Playin' The Numbers

[LizzieMaine]

Lotteries are a very Golden Era indulgence -- although legalized state-run games weren't common in the way they are today, you could find illegal "numbers games" in any working class neighborhood in any decent-sized city or town, and of course many dreamed of hitting it big with a ticket from the Irish Sweepstakes.

So who today is a lottery player? Me, for one -- every week I drop a couple of bucks on Tri-State Megabucks, playing the same numbers every time and figuring it's as cheap a daydream as you can get nowadays. I don't win much -- maybe a few dollars here and there, and last year I won $40, which bought my groceries for the week. If I really hit it big -- well, my best friend and I have a pact that if either of us ever comes into any big money we're going to fly to Wolong, China and spend a week among the pandas.

Who else plays the numbers? Anyone win anything? What'll you do if you hit the jackpot?

[Lady Day]

I could never get up the gumption to play the numbers. I grew up around people who did it like a job, played all the time. People at the store knew them. All I could think, if you saved those few dollars for a few years, you could have quite a nice nest egg. [huh]

LD

[Miss 1929]

but I keep forgetting to buy tickets!
It's a cheap thrill if you only buy a couple a week.

Now the horses, that could be a problem...

[MrNewportCustom]

I buy a Lotto ticket now and then. I get the California Mega Millions, which is twice a week, but I rarely buy that often, and never more than five dollars at any given time. Usually, it's just two dollars. I probably average less than ten dollars a month.

If I hit major money, I'm calling mother, brothers and sisters together to sign for their part of my winnings. I'll have the lottery folks cut it 50/50, and they divide one half and I get the other. I've passed this by most of them and they like the idea.

If it's just a couple million, I'll invest half of it and live off the dividends. With the rest, I'll buy myself a house, a couple cars and build a photo studio. And when I get everything settled, it's party time at my house and you're all invited! :eusa_clap


Lee

[Flivver]

I've never been much of a gambler (I'm not particularly lucky) and have purchased only a few lottery tickets over the years. But my Mom was a big fan. She was always a very lucky person and she won frequently. Never a big win but probably enough to break even.

I remember when I was a kid in the early 1960s, the Irish Sweepstakes was a big deal. There were no state lotteries in the U.S. yet. My next door neighbor used to obtain Irish Sweepstakes tickets for the whole neighborhood.

When the New Hampshire State Lottery began in 1964, he used to make the 30 mile drive up to NH just to buy lottery tickets! I believe the NH State Lottery was the first in the U.S.

But for all the lottery interest in the neighborhood back then, I don't ever remember any major wins!

[flat-top]

Check out the movie "Liberty Heights". It's partially about a some guys who run a burlesque house as a front for their numbers racket.

[texasgirl]

I am not allowed to play the lottery. You see, I work in a library, for an advertising agency. This ad agency does the work for our state lottery. And so, the theory goes, I could somehow rig the lottery. Yeah, little ole me, working in the library, could somehow cheat and win the big $$$

[LocktownDog]

I'm not a gambler. However I work in a casino, so I love it when people throw away their paychecks! lol

Its actually pretty sad. I see people every week cashing in their checks and spending every penny. There was a gentleman in the place last week who looked homeless (i don't know if he really was), had ragged clothes, no money for food (i fed him anyway) ... apparently he cashed a $500 paycheck earlier that afternoon and blew the whole load.

We don't have a lottery system here in Nevada. The casinos won't allow it. I wonder why? :o

Richard

[Brad Bowers]

When the New Hampshire State Lottery began in 1964, he used to make the 30 mile drive up to NH just to buy lottery tickets! I believe the NH State Lottery was the first in the U.S.

This is a bit like the situation here. The Cache Valley, where I live, stretches from extreme northern Utah up into Idaho. Utah, of course, has no lottery. The little town of Franklin, Idaho, population 600, is 30 miles from me, and lies just across the border. They sell more lottery tickets out of the town's convenience store than any other place in Idaho, thanks to all the people coming up from Utah to play the numbers.

The little store, which also had a nice beer selection, has done so well that they tore down their old store and built a brand new one with a larger beer cooler, a wine room, and a restaurant.

I've gone up there to play the Powerball, but never won anything. I did pick up some scratch-off tickets for our stockings at Christmas, and won a few dollars, so now we need to go cash them in.

Brad

[jake_fink]

I play cards and the ponies but lotteries not at all. The odds are too outrageous and there is no fun in the playing - unlike a day at the track which can be a sunny, contempaltive experience or a purely social one.

http://www.munseys.com/admin/Book_image/tuckerpeople.jpg

For numbers lit there is nothing better than Ira Wolfert's Tucker's People, the basis for the Abraham Polonsky directed, John Garfield film Force of Evil.

[BegintheBeguine]

Every time I don't buy a lottery ticket I say HA! Now I have a dollar! :)
I agree with Fran Liebowitz: 'I figure you have the same chance of winning the lottery whether you play or not.'
These were my beliefs even before I married a compulsive gambler.

[carebear]

I believe the best description of a lottery I've ever heard is that they are "a tax on people who are bad at math".

That said, there's something to be said for a little occasional gambling as entertainment, although I prefer games where I can exert some control.

If it isn't actually taking food off your table I can see playing the numbers helping mitigate some of the depression of living in less than comfortable situations.

[nobodyspecial]

I've bought a few tickets, but none in recent years. From time to time I see the billboards and think I should buy a ticket, but never remember to do so while at the gas station. I'm not certain I've ever won more than $5 through my tickets.

[Diamondback]

That said, there's something to be said for a little occasional gambling as entertainment, although I prefer games where I can exert some control.
Like Pistol Poker? http://www.galatiinternational.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/GTPOKER.jpg

I usually limit myself to video 5-card draw ("Jacks or Better" only, with a 9-6 paytable) or blackjack, never more than $20 a day when in Vegas.