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shyguitar

United States
Member #122,462
February 1, 2012
530 Posts
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Feb 23, 2012, 1:31 pm

Hi everyone,

I'm just curious how long everyone has been playing the lottery andor scratch tickets? I started thinking

about this when I heard of someone who recently won 1M on the Powerball and said that

was the first time they had every bought lottery tickets. It seems lately when I hear of winners

it seems to be people who rarely play. As for myself, for years I would only play the MM when the

jackpot got very high (it was only the last few years my state has had PB). Then in September 2010

I started becoming a bit obsessed and started playing both the MM and PB regardless of the amount of

the drawings. I also started buying scratch tickets regularly. It had been over 20 years before 2010 when

I had last bought a scratch ticket. Guess I was just hoping to win enough to pay for college tuition for my

daughter. When I started buying a few scratch tickets and winning here and there that's when my

obsession started. I told myself a few months ago to just stick to buying 1 scratch ticket a week along

with one PB or MM but this past week I feel the addiction coming back again. I have days when I tell myself

that it's impossible to win and not to get dissapointed again when I lose but other times I say you can't win

if you don't play. I wonder how many people playing over the years have lost much money or

maybe some of you have broken even. Just seems that some people might play for 30 years and never win

the big one and other's rarely play and win big. I do know how high the odds are stacked against winning

a big one but just keep on hoping.
haymaker

Egg Harbor twp.south Jersey shore
United States
Member #112,963
June 29, 2011
4,160 Posts
Offline

Feb 23, 2012, 2:50 pm

been playing since 73,but not straight thru, lived in cali. for a while before they started their lottery.

some of these 1st time players that win, well lets just say i'm skeptical.

i used to work w/ a guy that said if he ever wins hes gonna say "its 1st ticket i ever bought"

just to piss people off, hes been playin for 40 years.

Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds -- Charles Mackay LL.D.
sully16

25

Ringleader

Michigan
United States
Member #81,738
October 28, 2009
128,312 Posts
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Feb 23, 2012, 5:01 pm

since 1980, yikes, I feel old.
rdgrnr

100

The Hall Of The Mountain Kings Tennessee
United States
Member #73,902
April 28, 2009
15,378 Posts
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Feb 23, 2012, 5:32 pm

Quote: Originally posted by haymaker on Feb 23, 2012
been playing since 73,but not straight thru, lived in cali. for a while before they started their lottery.

some of these 1st time players that win, well lets just say i'm skeptical.

i used to work w/ a guy that said if he ever wins hes gonna say "its 1st ticket i ever bought"

just to piss people off, hes been playin for 40 years.

That's where I got that idea, from you!

That's what I wanna do on national TV.

Wearing my stinkiest overalls I'll say - "That's the first dadgum ticket I ever bought! And it was a dadblamed accident! I heard the ol' boy in front of me order some Fireballs, you know, them hot jaw breakers? Well sir, I said give me one of them Fireballs too, young missy! And then she commenced to handin' me this here ticket and I said what in the dadblamed, blue blazin, hellfire is this, young missy? She said it was my Fireball ticket and they ain't no refundin' it neither so go on and git! Well sir, I left it layin' on the settee on the front porch between the stove and the icebox fer a spell when my cousin LucasRay commenced to eyeballin' it and he said he would ast the man down to the store were it any good. And it were! And now I got me 500 million dollars! Thank God fer Fireball!"

Then I'll hike my overalls up and commence to hootin' and hollerin' and clog dancin' up a storm.
Stormiela

Phoenix, AZ
United States
Member #120,249
December 14, 2011
91 Posts
Offline

Feb 23, 2012, 5:38 pm

Since 2011. Here in AZ, you gotta be 21 to legally play and redeem tickets and I turned 21 last year. I fiddled around with them beforehand(I would get tickets out the machines once in a blue moon for fun, never really won anything but if I did I'd have someone else get the money.) After I got my ID, started playing reguarly.
rdgrnr

100

The Hall Of The Mountain Kings Tennessee
United States
Member #73,902
April 28, 2009
15,378 Posts
Offline

Feb 23, 2012, 5:45 pm

Quote: Originally posted by shyguitar on Feb 23, 2012
Hi everyone,

I'm just curious how long everyone has been playing the lottery andor scratch tickets? I started thinking

about this when I heard of someone who recently won 1M on the Powerball and said that

was the first time they had every bought lottery tickets. It seems lately when I hear of winners

it seems to be people who rarely play. As for myself, for years I would only play the MM when the

jackpot got very high (it was only the last few years my state has had PB). Then in September 2010

I started becoming a bit obsessed and started playing both the MM and PB regardless of the amount of

the drawings. I also started buying scratch tickets regularly. It had been over 20 years before 2010 when

I had last bought a scratch ticket. Guess I was just hoping to win enough to pay for college tuition for my

daughter. When I started buying a few scratch tickets and winning here and there that's when my

obsession started. I told myself a few months ago to just stick to buying 1 scratch ticket a week along

with one PB or MM but this past week I feel the addiction coming back again. I have days when I tell myself

that it's impossible to win and not to get dissapointed again when I lose but other times I say you can't win

if you don't play. I wonder how many people playing over the years have lost much money or

maybe some of you have broken even. Just seems that some people might play for 30 years and never win

the big one and other's rarely play and win big. I do know how high the odds are stacked against winning

a big one but just keep on hoping.

I'd bet most people on this site have bought since it started in their areas or when they became old enough.

I remember hearing about the Irish Sweepstakes when I was just a little peckerwood and wonderin' why they didn't do something like that here.

So I guess in a way I'm like Al Gore. Just as he invented the internet, I invented the lottery.

You're welcome.
weshar75

Mcminnville, Oregon
United States
Member #3,013
December 13, 2003
6,173 Posts
Offline

Feb 23, 2012, 6:03 pm

Powerball and oregon megabucks since 1996 and mega millions since 2010. And I have little to show for it either but do not think I am bitter because I am not just waiting for my ticket to come in big time!-weshar75
haymaker

Egg Harbor twp.south Jersey shore
United States
Member #112,963
June 29, 2011
4,160 Posts
Offline

Feb 23, 2012, 6:26 pm

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Feb 23, 2012
That's where I got that idea, from you!

That's what I wanna do on national TV.

Wearing my stinkiest overalls I'll say - "That's the first dadgum ticket I ever bought! And it was a dadblamed accident! I heard the ol' boy in front of me order some Fireballs, you know, them hot jaw breakers? Well sir, I said give me one of them Fireballs too, young missy! And then she commenced to handin' me this here ticket and I said what in the dadblamed, blue blazin, hellfire is this, young missy? She said it was my Fireball ticket and they ain't no refundin' it neither so go on and git! Well sir, I left it layin' on the settee on the front porch between the stove and the icebox fer a spell when my cousin LucasRay commenced to eyeballin' it and he said he would ast the man down to the store were it any good. And it were! And now I got me 500 million dollars! Thank God fer Fireball!"

Then I'll hike my overalls up and commence to hootin' and hollerin' and clog dancin' up a storm.

WTG RR take an idea and improve it, the american way, i love it.

now,when the lottery news is:WINNING TICKET SOLD IN APPLACHIAN TN,

and the ticket holder tells that story i'll know thats you.

got a picture in my mind of your cousin lucasray,looks like,uncle joe at the shady rest in petticoat junction.

next time i talk to mac i'll tell em how you improved his idea.

still don't know what clog dancin is

Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds -- Charles Mackay LL.D.
Lucky Loser

Texas
United States
Member #86,151
January 30, 2010
1,889 Posts
Offline

Feb 23, 2012, 10:31 pm

Well, I started losing back in the early 1990's on the Texas Lotto. I started out spending $1 because figured it only took one $1 dollar to win all that big money! I did that twice per week for quite some time and decided to increase to $5 after I didn't realize any wins. Do the math here: $2 per week for a long, long time with absolutely nothing to show for it. Nothing. Approximately $100 or so later, I decided that $5 bucks would make it better and easier to win with a few more numbers involved. Keep in mind, I had a budget fixed here so I could play. Did this for a very, very long time along with playing some Texas Two Step, Scratch Offs, and Pick 3. Let's just round it to well over $5,000 in losses.

I actually saved all my tickets for records of what I was spending, recovering, and losing...which turned out to be all losing of course. So, I altogether stopped everything so I could study, re-learn, and begin applying my numbers approach to something more fair, manageable and possibly profitable. That never happened because the state lottery commissions don't have enough flexibility in the payout structure to allow reasonably consistent wins. Thus, the player remains in debt for life unless they win a huge payout of sorts...
rdgrnr

100

The Hall Of The Mountain Kings Tennessee
United States
Member #73,902
April 28, 2009
15,378 Posts
Offline

Feb 23, 2012, 10:50 pm

Quote: Originally posted by haymaker on Feb 23, 2012
WTG RR take an idea and improve it, the american way, i love it.

now,when the lottery news is:WINNING TICKET SOLD IN APPLACHIAN TN,

and the ticket holder tells that story i'll know thats you.

got a picture in my mind of your cousin lucasray,looks like,uncle joe at the shady rest in petticoat junction.

next time i talk to mac i'll tell em how you improved his idea.

still don't know what clog dancin is

Some folks call it flat footin'.

Basically the same thing.
mrsinful

South Carolina
United States
Member #66,772
November 5, 2008
319 Posts
Offline

Feb 23, 2012, 11:47 pm

I never played the SC Education Lottery until 2002 when it started.

Since then well lets just say I got the 1 800 help line on speed dial. LOL

Rehab is for quitters.
gogidolim

Inland Empire
United States
Member #118,111
October 22, 2011
327 Posts
Offline

Feb 24, 2012, 12:33 am

Since 2009, I think. Before that I never thought about buying a lottery. Some guys showed up in my dream and gave me six numbers. And they were kind enough to let me know which one the mega number is.

But that was it. Now I am thinking about quitting the lottery.
OldSchoolPa

Gurnee, Illinois
United States
Member #49,729
February 12, 2007
951 Posts
Offline

Feb 25, 2012, 8:20 am

I have been playing since 1990. I bought a 2 line Florida Lotto ticket that had all 6 numbers drawn...only problem for me was that 3 of them were on the first line and the other 3 were on the second line! Also had cases of matching 3 numbers and being one off on all the rest! Lastly, I also had a case of picking the winning numbers but not buying ticket for that drawing due to grief my wife gave me for playing the lottery (yes, we are still married and I only think about it when I come to this site). The most I have ever won in that time span is $150 on Mega Millions. So close but no cigar is my life.

But when I win, I will have to come up with a story to rival rdgrnr's! I will have my work cut out for me as that was a good one!

Get MONEY!!! Winning a JACKPOT lottery is one MIRACLE I desire for 2019!!! NOW come to my subconscious mind you 6 winning numbers!
rdgrnr

100

The Hall Of The Mountain Kings Tennessee
United States
Member #73,902
April 28, 2009
15,378 Posts
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Feb 25, 2012, 3:09 pm

Quote: Originally posted by gogidolim on Feb 24, 2012
Since 2009, I think. Before that I never thought about buying a lottery. Some guys showed up in my dream and gave me six numbers. And they were kind enough to let me know which one the mega number is.

But that was it. Now I am thinking about quitting the lottery.

Well then, you should list those six numbers here, gogidolim, as a way of releasing them to the universe and freeing your spirit to soar with the eagles in the clouds of destiny, tolerance and nurturing compassion for the downtrodden.

Alrighty then, what are they?

And which one is the mega ball?
haymaker

Egg Harbor twp.south Jersey shore
United States
Member #112,963
June 29, 2011
4,160 Posts
Offline

Feb 25, 2012, 4:42 pm

Quote: Originally posted by gogidolim on Feb 24, 2012
Since 2009, I think. Before that I never thought about buying a lottery. Some guys showed up in my dream and gave me six numbers. And they were kind enough to let me know which one the mega number is.

But that was it. Now I am thinking about quitting the lottery.

recently i was reading about dreams, the writer said that the human mind cannot create a face,

and that if you see a stranger in a dream, they are a stranger that you passed on the street, in a store etc.

i see lots of strangers daily (job)and they are folks i will never see again.

you said "some guys showed up in my dream" were they strangers ?, how many ?

also i think its odd that you had a lottery dream before you were a player,

that alone would be enough to keep me playing.

Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds -- Charles Mackay LL.D.