Well, isn’t this special:
The cost of buying a Mega Millions jackpot dream will soon more than double, but lottery officials said they’re confident players won’t mind paying more after changes that will lead to larger prizes and more frequent winners. Lottery officials announced Monday that it will cost $5 to play Mega Millions, beginning in April, up from the current $2 per ticket.
Mega Millions will introduce changes at a time when fewer people are buying tickets and jackpots need to reach ever-higher figures before sporadic players notice and opt to buy a ticket or two. Whereas a $500 million jackpot once prompted lines out convenience store doors, top prizes of $1 billion now often draw more of a ho-hum response.
Yeah, that’s right: in the face of declining sales, boost revenue by increasing the price. Fucking morons. Ask Detroit how that’s worked out for them.
And even more special:
“Spending 5 bucks to become a millionaire or billionaire, that’s pretty good,” said Joshua Johnston, director of the Washington Lottery and lead director of the group that oversees Mega Millions. The price increase will be one of many changes to Mega Millions that officials said will result in improved jackpot odds, more frequent giant prizes and even larger payouts.
Sure; odds go from 2 trillion-1 to 1 trillion-1. We lottery players may be suckers, but not that much.
And:
“You pay 5 bucks for your Starbucks,” Johnston noted.
But at the end of that transaction you get a cup of coffee in your hand, as opposed to a largely-worthless piece of paper.
I have this to say to MegaMillions:
…and thanks for nothing, assholes.
And thankee, sorta, to Reader Mike L. for the link.
If you win the jackpot – you have two choices
– take an annuity – X amount of money over 20 to 30 years. The lottery can invest the money or make the money to pay you each year through interest or sales
– take a lump sum – the lottery takes half off of the top, then the butt fuckers at the IRS take about half of the half. So if you win a billion dollars, IF, you get a cool 250 million roughly after lump sum fee and taxes.
I’d still want to win, but this is some bullshit.
It used to be said that lottery is a tax on the poor.
At 5 bucks bucks a ticket I think it becomes a tax on the stupid.
The government and all their entities are really giving it to the citizens raw dog no lube. I guess someone has to pay for all the money Joe and the Hoe wasted, lots of illegals who invaded the country that we all have to chip in to support. Lottery players must pay up too I guess.
Scratchers used to be a dollar, but now they have them for up to $50. Seems like they’re just giving the people what they want.
$2 is entertainment, $ 5.00 a ticket is too much. just like I’ve never bought a cup overpriced coffee from Starbucks, Now my occasional lottery ticket will only be a PowerBall Ticket. …….. and have you been to Dunkin Donuts recently?
The NH Lottery started this as way to increase the States’ share of the revenue from the Track, thus the price of the $2.00 ticket. the same as the basic bet at the Horse and Dog tracks. Massachusetts jumped in as a way to compete with the Numbers bookies at the corner SPA’s with Mega-Millions. Soon other states jumped on board and Mega-Millions was born. the $2.00 bet remained.
But lets fix what isn’t broken and raise the price to $5. What could go wrong?
The people running Powerball must be quietly celebrating. They know that if you want to see bigger prises just increase the odds with more nuymbers as they have done several times n the past. They know the Lottery is a Tax on the poeple bad at math.
A “tax” that many of us just stopped paying.
When a tax stops providing a benefit to the taxpayer, people stop throwing dollars into a bucket with no handle. At some point, that starts to apply to all the money that we give, or is extracted by government, for the services they are allegedly providing to We, The People!
I used to live in the New Orleans area and several of my workmates routinely tied their vacations around trips to a casino. They would all claim that they generally “break even” over time, which we all know is bullshit since breaking even results in the casino going tits-up in the long run. One guy eventually explained it to me as “paying for entertainment”. Basically, all entertainment costs money. Whether you rent a cabana and go to the beach, or watch a movie, or tour the Grand Canyon on a donkey. His preferred entertainment was gambling, and he budgeted accordingly. Simple as that. Whether he won or lost, he was entertained.
To that extent, I’d throw a dollar or two at some long-shot chance just for the hell of it. It’s 5 minutes of entertainment to compare numbers and see if I won, plus whatever time I spent daydreaming about what I’d do with my winnings. For a few bucks, that’s a bargain. But by raising prices they just guaranteed that I will spend my $5 on something a little more concrete, like breakfast.
I’ve often wondered whether, instead of a lottery (with no guarantee that anyone will win any given drawing), a better approach might be a *raffle*. Payouts would likely be lower, but a winner is guaranteed every time, and the odds of winning are based solely on the number of tickets sold, so much better than with a lottery.