When did y'all draw the line in gambling

[JavierH19]

So the last day I played scratchers i was $38 profitable from all that I've spent and won in total.

So I got pretty cocky today since I won $1,000 on a scratcher a while ago. I went in to buy many more and kept rolling the cash back into tickets and now I'm at -939. So I lost a total of $977. So I'd have to make that back to at least break even which I'm not sure I wanna try. Yeah I think I might end it here.

So when did y'all draw the line after some decent losses, or did y'all keep going? Has anyone on here won more than they lost? Before this I've won more than lost.

 

[dishdude]

Gambling/lottery never interested me, the only time I ever played was when the office was putting a pool together...I wasn't going to be the only one left there Monday morning! That would be just my luck.

 

[Rand]

The answer is you always lose eventually.
You dropped 2k on tickets or more.. that sounds like an issue.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

I'm just not into it. It's easy enough for me to run out of cash as it is.

 

[RhondaHonda]

If the $1000 loss stings a bit, you are in too deep. Everyone is down over time on scratchers. A buddy’s coworker would buy the whole roll sometimes. He won $25,000 once, gave it all back and more. It’s an addiction for some people.

We will buy one or two on road trips just for fun but that’s about it. I’d rather buy a Powerball or Mega Millions, because those are life-changing money. Winning $1000 or $50k on a scratcher isn’t going to change my life at all.

 

[GON]

People die in casinos, just like people die in taverns. Gambling ends up being a death sentance for some people.

I can't find one positive to a person gambling. Not a single positive.

 

[oldcodger]

You should treat money used for gambling as disposable and already spent. The wife and I only make the casino once or twice per year. $100.00 limit. When that is gone we quit.

 

[JavierH19]

The answer is you always lose eventually.
You dropped 2k on tickets or more.. that sounds like an issue.

Yeah I've never gone outright hog wild like this before. This is Texas so you either go big or go home. And my burned @ss went home tonight.

 

[fsdork]

While it's not good that you were in the mindset of trying to fix the loss by spending more, it is definitely a positive that you see where that strategy is probably headed. Go with your thought of shutting it down now. The stats say it will only get worse. The house always wins.

 

[JavierH19]

Like the rest of you i too used to believe gambling was stupid until a friend who moved to San Antonio in 2020 won $250,000 here in Houston in 2014 and i was so envious. Ever since then I've been buying a little here and there but it's been ramping up and today was a bit crazy. And I used to tell him it was a waste of money. When he won and showed me i told him I might've been wrong.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

I have a neighbor who lost their house to gambling. People try to justify it as entertainment.......I am not one to judge, but I dont get it or do it myself.

 

[ctechbob]

I've got a friend that is semi-retired that actually has a youtube channel on doing 'scratchers'. Plays a whole lot more than I would ever consider and uses spreadsheets to track what should be the 'winningest' tickets out there.

His stats for 2022:

Spent: $23,823
Won: $18,072

-$5,751 - 2022 Loss for only a 75.9% return.

So, yea, you never come out ahead. I've done a few group books with him where he'll divide a $300 'book' into 10 slots and then divide the profit by 10. So you spend $30 to get in and get 1/10th the profit back. We did that a few times and were pretty much always around the 'book minimum' which in Georgia is about $180.

So, unless you just randomly buy a big winning ticket, you're probably chasing dreams spending any large amount of money at one time.

Me, I probably spend less than $50 a year if that most years. I realize that it is just money thrown away, but at least here in GA my kid gets a little bit of it back through the Hope scholarship.

 

[JavierH19]

I've got a friend that is semi-retired that actually has a youtube channel on doing 'scratchers'. Plays a whole lot more than I would ever consider and uses spreadsheets to track what should be the 'winningest' tickets out there.

His stats for 2022:

Spent: $23,823
Won: $18,072

-$5,751 - 2022 Loss for only a 75.9% return.

So, yea, you never come out ahead. I've done a few group books with him where he'll divide a $300 'book' into 10 slots and then divide the profit by 10. So you spend $30 to get in and get 1/10th the profit back. We did that a few times and were pretty much always around the 'book minimum' which in Georgia is about $180.

So, unless you just randomly buy a big winning ticket, you're probably chasing dreams spending any large amount of money at one time.

Me, I probably spend less than $50 a year if that most years. I realize that it is just money thrown away, but at least here in GA my kid gets a little bit of it back through the Hope scholarship.

Wow that's a loss.

 

[mk378]

In most states the overall payout on scratch tickets is 50%. The more tickets you buy the more likely you are to reach that level of losing half of your money. Someone who buys an infinite number of tickets will certainly lose half.

So the only way to win overall is to quit while you're ahead. An opportunity to quit while you're ahead is rare and should always be taken.

 

[Dave9]

Never had any attraction to it, thank God.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

You're not likely to make that money back. I would consider this a $939 lesson and move forward. You seem to be leaning in this direction as it is. Some people have paid a lot more for the same lesson.

 

[JavierH19]

In most states the overall payout on scratch tickets is 50%. The more tickets you buy the more likely you are to reach that level of losing half of your money.

An opportunity to quit while you're ahead is rare and should always be taken.

Yeah that's what i considered this morning. I told my self I've broken even already and the responsible me said to leave it there. But oh lord seeing that 3 of the 4 20 million grand prizes were still unclaimed and the added cockiness from winning and remembering that my friend Jorge won the 250k grand prize years ago spelt disaster today,

 

[Skippy722]

$18 worth of powerball tickets and only when it hits some ridiculous amount of money, and even then only once if I remember to. Parents took me to a casino when I turned 21 and bought me a few games, never been back. I’d rather play Xbox.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Only gambling I’ve done was a poker night with some friends, $20. Just for entertainment, and figured I’d lose $20. I’ve played blackjack and poker on the computer, but not with real money. I could see how it could be addicting though.

 

[Oillover]

You should treat money used for gambling as disposable and already spent.

+1
The amount I spend is not enough to make any difference to me if saved.
To me, it's a form of cheap entertainment that could pay handsomly (but most likely won't).