Nearly 20 years and I am finally cured of my get rich quick addiction(Lotto)

[Blackadder]

Mind we say about the lottery but what about Premium Bonds I have had the same £100 since they started and was given £1000 worth about 6 years ago and have never won a single penny. They are now not worth what they were when purchased.

Strangely enough we had 2 separate syndicates at my previous job. One for the the lottery and one for Premium Bonds. We never won more than £50 but when we were all made redundant we cashed in and received £700 each.

 

[pastafarian]

If the £1 lottery stake had risen in line with inflation since 1994, it would now cost £1.69 to buy a ticket. Raising the price to £2 is a real increase of 18.3 per cent.

no doubt the people that cant afford to play yet still do will at least be able to console themselves in the knowledge their ticket has only gone up in real terms by 18.3%......what a relief

 

[Spun Cuppa]

I got 4 balls ONCE better than 15 years ago £120,try getting that return for 4 balls now!!!!!



You know what,in the early days I REALLY thought it was a piece of piss,that I was certain to get those magic 6 balls.now days I check online to see if I have a tenner coming my way about every other month,if they did come up I wont even look to see.



Euromillions with a jackpot of £100,000,000 + is the way to go,you have no chance but at 50,000,000 to 1 at least you get decent odds.

Since they changed the star numbers to 1-11, rather than 1-9, the odds have shot up to over 100 million to one to hit the jackpot

There is something mouthwatering about jackpots of nine figures though

 

[Seagull on the wing]

No need to raise the price...lower prizes going up....higher prizes going down.....I have played the lottery since it began...the most I ever won was just under £800.....(and did get 4 numbers this week (£73) but I spend way too much every week...so come the rise in cost...I'm out!!
I know quite a few people who are leaving... think the lottery commission have made a big mistake....have done far better with Premium bonds...built up over the years by any win under two grand I just take in more bonds,now have 5 times with what I started with.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Since when was 50 MILLION to one "good" odds?

 

[BensGrandad]

I also think the lottery should have an upper limit of £2m and if £6m in the kitty have 3 draws. To the vast majority it wouldn't make a great difference whether they won £2m or £4m either way they would be very wealthy and have more than they have ever had in their life.

As inflation kicks in this could be raised to £3m in a couple of years.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

50,000,000:1 = Annual odds of an asteroid colliding with the Earth and obliterating all life

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5908

 

[The Birdman]

I like the idear of the 50x £20,000 per draw which will double if it rolls over I also think some may return from the Euro as it devalued the uk lotto when it started. Also 3 numbers £25 instead of £10 my biggest winner was 4 numbers £168 I think it was when the two lads from Hastings won £22,000'000 in the early days.i will switch back to the Uk and only do the European when its rolled over 4or 5 times.

 

[Stat Brother]

There is something mouthwatering about jackpots of nine figures though

It's the most pointless gamble possible, but I just can't help myself.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I stopped doing it when I read a statistic that if over 55 years of age, as in my case, I stand more chance of dying before the draw is made if I do it on the day of the draw than actually winning a large amount.

I don't understand the relevance of this statistic in any way or how it would influence whether you do the lottery or not.

You have more chance of A LOT of terrible things happening...but if you fluke the one GOOD thing you gain MILLIONS of pounds.

They aren't directly linked.

 

[MattBackHome]

Exactly.

Whether or not you do the lotto has ZERO influence on your chances of dying before the draw.
Whether or not you do the lotto has EVERY influence on your chances of winning the draw.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

Exactly.

Whether or not you do the lotto has ZERO influence on your chances of dying before the draw.
.

Unless you cross a busy road to buy the ticket....

 

[symyjym]

I gave up doing the lottery after about a year of it being introduced because it draws you in to a false sense of "it's going to be my lucky week", and it irritates me when people have a "what they would do with the money if they won" conversation. Especially when they say "they would sort you out if they won the lottery." I really hate that one.

I would much rather know for sure I'm not going to be a multi millionaire than always think I am going to be one by luck.

 

[raymondbriggs]

I

Since when was 50 MILLION to one "good" odds?

Chance of winning 50,000,000:1 could never be regarded as good but if you flip it to reward for risk.50,00,000:1 might.be woth a punt.

 

[Arthritic Toe]

Lotteries are a tax on the stupid.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

Lotteries are a tax on the stupid.

In what other form of tax do you have the potential to be paid back a lifechanging sum of money?

 

[Djmiles]

People will moan about any price increase, and this is no exception. Sure you can keep paying £1 a ticket, but the jackpots are getting ridiculously low. "4 winners have won an estimated £600,000 each". Give me a break.

If you don't like it, play the con that is the health lottery instead, who have kept their ticket price at £1 but recently decreased most of the prizes by a third.