I suspect that many of the people who play the lottery don't view money as having a strictly linear value. Spending a dollar a day on lottery tickets is a cost that is easy to absorb (think of how many people think nothing of buying a cup of coffee from Starbucks every day). Winning the lottery means getting a relatively large infusion of cash at once, at that infusion has a higher value to power people than the loss of a small amount of money.

Put another way, as a one-time deal, would you consider spending $1 for a 1-in-a-million chance to win $100,000? For many people, that isn't a totally unreasonable bargain. But if I ask you that 10,000 times, the cost becomes spending $10,000 for a 1-in-100 chance to win $100,000. That's the real problem with the predatory nature of the lottery.

> I don't think most people know this.

You don't think most people know they're gambling when they buy a lottery ticket?

I grew up around some businesses that sold various lottery products. I'm not trying to sound mean or dismissive at all when I say this, just strictly matter of fact: I talked to a large and incredible variety of idiots and uneducated people that bought lottery tickets, whether scratch-offs or traditional Powerball type. They all universally knew the odds were bad. Universally.

They also figured that for a few dollars - which most of them could easily afford here and there - those were the best odds they were ever going to have.

I concur with this, and also add that the smaller winnings accrued along the way adds to their sense of validation.

They spend $1000 on tickets, and the day where their next $5 ends up winning them $100 on a scratch-off makes it all worth it.

You don't think that the people who play the lottery every day but only win an occasional $20 or so realize they're losing money?

Most lottery ticket buyers may be low income, but that doesn't mean they're stupid.