Gambling

[Lanakila]

How many of you folks do this?

Having just gotten back from Vegas I sorta have the bug. In Montana gambling is an industry with Keno machines and Texas Holdum rooms. But I just do not get Keno machines and am not skilled enough as a poker player to win so I do not play. I've started playing the Montana lottery instead of the Powerball because the odds are better due to the jackpots remaining smaller.

[Ray Moscow]

I'm not into it.

I have gambled a little on the slots in Vegas and in other casinos, but I notice that I always lose in the long run (as statistics predicts).

Lotto = tax the poor and the mathematically challenged, although buying a ticket now and then might be relatively harmless fun.

[ravenscape]

I'm not into it.

I have gambled a little on the slots in Vegas and in other casinos, but I notice that I always lose in the long run (as statistics predicts).

Lotto = tax the poor and the mathematically challenged, although buying a ticket now and then might be relatively harmless fun.
Same here. I don't play to win, but every once in a while I play to have fun. I give myself an amount of money I'm willing to pay in order to sit in front of a table or slot machine, and when that's gone, I'm done. It can take a whole weekend to lose it all sometimes, but I always lose it all if I keep playing.

[Ray Moscow]

I've bought Lotto tickets, too. The last one was about 20 years ago, when the jackpot reached $100 million or so. I half convinced myself that I could win it!

It was fun, but I'd hate to buy them every week like many people do.

Same for a casino -- if you limit yourself to a little money that you were going to spend somewhere else anyway, it's just a bit of fun.

[Comfortably Numb]

I've been to a casino once in my life, in Niagara Falls 4 or 5 yeas ago.I enjoyed people watching more than the gambling.

I used to go to the horse track Friday nights but that was more a social thing. I probably spent more money on beer that I did gambling.

Occasionally I'll buy lotto tickets when the prize is large.

That's the extent of my gambling experience.

[Ian Nerr]

I used to play poker semi-professionally.

[Pavlov's Dog]

I like to play cards.

[Thalia Thinks]

I like to gamble and do it maybe once a year. Usually on the casino cruises but when I'm really lucky I go on a real cruise and gamble away there.

I play the slots, roulette, and bingo. My hubby has good luck with bingo. On our first cruise he hit for 1100 bucks plus a $100.00 jewelry gift certificate in Jamaica. That paid for our cruise and some bills when we got home.

On our second cruise he hit for $300.00 which covered our on ship account and then some.

I also play scratch off sometimes.

[alien billie]

I used to play poker semi-professionally.

i.e. you used to play against professionals, but lose? :p

[Meathead]

Went to Vegas almost on a monthly basis back in college, and still play poker with the boys every so often. Gambling has always been a social occasion for me. Otherwise, I find it rather boring.

[Ian Nerr]

I used to play poker semi-professionally.

i.e. you used to play against professionals, but lose? :p

No. I mean if I didn't have the G.I.Bill, I would have had to get a job.

[Goldie]

I used to play poker as a teenager. I made a killing. I was lucky as hell... or good... maybe both.
Once in a blue moon we'll by a Powerball ticket. Its seems the poorer I was, the more often I bought one. Hoping for that tiny chance...
Now... not so much.
I WOULD go play at the Casinos once in awhile, but I cannot stand the smoke. I haven't smoked in 10 yrs and those places are just horrid. I won't go to bars where people smoke heavily either.
I would never gamble very much, tho.
If I went to Vegas... I'd play a little, but mostly I'd just "people watch."

[tjakey]

Gambling puts gas in the company jet and keeps little 'ol me gainfully employed. So please, play those one-armed-bandits...you can't win if you don't play!

(Myself, I never gamble with money. I fly, ride motorcycles insanely fast and rock climb...when I bet I bet my ass.)

[Matty]

when I bet I bet my ass.)
Sounds like Kent Hovinds weekly poker game at the moment....

[Pendaric]

I play a fair bit of poker - online, at friend's houses, and at our local casino.

I've also played a bit of blackjack when on holiday in Vegas.

[Stout Drinker]

I'll occasionally play hold em with some friends. Usually just a $50. buy in.

On a cruise I played blackjack. I budgeted $100. and wound up losing $92.50 in about 40 minutes.

Once every two or three years I'll play cards at a local casino.

[Hookpunch]

I only play the lotter when the expected loss/gain is at least zero. Usually that means it has to be at least 28 million, although you could have multiple winners and the expected loss would be less than zero, I can't be bothered to calculate the odds on that

[Jest2Ask]

(Myself, I never gamble with money. I fly, ride motorcycles insanely fast and rock climb...when I bet I bet my ass.)


:cool:

Goldie :
Its seems the poorer I was, the more often I bought one. Hoping for that tiny chance...

I just Invested ... a portion of my 401-K into Stocks moving it from very low risk low return money market funds ... prompted in a large part by the thought of at this rate (of growth) I will never be able to retire, so take a chance Rigggght what is the worse that could happen :dunno:

[Hookpunch]

You know the lottery is an odd thing, I know the odds almost guarantee that you will never win (my degree is in statistics), but at least once a week someone hits it big so you figure why not you.....

[alien billie]

When I was poor, I had possibly the dumbest type of gambling habit of all, which was fruit machines. Now I'm financially stable I couldn't care less about them. Go figure!

In the UK at the time, fruities had a jackpot of say £10-£15, for a stake of 20p, and a payout ratio of about 70%. So no chance ever of winning big, the rapid circulation of funds in fact almost guaranteeing that you'd lose. But flashing lights, "learning" the machines, the promise of a jackpot repeater...

Instead of course, you got the slow walk home, the stink of metal on your hands and the sinking feeling in your belly.

Not good times.

[Wolfie]

when I bet I bet my ass.)
Sounds like Kent Hovinds weekly poker game at the moment....

He's feeling that christian lurve - in a practical way.

I don't gamble.

[Jest2Ask]

I don't gamble.

Are you sure about that ... are you married or single :)

[tjakey]

Everyone gambles; it's just a question of which game, who's odds, and what you lay on the table.

[Nialler]

I only play the lotter when the expected loss/gain is at least zero. Usually that means it has to be at least 28 million, although you could have multiple winners and the expected loss would be less than zero, I can't be bothered to calculate the odds on that

I'd like this explained, because it seems to me like a fallacy.

I understand the logic: you have a lottery with a one in a million chance of winning, and the normal jackpot is half a million, so when it rolls over, your return exceeds the odds of winning.

But it does nothing to increase your chances.

If you want full value for your lottery ticket, buy one and dream for the six months that you leave it untouched. A few days before any prizes on that draw are due to expire, check the numbers. Expiry is six months in Ireland. SO for two tickets a year you could permanently have the chance of being a winner.

[Jest2Ask]

If you want full value for your lottery ticket, buy one and dream for the six months that you leave it untouched. A few days before any prizes on that draw are due to expire, check the numbers. Expiry is six months in Ireland. SO for two tickets a year you could permanently have the chance of being a winner.

What if each week you pick a set of numbers then take the money and put it in a safe place. After 6 months check to see what you would have won had you actually played. Of course I take no responsiblity if you would have hit the Jack-Pot. :p

[Matty]

I'm sure i read an story about that somewhere. Some guy had put 2quid per draw (4quid per week) aside since the UK National Lottery started, and he just bought a car.

It was only a fluff story and i cant remember where i saw it, BBC website probably, but will try and find it.

[Hookpunch]

I only play the lotter when the expected loss/gain is at least zero. Usually that means it has to be at least 28 million, although you could have multiple winners and the expected loss would be less than zero, I can't be bothered to calculate the odds on that

I'd like this explained, because it seems to me like a fallacy.

I understand the logic: you have a lottery with a one in a million chance of winning, and the normal jackpot is half a million, so when it rolls over, your return exceeds the odds of winning.

But it does nothing to increase your chances.

If you want full value for your lottery ticket, buy one and dream for the six months that you leave it untouched. A few days before any prizes on that draw are due to expire, check the numbers. Expiry is six months in Ireland. SO for two tickets a year you could permanently have the chance of being a winner.

There is no increase to your chances, it simply means that when the lottery is big enough then it is worth buying a ticket because you will be in a net gain or at least 0 loss position if you play.

Actually you seem to understand it perfectly from your explanation so I don't understand the need to explain.

[VoxRat]

I don't have anything against it in principle, but I'm not into it.

It does bother me, though, how it's become an integral part of our politics and economy.
Partly because I think Ray Moscow hit the nail on the head:
Lotto = tax the poor and the mathematically challenged,I used to work in a poor part of Brooklyn. It used to just kill me, whenever the jackpot got unusually high, to see folks lined up for blocks to give money to the state - money that the state was too cowardly to raise more honestly and fairly, and money that these folks desperately needed - on the strength of a chance whose "infinitesimalness" I really doubt they understood.

But I hate how the "jackpot mentality" permeates peoples' behavior. Like the wealth and adulation accorded the stock market tycoon whose contribution to society was making a lucky bet. Or a lot of lawsuits - where plaintiffs place their bets on some ridiculous claims of medical malpractice, or coffee being unexpectedly hot - where the payout makes a mockery of the idea of proportionality between merit and reward.

[Hookpunch]

I only play the lotter when the expected loss/gain is at least zero. Usually that means it has to be at least 28 million, although you could have multiple winners and the expected loss would be less than zero, I can't be bothered to calculate the odds on that

I'd like this explained, because it seems to me like a fallacy.

I understand the logic: you have a lottery with a one in a million chance of winning, and the normal jackpot is half a million, so when it rolls over, your return exceeds the odds of winning.

But it does nothing to increase your chances.

If you want full value for your lottery ticket, buy one and dream for the six months that you leave it untouched. A few days before any prizes on that draw are due to expire, check the numbers. Expiry is six months in Ireland. SO for two tickets a year you could permanently have the chance of being a winner.


You seem to understand it but just in case

the gain is G= Jackpot-$1.00

so if the jackpot is 1 million and the probability of winning is one in a million

Expected gain =(1M)x 1/1000,000-1=0

so you would be indifferent towards buying a ticket.

If the jackpot is worth more than a million than you should buy a ticket.

Of course the way most lotteries operate there are multiple winners so you can't be sure of winning the entire jackpot yourself.

[Jest2Ask]

I don't have anything against it in principle, but I'm not into it.

It does bother me, though, how it's become an integral part of our politics and economy.
Partly because I think Ray Moscow hit the nail on the head:
Lotto = tax the poor and the mathematically challenged,I used to work in a poor part of Brooklyn. It used to just kill me, whenever the jackpot got unusually high, to see folks lined up for blocks to give money to the state - money that the state was too cowardly to raise more honestly and fairly, and money that these folks desperately needed - on the strength of a chance whose "infinitesimalness" I really doubt they understood.




:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

I know we can not protect people from their own stupidity but I am against the state being an active part of such a system.


But I hate how the "jackpot mentality" permeates peoples' behavior. Like the wealth and adulation accorded the stock market tycoon whose contribution to society was making a lucky bet. Or a lot of lawsuits - where plaintiffs place their bets on some ridiculous claims of medical malpractice, or coffee being unexpectedly hot - where the payout makes a mockery of the idea of proportionality between merit and reward

Again good points , but you can not account for tastes (e.g. why certain celebrities make more money by being less talented and more popular ... the same for certain fads )

... I do however think something should be done regarding lawsuit awards. Perhaps instead of the plantiff (and especially their lawyers) benifiting so greatly I would like to see the majority of punitive damages being award to charity or to reduce the national debit.