Scratching is fun when your winning, annoying when you lose and just plain disheartening when you start dumping
piles of cash with what feels like no hope of turning it around. My biggest lotto prize was 1K, twice, on the Match 6 PA
number game in 2014. I've hit several $500 scratchers... and each time you just feel on top of the world. You feel great,
until you dump half or more back into the till. Then you feel sick, and stupid and regret even leaving the house to get tickets.
At the end of the day, this is a business and it's designed to make money. Things are set up so that it will most definitely make
money, and a lot of it. Sure lots of people score nice little wins, a fair amount even hit decent chucks and the lucky few do hit it
big. It does happen, people become millionaires off of it. It happened at a store that I do most of my playing it. But we have to
remember the fact that this is again a business and it is designed to make money and it will make a lot of money. They don't
make a lot of money by paying out a lot of people. They make money by having a lot of people lose.
Most of the people here are math people to some extend. I have a degree in math. I'm smart enough to know the odds are stacked
heavily against me, and I'm FAR better off keeping my money. I COULD win, I COULD be the guy to hit it big.... but I could also
spontaneously combust, I could get run over by a train and live, I could do any number of any incredibly unlikely things... but I won't
hold my breath for any of them. I'll still play, throw my buck in the hat every now and then and hope for the best. But like omiller said
I won't be tossing hundred dollar bills around any more.
@ Omiller
If you truly do decide to give up the board for good, I wish you the best. Hopefully things work out well for you in life.