the United States. It’s been a part of American life since we crossed the pond.
An example? The Continental Congress voted to use a lottery to raise money for the war against England. The Revolutionary War. For whatever reason, they didn’t end up using that idea. But, from that point on, lotteries were a popular way to raise funds for infrastructure expenses—things like paving roads, building wharves, and even constructing churches.
Americans didn’t invent the lottery. It had long been established in England and was carried over here by people in those boats. Remarkably, the Jamestown colony was partly financed by private lotteries in the 1600s.
In 1768, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin tried to use lotteries for various projects, but they failed. Thomas Jefferson was also a fan of lotteries. He once said about the gaming: “Far from being immoral, they are indispensable to the existence of man.” He needed that indispensable help. The Virginia legislature gave Jefferson permission to conduct a private lottery to pay off his many debts. This was in 1826. But old Tom died before it could be held.
Enough of the history.
These days, we spend billions each year on the lottery. In all, around $81 billion, as far as I can gather. The average is about $1000 per year, per person. For some people, it has become an addiction.
But here is the thing. Americans earning less than $30,000 admit to spending about 13% of their income on lottery tickets. The poor make up the majority of lottery players.
They need the help. The golden ticket. The magic bullet.
Yet, the odds are against them, only perpetuating the problem of not having enough money. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are worse — 1 in 302.6 million.
But, against the odds, here are the most winning lottery numbers in Mega Millions:
22
11
9
10
4
19
And for the Powerball numbers?
66
23
61
53
21
63
59
69
64
20
There are always those odd stories, too, swirling around the lottery.
Like this. An Oregon woman won $1 million in 2005. But this lady purchased it through illegal means. She used the credit card of her boyfriend’s dead mother to buy the ticket. To top it off, she also bought an additional $12,000 in illegal purchases. The authorities found out, and they confiscated the prize. Her big winnings went to the Medford Police Department. Ka-Ching.
Another winner paid for a friend’s funeral because he felt he had to. The lucky man’s name was David Lee Edwards, and he won$27 million. The reason behind the funeral story is sad. Edwards supplied that friend with money, and his pal spent it on drugs. His friend died from an overdose.
So there it is. A little look at the good and bad of things.
Most people play, not because it is fun, but because they need the money. And so it goes.
We humans need help. There isn’t one of us who hasn’t needed to be helped in some way or another, all throughout our lives. We long for our lives to be easy. Yet, life is often a series of challenges. Hopefully, we move through these things, expanding ourselves, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as we go. And when we do, we have won our own lottery. Our golden selves.
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“I guess I think of lotteries as a tax on the mathematically challenged.”
― Roger Jones
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“Sadly, like many times in life, including winning the lottery, we don’t always get what we wish for.”
― Adele Rose, Possession
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“Life is a lottery that we’ve already won. But most people have not cashed in their tickets.”
― Louise L. Hay
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Win. Lose. Maybe they are the same thing.
