The Lottery

When we think of the lottery, we mainly think of it as a bad bet for the players--after all, a one in twenty million shot is so close to zero in twenty million that it hardly seems worth parting with the dollar to play. Of course, players will tell you that they're not so much making a sophisticated gamble as they are buying for a short while the chance to imagine what they'd do if they won. And of course, someone has to win.

I remember everyone being pissed once when they found one of the winners of a lottery in New York was some rich heiress who only played the lottery that one time (and for whom winning the lottery was sort of like "hey, now I can upgrade my yacht. Whoo."). But it's heartwarming to hear of some real hard luck case actually pulling it off, like this one. Here's a guy who couldn't afford to replace his front teeth, way buying a 1998 truck on the installment plan from a friend, and was just happy that his jackpot could help him pay utility bills. (He has a family to raise, too). I suppose as long as nice stories like that happen every now and again, it's good press for the lotteries and keeps them popular.