This is from Heavy.com: "In Massachusetts, you can keep your identity a secret if you win by forming a lottery trust. The trustee will hold the legal title of the lottery property, while the beneficiary (the winner) holds the equitable title. Typically, the winner assigns a professional attorney as the trustee and picks someone unaffiliated with them in order to help keep their identity a secret."

That probably would have been a good idea in Mavis Wanczyk's case. Supposedly almost all winners take the lump sum payout versus taking the payout over 30 years.

I do buy Powerball and Megamillions tickets when the jackpot goes over the $200 million mark.

This country has really changed so much in my lifetime. Grandma is turning over in her grave.

Power Ball is not gambling. Gambling requires a reasonable expectation of a return, which these new regressive taxes (sorry, I meant to say lotteries) provide. An economist whose name I can't remember put the Power Ball tax in perspective for me like this: Think of yourself in an 80,000 seat stadium and they are giving away a car to one lucky seat holder. As one out of 80,000 you don't have much of an expectation of winning, do you? Now think of yourself in one of 3,650 stadiums and the prize is one car for all 3,650 stadiums. Not what I'd consider a winning proposition. I saw a gentleman last week buying $50.00 worth of Power Ball quick picks at Winn Dixie. The politicians must love this guy, as he basically voluntarily gave them $50.00.

You question the government ethics re: Lottery
 

Wow-
In NY the government went into horse betting OTB. Only the government could LOOSE MONEY running a bookie service.
You do it it is a crime. Government does it it is ok.

The lottery.
You do it it is a crime. Government does it and it is OK. Believe it or not most winners end up bankrupt. First of all you do not get the ADVERTISED PRIZE. It is a ten year payout and they take TAX our of it. If, you decide you want to give the money to a charity, they still tax you. THAT IN THE CRIME WORLD, FAR MORE HONEST THAN GOVERNMENT IS CALLED SKIMMING.

Most lottery winners end up bankrupt. You win a few million. It is announced publicly. Suddenly your family expands. I did our family tree. We are both descendants of ADAM. You won..............could you gimmmmmmeeeeeee?
You cheep......... There goes your family.

Dealing drugs.
The government TAXES liquor and cigarettes. It is OK you grease the palm of our out of control government. In many states the government, drooling over a chance to extract more revenue is allowing, encouraging, marijuana sales.

WHERE TO EXPAND
SEX
Oh that's right Vegas. Yup, government gets a big piece.

Good post. It would be funny, too, if the facts weren't so sad.

A bit off topic but
 

As to change-change is constant
I great grandmother died about 1968 and she had lived to be about 112-the date of her birth was not certain. She was sharp till the end. A dirty joke form a lady well over 100 is truly not to be missed.

She came to the US as kid on a sailing ship. Of course they traveled cheap as steerage. Imagine what that was like. Crossing the ocean took weeks. They did not have our ability to plot weather. Oh and if you are not aware the reason rooms in the bow of the ship are cheaper is that the boat pivots on it's center so the bow is a far rougher ride than at mid ships. By the end of her life men were walking on the moon.

For us, the computer has changed most of what used to be. You can in seconds find information that used to be so difficult to find that you most often decided it was not worth the effort.

Mark Twain said something like, we do not make any progress because as we move foreword we loose what was behind.

Another quote, I don't think it was Twain Do not look back, you are not going that way.

HAPPY DAYS

I'm not certain
 

We all have begun to think, let government pay for it.
We have forgotten or never learned that WE are the government.

In NY metro area Con Edison is the major supplier and the rates are either the highest or close to the highest in the nation. We had Ed Koch as our spicy mayor. The city was close to bankruptcy and there was a movement to have government take over Con Ed. In, HONESTY, Koch on public airways said if you think it is bad now there is no more expensive way to get things done then to have government take over.

While I do occasionally buy lottery tickets. I remember a comment made by the presenter at a retail seminar I went to 25-30 years ago which has stuck with me. He contended that lotteries were a regressive tax aimed to even suck more money and inflict more pain on the members of our society who could least afford it. i.e. - poor people spent a disproportionate amount on lotteries in hopes of escaping their poverty.

Second comment is most lotteries were set up to fund something -education / help for the elderly - and while the lottery profits may infact be used as promised, the old funding which came from regular tax dollars are decreased. A shell game.

JMHO

Gambling mostly has a negative affect on the people who can least afford it.

I grew up with a lot of guys who gambled using bookies. When OTB came to New York these same guys still used bookies because they paid better odds. OTB was and may still be operated by a private concern out of Buffalo with State oversight (well the state wants their cut) .

OTB (Horse racing in general) all casino gambling hold no interest for me Lottery yea to a degree

I do get a kick when OTB and Stores selling Lotto's who post Gamblers Anonymous signs

It's a ton of money and I know I would put it to good use if I won. I would give most of it away, but I could never escape the jackals and media, both fake and real. That's why I won't even play. However, I do play the "little lotto", which only brings in a few million, but far less attention. I don't need $500 million. I'll be very happy with just one. Very happy. I'll even give most of that away.

Florida demands the winner go public. I am afraid that if I won a big Powerball people would come out of the woodwork claiming to be my progeny:D

I'm sure the politicians require freebies or they will outlaw it.


When you say the government IMO it's the career lawyer background politicians and lobbyists the REAL gangsters of the United States.

I had a friend who's son had a gambling addiction, and I went to a few GA meetings with her.
If you heard the stories of how many individual lives and families were destroyed by it, I doubt anyone could find humor in it!
I was surprised to find out that if one had the addiction, and wanted to recover,
it was recommended they avoid playing the stock market!

I know this will probably not sit well with some,
maybe even a lot of people!
But reading the comments on this particular thread has
made me give thought to this lotto subject.
Well it ocurred to me that if I won millions or even a million.
I would then have a job trying to manage my financial
affairs that I didn't even apply for.
I'm happily retired, with even a bit more stuff than I really need,
so maybe it paid off, praying to God for him to make me want what I have!

Should people on welfare be allowed to use this free money to them to buy lottery tickets?