I haven’t but I’m not much of a gambler. I get no joy from it, only stress and regret. And where’s the fun in that? But I’m fixin’ to embark on a year-long gambling extravaganza.
I was talking to my dad a few days ago, you see, and we were discussing the recent billion dollar lottery jackpot. And he reminded me that a friend of his often proclaims the $10 scratch off ticket as the “best bet in all of gambling.” I’ve heard him say that before, and find it interesting. Sure, it sounds like the kind of standard bullshit you hear blowhards say all the time. But this guy is no blowhard, and he definitely knows a thing or two about what he’s talking about. I still don’t fully believe him, mind you, but he’s not just some mouthy asshole trying to act like a big shot. So…. I’ve decided to test it out. The best I can, anyway. Over the weekend I started the $10 Scratch Off Project. The way it works: every weekend I’ll buy one (and only one) $10 scratch off ticket, and on Mondays add the results to the tracker. I plan to do this for a year, and see where we stand at the end. I know it will be $520 out, but it will interesting to see how much comes back in. It won’t tell us if it’s the absolute “best bet,” but we should definitely know if it’s a good one. I think it will be fun.
I never buy scratch offs and rarely play the Powerball, and that sort of thing. I mean, I generally spend $10 per year on gambling, not $10 per week. So it makes me a little uneasy. It feels like flushing cash down the ol’ poop catcher. Heck, when Toney and I were in Las Vegas a couple of years ago I spent zero dollars on gambling. And we were there for more than a week. It’s just not my thing. But I’m doing it for the project! I think it will be interesting. I just hope it doesn’t flip some switch inside me and I become a degenerate gambler, like that guy who owned the sporting goods store on The Sopranos. That poor bastard ended up hanging himself! I’m leery of the demons lurking inside me. Wish me luck.
What’s your relationship with gambling? What’s the most you’ve ever won? What’s the most anyone you know has ever won? I used to talk to a guy on the phone at one of my other jobs. He worked at a CD pressing plant in California, and hit a multi-million dollar jackpot. That guy quit instantly and I never spoke with him again; he was out of there like shit through a goose. And who can blame him? And the guy my dad knows? Yeah, he’s hit two(!) $250,000 jackpots, and many smaller ones. Craziness. What do you have on this one? Please share in the comments.
This is a quickie, but I need to go to work. It’s snowing out there, so it might turn into one of those sphincter-clampers. OMG… I’m so sick of all this crap. The snow, the ice, the biting wind… I think I’m right on the verge of adjusting my official ranking o’ the seasons. More on that in a future update. Maybe.
Before I go I’d like to invite you to give the new podcast episode a listen. Right here. I think it’s a pretty good one.
And don’t give up on the previous website update. The comments were continuing on that one.
Have a great day, my friends.
I’ll see you again soon.
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When I was a kid, I used to have really good luck entering those drawings at the local super market, the school carnival, etc. I won all kinds of crap, including a $25 gift certificate, a big cardboard Pepsi “cabin” that was used as a store display, and all manner of little prizes like a free large pizza from Ginos.
Unfortunately, that luck has not followed me into adulthood. I can’t recall the last time I won anything.
I have terrible gambling luck. One day we were playing nickel, dime, quarter stakes and I got cleaned. Soon after, we were playing for chips, and I won every chip in the house.
I’m probably even less interested in gambling than Jeff is. I view the state lottery, scratch-offs etc. as a tax I don’t have to pay. Yes, a few people win big, but the odds are astronomically against the playa.
On the other hand, the mother of my 8th-grade best friend played the lottery. She won enough money to pay for four years of NYU for my buddy.
One time I got an Instant Weiner ticket in the McDonald’s Monopoly game. It was for a TV-VCR combo machine, which shows how long ago that was. I ended up not taking it because a) you have to pretty much sign everything away in order to claim a prize, and 2) it’s a $100 item that I didn’t want or need.
I’m not much of a gambler but every couple of weeks I’ll buy a scratch ticket or 2. About 20 years ago I hit for 100 grand on a 10.00 ticket. Since then a couple of smaller (8k, 5k) wins. The past few years, nothing noteworthy. I’m playing less and less because I feel the state has changed the prize structure to a lot fewer big prizes.
I never buy lotto or scratch off tickets, but I do gamble a lot at Casinos. When I gamble I take a stack of cash and consider it what I am going to spend on entertainment and if I bring home more than I left with (which happens about 50% of the time) then great. I’ve had several roulette spins that have paid out thousands of dollars. I’m Caesars Diamond and was also M-Life Platinum up until my status expired this year since I didn’t make it to any Casinos in 2020.
A former employee’s brother once had all but one of the lotto numbers and walked away with about $750k and a friend of mine who drives to Oklahoma and Shreveport a couple of times a month to play slots has won ~$25k from hitting some slot jackpots on more than one occasion.
For me, I would probably get as much enjoyment by setting a $20 bill on fire as I would by buying a lottery ticket! The net results are just about the same. I do know some people who view it as a form of entertainment, but it’s just not for me.
However, when the Power Ball or whatever gets large, we all chip in at work and buy a bunch of tickets. We never win, but I’d sure hate to be that guy who decided not to play and be the only one to show up for work the next day, with that deer-in-the-headlights, Barney Fife look on my face! 🙂
THAT would suck!
Lived in NV for 10 years and maybe gambled at a table . . .5 or 6 times. If we visited Vegas, then I would take $20 and play that and lose it and done. Now, with Powerball, the payoff has to be big to buy tickets . . along with everyone else that is buying. Oh well. Most we’ve won is $10. Woohoo. I’ll let you know if we ever win big at Powerball.
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE JEFF KAY LIVES? THAT IS ALL.
I don’t have a gambler’s mentality. However, when the Powerball is $500M or similar I do tend to buy a ticket, because $500M would be life changing, unlike the regular $20M jackpots. I don’t understand my logic either.
I headed for Las Vegas, only made it out to Needles.
jtb
By the way, I don’t like to brag but I’m Caesars Platinum: every time I buy a jug of their dressing I get 15% off. Haven’t tried their casinos — there aren’t any in Needles.
jtb
On a related note, Hoyt Axton’s mama co-wrote Heartbreak Hotel and talked Elvis into recording it.
jtb
I aspire to the exalted Bronze level, but for now I’m at Plywood.