Lottery Tickets....A Reason To Dream Big

In any given year I might purchase two, possibly three, lottery tickets. But nearly every other person I know must buy no less than five Powerballs when ever the Jackpot gets to over a hundred million. If its less than hundred, they might buy a ticket or two but they really aren't all that excited about it. I guess if your gonna throw away a few dollars, paybacks of anything less than a hundred million really aren't worth the trouble. After many years of debating lottery tickets, I have long since stopped even trying because I always get the same insipid responses: "It's fun," "You don't have a chance of winning if you don't play," and, my favorite, "Well, if I win I'll be sure not to share any of it with you." That said, I certainly understand why people do buy lottery tickets (remember even I buy one or two on occasion) but it has nothing to do with winning....it has to do with getting, if just for a moment, to dream about winning. But, in America, dreaming isn't enough because in America you have to dream BIG which is why most people wait until the jackpot gets absolutely insanely huge before they even bother to buy a ticket. Dreaming about winning a million dollars means you get five hundred grand after taxes which will pay off the mortgage, buy a couple of decent new cars, and maybe get half of your family members out of debt. And that doesn't even account for the charities you always promised yourself you would give big contributions to if you won the lottery. Win a million bucks in the grand ol' USA and you will likely be filing for bankruptcy within the next couple of years. But winning a hundred million, well you could live like a virtual celebrity with that kind of cash!

Well, you could for a few years at least.