Why don't we have a federal national lottery in the US?Prev TopicNext Topic

• LiveInGreenBay

  

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  Apr 27, 2016, 4:27 pm

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  Seems like a no-brainer.  Have a national lottery where the proceeds are used 100% to pay down the national debt which is approaching 20 trillion dollars?  The jackpot would make powerball look like pick 3. 

  Never give up. 
• bigmon

  

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  In response to LiveInGreenBay

  Quote: Originally posted by LiveInGreenBay on Apr 27, 2016

  Seems like a no-brainer.  Have a national lottery where the proceeds are used 100% to pay down the national debt which is approaching 20 trillion dollars?  The jackpot would make powerball look like pick 3. 

  Wow great idea. You should run for office. You have my vote.
• LiveInGreenBay

  

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  Quote: Originally posted by bigmon on Apr 27, 2016

  Wow great idea. You should run for office. You have my vote.

  Thanks buddy but Trump has MY vote.

  Never give up. 
• bigbear29

  

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  Would that be a government run lottery?  If so,  I don't think many people would play it.
• Coin Toss

  

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  Not likely to happen as long as there are still states with no lottery.

  

  Those who run the lotteries love it when players look for consistency in something that's designed not to have any. So many systems, so many theories, so few jackpot winners. 

  

  There is one and only one 'proven' system, and that is to book the action. No matter the game, let the players pick their own losers.
• Stack47

  

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  In response to LiveInGreenBay

  Quote: Originally posted by LiveInGreenBay on Apr 27, 2016

  Seems like a no-brainer.  Have a national lottery where the proceeds are used 100% to pay down the national debt which is approaching 20 trillion dollars?  The jackpot would make powerball look like pick 3. 

  Considering the problems many of the states had with opposition in creating state lotteries and today's political climate, it's doubtful we'll see a National Lottery any time soon. Lots of those states created an illusion a lottery could solve educational and other problems and saying a National lottery could even put a dent into the deficit is much bigger illusion.

  But who knows, it could happen.
• KY Floyd

  

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  In response to LiveInGreenBay

  Quote: Originally posted by LiveInGreenBay on Apr 27, 2016

  Seems like a no-brainer.  Have a national lottery where the proceeds are used 100% to pay down the national debt which is approaching 20 trillion dollars?  The jackpot would make powerball look like pick 3. 

  Let's imagine that the number of people who could play PB increased by 5%. How much bigger do you suppose the jackpots would get, and how fast would it happen, based on the possible odds?
• haymaker

  

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  In response to LiveInGreenBay

  Quote: Originally posted by LiveInGreenBay on Apr 27, 2016

  Seems like a no-brainer.  Have a national lottery where the proceeds are used 100% to pay down the national debt which is approaching 20 trillion dollars?  The jackpot would make powerball look like pick 3. 

  They already collect 40% of every win, without doing anything for it.

  If they cared about the national debt they could stop giving money to countries that hate us.

  Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds    -- Charles Mackay  LL.D.
• Raven62

  

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  In response to KY Floyd

  Quote: Originally posted by KY Floyd on Apr 28, 2016

  Let's imagine that the number of people who could play PB increased by 5%. How much bigger do you suppose the jackpots would get, and how fast would it happen, based on the possible odds?

  Approximately 4,043,978 people turn 18 each year.

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• MaximumMillions

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  At 70B$ a year that would take some loooong time to cancel out the debt. And seeing how for example Reagan tripled debt in 8 years, any progress could be wiped out by a few unforeseen events or poor choices by Washington.
• LiveInGreenBay

  

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  Quote: Originally posted by MaximumMillions on Apr 28, 2016

  At 70B$ a year that would take some loooong time to cancel out the debt. And seeing how for example Reagan tripled debt in 8 years, any progress could be wiped out by a few unforeseen events or poor choices by Washington.

  Hey Max, not get too far off subject but...Reagan had to rebuild the military decimated by Carter.  On the other hand, obama doubled the debt for no reason at all.  What good did the stimulus do?  Not a thing for anyone other than political friends and failed "green" projects run by democrat donors. 

  Yea, maybe its not a good idea for the federal government to have a national lottery.  They just seem to screw things up.

  Never give up. 
• myturn

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  Washington should copy El Gordo, the 'Fat One', lottery in Spain. It is Spain’s annual Christmas lottery. It raises billions in Spain, a similar Christmas lottery in the US, could raise much more.

  
  It has been estimated that 75 per cent of adult Spaniards play the Christmas lottery and the state company which organises The Fat One reckons that this year each Spaniard will spend an average of €62.72 on tickets, with the amount of tickets on sale reaching a value of €3.2 billion.

  We all get a lot out of lotteries!
• Stack47

  

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  In response to myturn

  Quote: Originally posted by myturn on Apr 28, 2016

  Washington should copy El Gordo, the 'Fat One', lottery in Spain. It is Spain’s annual Christmas lottery. It raises billions in Spain, a similar Christmas lottery in the US, could raise much more.

  
  It has been estimated that 75 per cent of adult Spaniards play the Christmas lottery and the state company which organises The Fat One reckons that this year each Spaniard will spend an average of €62.72 on tickets, with the amount of tickets on sale reaching a value of €3.2 billion.

  Several LP members say they get at least one ticket for every PB and MM drawings which is four times the amount Spaniards spend on one drawing. In 2014 U.S. players spent an equivalent of 3.6 billion euros just playing PB. I guess it depends on if the majority of players want to have 108 chances a year of winning a life changing jackpot or just one chance.

  That's the real no-brainer.
• rcbbuckeye

  

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  In response to Stack47

  Quote: Originally posted by Stack47 on Apr 28, 2016

  Several LP members say they get at least one ticket for every PB and MM drawings which is four times the amount Spaniards spend on one drawing. In 2014 U.S. players spent an equivalent of 3.6 billion euros just playing PB. I guess it depends on if the majority of players want to have 108 chances a year of winning a life changing jackpot or just one chance.

  That's the real no-brainer.

  Yeah.

  Think I'm in on the 104 chances for MM and 104 chances for PB, and 104 chances for Texas Lotto, AND 104 chances for Texas 2 Step.

  That adds up to 416 shots.

  Not to mention the other games such as All or Nothing, Pick 4, Cash 5, and scratchers.

  CAN'T WIN IF YOU'RE NOT IN

  A DOLLAR AND A DREAM (OR $2)
  
• Stack47

  

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  In response to LiveInGreenBay

  Quote: Originally posted by LiveInGreenBay on Apr 28, 2016

  Hey Max, not get too far off subject but...Reagan had to rebuild the military decimated by Carter.  On the other hand, obama doubled the debt for no reason at all.  What good did the stimulus do?  Not a thing for anyone other than political friends and failed "green" projects run by democrat donors. 

  Yea, maybe its not a good idea for the federal government to have a national lottery.  They just seem to screw things up.

  Just the other day I said it wouldn't be long before politics began appearing in lottery topics this election cycle.

  For the record the total U.S. lottery sales is about $70 billion a year and about 40% of that is returned to the players. If your National Lottery matched those figures, you'll get about $42 billion or 0.2% to contribution to the deficit.