The odds are that you are going to win tonight’s Powerball multi-state lottery drawing are very small. You’re more likely to be struck by lightning, or eaten by a shark. Still, that doesn’t stop people from paying $2 for a slip of hope. As long as you’re planning what you’re going to do with that money, you should keep in mind that where you buy a ticket matters for tax reasons. [More]
lotteries
Woman Buys Lottery Ticket To Prove It’s A Waste Of Money, Wins $1M
By 10.27.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
A woman looking for tell her husband “I told you so” amid a disagreement over whether or not lotteries are a waste of money was denied that moment recently — but she’s probably fine with it, considering she won $1 million in her effort to prove her point. [More]
Are Mobile Phone Apps To Play State Lotteries Actually Legal?
By 6.7.16
If you can make everything in your life from food delivery to rides to dates happen by tapping on your smartphone, why can’t you play legal state lotteries on your phone? There are mobile apps on the market that claim to be 100% compliant with state lottery laws, offering the equivalent of sending a friend down to the gas station to pick up a Powerball ticket for you. Are they really cool with the authorities? [More]
Hot Lotto Says Employee Fraud Didn’t Necessarily Affect Next Winner’s Prize
By 3.31.16
Last year, the man who used to be in charge of security for the Multi-State Lottery Assocation was convicted of rigging one of his employer’s games and buying himself the winning ticket. The winner of the next jackpot sued the Association, arguing that his own prize would have been bigger if the fraudulent win hadn’t happened. Is that true? The lottery group argues that it’s not. [More]
Michigan Woman Goes Through Pile Of Old Mail, Finds Lottery Ticket Worth $1M
By 9.23.15
We know how it gets — the mail piles up, it’s filled with credit card offers, promotional post cards and other junk you’d rather avoid. But it’s worth taking a look through that stack of unwanted flotsam and jetsam once in awhile, as one Michigan woman who is now $1 million richer found out recently, after spotting a winning lottery ticket in her mail pile. [More]
Guy Buys Lottery Ticket With $20 He Found On The Street, Wins $1 Million
By 8.31.15
Here’s yet another story that’ll make you want to go out and buy a lottery ticket, even though let’s face it, this kind of thing will likely never happen to us: A guy who found $20 on the street and used it to buy a lottery ticket has won $1 million as a result of his lucky break. [More]
Last-Minute Father’s Day Gift Of Scratch-Off Ticket Reaps $1 Million Payout
By 6.25.15
While it might seem like picking up Pop a lottery ticket for Father’s Day is the kind of thing you do last-minute, well, it might be. But even last-minute selections can reap big rewards: A dad in Pennsylvania received $1 million in a Father’s Day card from his daughter, after her gift of a scratch-off ticket turned out to be a winner. [More]
Guy Fails To Check Powerball Ticket, Spends Six Weeks Clueless To The Fact That He’s A Millionaire
By 6.4.15
There are some problems we all wish we could have, and finding out you’ve been needlessly spending your days as a normal person only to learn you’re actually a millionaire is certainly one of them. A New York man thought the Powerball winner had already been found, when in fact, he had the winning ticket worth $136 million tacked up in his basement behind a pipe for six weeks. [More]
![[Insert joke about literally bringing home the bacon here]](../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/baconindy.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Indiana Lottery Debuts Bacon-Scented Scratch-Off Tickets, Prizes Include 20-Year Supply Of Bacon
By 6.3.15
It appears Indiana likes New Hampshire’s style, as the state’s Hoosier Lottery has introduced a bacon-scented scratch-off ticket of its own. But unlike previous bacon-themed lotteries designed to tempt your olfactory system, this one actually includes the savory meat in the list of prizes, with a 20-year-supply of bacon at stake for players. [More]
Man Wins Lottery Without Knowing It, Loses Ticket, Probably Cries
By 3.13.15
A man in southern California is living the nightmare of all lottery players: he bought a Powerball ticket in September of last year, and won the game without realizing it. The California Lottery tried to identify the winner as the deadline loomed, releasing surveillance camera footage of him to news outlets. He recognized himself…but he no longer has the winning ticket. [More]
All It Takes To Win $1M Powerball Prize? Playing The Same Numbers For Decades
By 2.19.14
The odds of you or me winning the Powerball are pretty darn slim. But who knew that if you could only have the patience to dedicate yourself entirely to just one set of numbers, and play them constantly over two decades, that you could reap say, a $1 million Powerball prize? Here’s where we point to a guy who did just that. [More]
$1 Million Lottery Prize Goes Unclaimed, Split Between Boring Worthy Causes
By 10.8.13
Did you buy a Powerball ticket in an Indiana Circle K convenience store in April? Do your usual numbers include 1, 36, 40, 52, and 53? Um, you should probably sit down. [More]
NJ Lottery: Gambling Addiction Is Not A Merry Holiday Gift For Your Child
By 12.10.12
Sure, you can’t take your favorite 10-year-old niece with you to your favorite casino to feed electronic quarters into a dazzling slot machine until her eyes glaze over and she enters a gambling-induced trance. That’s generally illegal. What’s perfectly legal, though, is buying her a nice pile of instant lottery tickets to play. You have to be 18 years old to buy scratchers, but not to play them. Which is why the New Jersey State Lottery and the state Council on Compulsive Gambling put out a statement this week warning that giving lottery tickets to kids might just win them a lifetime of gambling addiction. [More]
New Branch Promotion Turns ATMs Into No-Lose Slot Machines
By 8.30.12
How can you spice up a routine visit to the ATM? Easthampton Savings Bank in Massachusetts is promoting a new branch by turning its ATM into a sort of no-lose slot machine. They call it the “ATM Gone Mad,” because sometimes it will dispense $50 bills in place of the normal $20 bills. Cute promo. One local blogger finds it amusing that this is going on around the same time that the nearby city of Springfield is considering a downtown casino proposal from MGM Grand. All of the fun of gambling, none of the risk of financial ruin. But what’s the fun if there’s no chance of destroying your family’s future? [More]
Powerball Makes It "Two Dollars And A Dream"
By 1.3.12
Those whose retirement strategy is to buy a Powerball ticket and pray will have to double down on their investments. Starting Jan. 15, the multi-state mega-lottery will increase its ticket prices from $1 to $2. The price bump follows the lead of scratch-off tickets, many of which come in much larger denominations. [More]
How To Beat Scratch Lottery Tickets
By 2.2.11
WIRED reports how a geological statistician figured out how to beat a scratch-off lottery ticket game, discovering a simple trick hidden in the numbers that let him pick winners 90% of the time before scratching the tickets at all. What’s more is that the exploit he stumbled across can be repeated again and again against so-called “extended play” or “baited hook” tickets, spreadsheet-like scratch-offs featuring rows and rows of numbers and near-miss combinations. [More]
A Lottery That Encourages Savings And No One Loses? America Hates It
By 12.3.10
Prize-Linked Savings plans are these things where a tiny bit of the interest on all the participants’ savings accounts get pooled together. Then on a regular basis someone gets randomly selected for a giant cash prize! The instruments have done well in other countries for years, encouraging people to save instead of wasting their money on a hopeless game. Naturally, America hates it. [More]
Avoid The Lottery: Play This Deeply Depressing Lottery Simulator Instead
By 9.29.10
There are lots of things that you would probably do if you won the lottery. Pay off your family members’ mortgages, fill a Jacuzzi with hot chocolate, buy a water park, or donate to your favorite blog. However, a basic understanding of math will force you to admit that there are much better places for your dollar than the lottery’s coffers. You can, however, simulate the experience of playing the lottery for decades at a time without ever spending money on a ticket. This handy web app simulates the experience of playing the same numbers in the multi-state MegaMillions game for as long as ten years. [More]
