Reply to: £2 per lotto line, and smaller prizes I gather

[AtW]

Generally the law protects the ignorant (or "vulnerable" to use modern parlance) against those who'd try to exploit them, but with the lottery the government has encouraged a private company to make a boat load of cash out of the poor and stupid.

They only did it because taxing those people directly would looked bad in press

[doodab]

Does anyone here actually do the lottery? I've never done it, wouldn't have a clue how to! Surely, there's no point?

Well it depends what you mean by no point. For the price of 1/2 a pint of beer I get to dream of what I would do with squillions of pounds for a whole week. There aren't many things that give me that much pleasure for such a small amount of cash. Lovefilm and condoms are the only things that spring to mind.

[vetran]

You made me snort.

just a couple of lines?

don't forget to wipe your nose.


Or did you do more numbers?

[zeitghost]

Traditionally you just went to the lottery stand in the shopping centre and queued up. There is usually a long queue on saturdays, i find.

Ah.

The last refuge of the (un)punched card.

They look exactly the same as cards I used to use for programming test equipment.

[MaryPoppins]

I do, 2 lines/week.
It gives me just that little glimmer of hope that I may be able to change this living hell that is, my life.

You made me snort.

[rhubarb]

I don't know what the odds are of a random stranger walking up to you and giving you £10million, but it can't be that different to chances of winning the lottery.

But it could happen...

[VectraMan]

Generally the law protects the ignorant (or "vulnerable" to use modern parlance) against those who'd try to exploit them, but with the lottery the government has encouraged a private company to make a boat load of cash out of the poor and stupid.

I've only ever done it once, and then indirectly as somebody organised a work syndicate. Of course I fell into the trap of thinking "what if everybody else wins and I wasn't part of it?", which is if anything more irrational than thinking you have a chance of winning at all. I don't know what the odds are of a random stranger walking up to you and giving you £10million, but it can't be that different to chances of winning the lottery.

[vetran]

Does anyone here actually do the lottery? I've never done it, wouldn't have a clue how to! Surely, there's no point?

Hey even I can do it. You pick up the sheet and tick lucky dip or do the multiple choice type scrawls to specify your own.

[d000hg]

Talking to a colleague in the smoking area, there's apparently a new lottery, the Health Lottery whose tickets are still £1 but the jackpots are smaller (albeit it with higher odds).

You can win spare organs?

[bless 'em all]

What really pisses me off are those winners, the over 60, retired and waiting to die, who on winning the jackpot state for the record "We won't let this change our lives".

Three years later all they've done with the money is had a fortnight in a caravan in Brixham and bought a 5 years old Nissan Micra.

Why did they bother in the first place?

[darmstadt]

Talking to a colleague in the smoking area, there's apparently a new lottery, the Health Lottery whose tickets are still £1 but the jackpots are smaller (albeit it with higher odds).

Apparently the Daily Star on saturday, which costs 60p, gives you a free lucky dip on the Health Lottery _and_ the TV times for the weekend. So what more could one want?

Isn't the Health Lottery owned by the publisher of the Daily Start (and, IIRC, Daily Express): Richard Desmond?

[fullyautomatix]

Does anyone here actually do the lottery? I've never done it, wouldn't have a clue how to! Surely, there's no point?

Its pretty straight forward if you do it online. It even emails you when you wont something. Traditionally you just went to the lottery stand in the shopping centre and queued up. There is usually a long queue on saturdays, i find.

[OwlHoot]

Talking to a colleague in the smoking area, there's apparently a new lottery, the Health Lottery whose tickets are still £1 but the jackpots are smaller (albeit it with higher odds).

Apparently the Daily Star on saturday, which costs 60p, gives you a free lucky dip on the Health Lottery _and_ the TV times for the weekend. So what more could one want?

[rhubarb]

Does anyone here actually do the lottery? I've never done it, wouldn't have a clue how to! Surely, there's no point?

I do, 2 lines/week.
It gives me just that little glimmer of hope that I may be able to change this living hell that is, my life.

[d000hg]

Maybe a couple of times in my life. I'd only really be tempted to buy a ticket to a gigantic rollover or Euro-jackpot or something, but never have.