How to Win the Lottery

You're probably thinking "who doesn't want to win the lottery?" Sure, we'd all love to have tens or hundreds of millions given to us for simply picking a few numbers. But often, winning the lottery is often the worst thing to happen to a person rather than the best thing. Just ask Jack Whittaker, winner of $315 million through the lottery - his winnings made him one of the least popular people in his community and resulted in the death of his granddaughter. Dozens of other big jackpot winners have found their relationships with friends and family go bad, thanks to their winnings. Yes, we all could use more money, but as we'll see, the lottery is the worst vehicle for it.

Gambling in general is one the worst uses of time and money. The book "The Millionaire Mind" by Dr. Thomas Stanley contains statistics about millionaires and how they became wealthy. One point that Dr. Stanley makes is that the amount of gambling one does is inversely proportional to their wealth. Most deca-millionaires (people with a net worth in excess of $10 Million) gamble only rarely (if at all) and yes, the lottery counts as gambling.

Except for a few rare instances, it is nearly impossible to make a profit (forget about a living) from any legal form of gambling. The odds in a casino overwhelmingly favor the house; otherwise the casino wouldn't remain in business for long. Consider the fact that the payoff rate for table games are substantially lower than the odds and slot machines are merely computers designed to pay out far less than what they take in. In the case of the lottery, the odds of winning are so low that you're more likely to get struck by lightening than you are to win the jackpot. So how can overcoming such astronomical odds be such a bad thing? There are three basic challenges that jackpot winners must overcome: perception, adjustment and expectations.