Re: The Lottery
The lottery exists as a mechanism to take money from stupid people who don't understand ODDS and thus have no real idea that they are participating in a losing game.
The same people would happily play "the dice game" all day long.
The dice game is this.
I have a single standard 6 sided die. You can roll the die for £1. It costs £1 for every roll you make.
If you roll a 6, I pay you £4 in winnings.
That's it. Very simple game. £1 a go, and if you roll a 6 you win £4
Stupid people who don't understand odds would roll that die all day long. The game is a losing proposition, but dumb people don't realise that.
It is the same with the lottery.
In the original game, when there were just 49 numbers, you would win £10 for matching 3 numbers. The odds of matching 3 numbers is 1 in 54. Only those who don't understand the implications of those odds play the lottery.
Those that do understand just smirk and walk away.