Exploitation and The Lotto

One of my favorite songs of all time is "Big Poppa" by Notorious B.I.G. In this song there's a line

"Tremendous cream. Fuck a dollar and a dream."

Up the street from my apartment is a 7-Eleven and every time I walk into this store, there is a line of patrons from the register to the back of the store buying Lotto tickets. Some are picking their own numbers (birthdays, lucky numbers, same numbers, etc,etc), while others are anxiously waiting to get their quick picks.

All of these patrons have the same expressions; anxious, hopeless and tired. They are dreamers who can't wake up and who rely on random numbers to fix their situation.

I recently spoke to the manager of this 7-Eleven about what type of customers come in and purchase Lottery tickets and he told me the following:

"People come in here and spend $40-80 on lottery tickets. It's the same people; the uneducated, African-Americans, the poor, the elderly, the ones on welfare that need their money the most yet they are spending it on lotto tickets."

The criticism about the lottery is that state revenues from lotteries are drawn disproportionately from the more disadvantaged members of society. By disadvantaged I mean those with lower incomes, less formal education, blacks, and the aged.

Although the lottery does contribute, by Law, to the Common School Fund (Illinois students and schoolrooms receive nearly $623 million per year in Lottery revenue), skepticism remains.

“Lotteries are, in essence, a form of regressive taxation that distributes wealth and resources away from those who can least afford to pay...it extracts wealth from communities of color, and most particularly from African Americans.” said Paul Street, vice-president for research and planning at the Chicago Urban League.

But the lottery has created even more games to receive more revenue. During the recession, some state lottery sales have risen providing false hope to the unemployed/underemployed. Illinois has even seen its revenue stream of lottery sales rise during the recession.

Unfortunately this makes sense. When you're poor, broke and out of work it's easier to play the lotto with hopes of winning it big then taking control/ownership of your economic situation and doing something to improve it.

Maybe this is part of the human condition; taking the easy way out and hoping for a better tomorrow.

I'll walk into that 7-Eleven tomorrow and I'll see the same people lined up. They'll have the same expressions on their faces.

For some people, all they have is the dollar and a dream.

But I tend to side with Biggie on this one.



Some Statistics
a)You DO NOT have a greater chance at winning the lottery by playing the same numbers each time. Why? Basic randomness. The lottery is built off of randomness. People try to make a connection or see a pattern when there isn't any. You have the same odds at winning with your same numbers each week as the guy in front of you who has his quick picks.

b)You DO NOT increase your chances of winning by buying more tickets. Why? Because you increase the sample size when you do this when it only takes one ticket/combination to win. Having 50 tickets in your hand (and $50 less in your pocket) actually decreases your odds.

Additional articles:
1.)U.S. studies: poor, minorities most likely to play lottery often
2.)Where do Lottery profits go?
3.)‘Instant’ gratification: Illinois residents still buying lottery tickets