I've always seen lotteries as an utterly moronic transaction made to fleece suckers out of their money but from talking to people that play them, the reality was much sadder. Many if not most were buying them for the fantasy/ hope of winning not because they actually thought it might happen. It was like they were paying $5 for the privilege of wishing for a better life.infonazar said:
Attaching a fee to escapism is quite depressing. I think as a statistic, you could probably track the health of a society based on what proportion of people are gambling at establishments. Playing poker or blackjack with some friends at home is different because there is no massive corporate leech or EV sink but I think 1984 summed up my feelings on organized gambling:
"It was probable that there were some millions of proles for whom the Lottery was the principal if not the only reason for remaining alive. It was their delight, their folly, their anodyne, their intellectual stimulant. Where the Lottery was concerned, even people who could barely read and write seemed capable of intricate calculations and staggering feats of memory."
As to not be overly depressing without any hope I'd like to encourage folks to try to find more community oriented activities nearby that might scratch that itch. If there is nothing- start one! There are lots of languishing third spaces around that might be open to a poker night there or some table games.
