FYI Noticed a big jump in entries this week for the weekly scratchers drawing. Realized that the 500/month entry limit goes to 1000/week when the week spans 2 separate months. Someone entering 1000 $20 tickets that week (500 in March and 500 in April) gets 20000 entries. I am going to avoid those weeks with my 100 or so entries.
Also, I know someone who bought 10 entire books of $5M Jackpot tickets. 2 sets of 5 consecutive books. Result-you can't predict which #'s are going to pay. Totally random. Seemed like the bigger $'s were at in the first and last 10 or 11 but not consistent enough to count on it. Average payout for $600 book was $335. Some were $235. Some were $435. One book had $500 on # 20 (front #) I have bought 3 tickets and gotten 2 $100's and a $20. I have bought 8 consecutive tickets and got nothing. Someone I know has bought a lot of these tickets ($5m Jackpot) and says he has never seen the # 10? I know someone who won $1000 on ticket #21.
If you go to the calottery web site and bring up the scratcher tickets, put your cursor on it and scroll to the bottom where it says, More details, it gives you the odds of winning each prize and the number of prizes won and technically, the number left. Consider that someone has thrown a winner away many times. If it says that there are still 2 $5M tickets out there, there could only be one or there could be none. It is very easy to miss one. When I was in Ohio I bought a $20 ticket and the first time I looked at the ticket I missed a matching #. Luckily I went back and checked it again because it was a $7.5M ticket. When I bought the ticket, it was #10, I didn't want it because experience had taught me that the winners came at the beginning and the end. The guy at the counter kept bugging me to buy it and finally I said Ok. The only way to win is by plain old luck. Don't chase a winner on a hunch. Only buy what you can afford to. The lottery is all about dreams. Dream of what you will do with all that money. Once I won the dream became reality. Now you worry about losing it. 50% of the people who get "found money", (lottery, insurance, inheritance, etc.), have lost it all within the first 5 years. 70% have lost it all within the first 7 years. The best advice I was given after I won was to learn to say NO!!!!!! You find out who your real friends are when you tell people NO! Just remember that your chances are pretty slim. I have never met anyone who even knew someone who won the lottery. But just know that it can happen. You never know. It only takes one ticket to win.
I saw a post by someone asking about trash diving. Yes! You pick those tickets out of the trash and enter them in the 2nd chance drawing. You paid for that entry when you bought the ticket. Anyone who doesn't take the time to enter it is just stupid. "In my opinion."
Good luck to all you lottery players. Remember that the reality is not the same as the dream. Get good financial advice when you win. Meanwhile-Dream on!
