Why I Won’t Win The Powerball

Tonight, there's a record Powerball drawing, and we spent a decent chunk of time fielding calls about what people would do with the money. When Sarah asked me, I sputtered for an answer. See, I hadn't given it much thought, as I don't play the lottery.

I've NEVER played the lottery.

It's not because I have anything against gambling, it's just never made sense to me. This isn't to say I don't get in on a raffle, or a friendly wager among friends. Over time, a chunk of money has changed hands that way. However, the lottery and scratch tickets seemed weird. When I was younger, my mom would buy into the weekly Megabucks. First it was a single ticket, then three. When they started doing Megabucks twice a week, it was double the money. Thing is, she never won.  Every week it was a grumble and rip of the ticket. Once in a while, she'd get a free play, not even breaking even. This didn't make sense to 10 year old me. Why give away money? For "the chance?" I guess that's the point of it, right? Don't get me wrong, best of luck to everyone who goes out and plays for a chance (or 25) . But to me, it's a giant electronic wishing well.