I immediately cast my vote for scratch (rip) offs because the few I did buy years ago made me feel as though I was just exchanging legal tender for worthless paper that dirtied my car (the grey scratch off stuff). Had a few small dollar winners for a string, but I saw those as just a way to rope one into buying yet another scratch off that would be worthless. From time to time, you hear about the person who purchased the "big" winner using the proceeds of a small dollar winner, but that story has never been told by me.
If I could have selected multiple responses, pick 3 and pick 4 would have been next on my list of prefer not to play since like an earlier poster noted, the win isn't life changing. The way I figure it, if I am going to wager my dollar on a lottery game, I want that dollar to have the POTENTIAL to return me at a minimum $1million dollars after taxes (preferrably, but when Illinois Little Lotto jackpot hit $1million, I made an exception due to the somewhat better odds of winning and threw 2 or 3 bucks toward that drawing.). It doesn't matter that I have never won Mega Millions, Powerball, or a Lotto jackpot that would net me over a million dollars. I play for the dream of what I can do with that type of money, not on the need to win something at least periodically.
There have been times I have been in the same store when a Pick 3 winner or even a scratch off winner either came back to collect their winnings or in the case of the big scratch off winner, to talk about their lucky win of a few tens of thousands of dollars. The one thing that struck me sometimes is that they would look at those of us who purchased the multi-state lottery tickets like we were fools to waste money on such a game. The other thing that struck me is that their win didn't appreciably change their life at all...they were still driving some old beater or wearing the same wardrobe as before...even smoking and joking. Joking is okay. But when my lucky day comes when all 6 of the numbers on my Mega or Power ticket match that drawing, I can tell you I will be driving a nice luxury car, wearing suits that Rod Blagovitch only wishes he could buy today, and traveling to all the places in the world I always dreamed of visiting in first class style. I also would be prudent and only accomplish that type of lifestyle off of the dividends and interest of a set aside portion of the winnings and smartly invest the rest for the long-term.