I’ve long been surprised that lotteries, and gambling in general, are so popular. When I first visited Las Vegas on business many years ago, I was amazed by all the opportunities to throw away money. From the moment you get off the plane, to the moment you close the door on your hotel room, the sound of slot machines is ever present.
The dream of a big jackpot is what compels people to play games they have little chance of winning, with money better used in other ways. Winning will buy happiness, they believe. With $1 billion in prize money from recent lotteries in New Hampshire and Florida, the frenzy was at a fever pitch.
But, of course, money does not buy happiness. It buys things. The success of the lottery reflects the desperation in our society. The wealthy continue to prosper, while the rest of us seem to be running harder just to stay in place. A society of contented people has no need for a lottery.
The growing popularity of lotteries reflects how frustrated we are. For many people, daily life is a struggle just to make ends meet. The thought of being wealthy is beyond imagination, and that’s where the lottery comes in. What other options do people have to get all the things society says they need?
When casinos offer games of chance with odds worse than those offered by loan sharks, it’s legal, and taxable. When state lotteries take this fleecing a step further with odds that far exceed those at the casino, it’s no longer immoral, or illegal, but encouraged. Despite their ridiculous odds, lotteries are big business. Some $70 billion was spent in the 43 states where they were legal in 2014.
States justify their actions by claiming the funds benefit education. But that’s only partly true. In most states with lotteries, the majority of the funds are given to the prizewinner. A percentage is spent on administration and marketing, and the balance goes to the state, but not only for education.
A friend who lives in Massachusetts has played the lottery for years. He’s a serious student of the various games and normally buys two to three tickets a day. He plays more regional than national lotteries because he believes fewer people playing increases his odds of winning. Massachusetts residents spend more on lottery tickets per person than any other state.
My friend mostly plays the $3 to $5 tickets, as they have entertainment value. He enjoys the various games built in, and doesn’t mind the time it takes each day to purchase and learn if he’s a winner. At an average of $10 a day, my friend is spending over $3,000 a year on lottery tickets. He thinks over time he’s broken even, but I wonder. And he’s not rolling in money.
I know there are people who buy lottery tickets now and then, who don’t invest much cash or emotional value in the endeavor. And who knows, someone has to win, and if you don’t play, it’s not going to be you.
I’ve never had a lot of money, but I’ve never considered playing the lottery. I’m offended by the odds, and that the state sanctions such blatant robbery of its citizens, essentially making victims of those most in need.
I hit the jackpot many years ago when we decided to move to New Hampshire to raise our family, in a beautiful little village surrounded by two state parks, forests and lakes. Not a day passes that I am not grateful for living here. The simple riches afforded by my daily life far outweigh the security of a large bank account.
I look forward to the day when lotteries will be a thing of the past, when no one will bother to play, because all people will enjoy a standard of living that eliminates the need to seek that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
(Sol Solomon lives in Sutton.)