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January 19, 2021 Hey, self-righteous anti-lottery crowd ... LIGHTEN
UP 
The
Mega Millions jackpot is up to $850 million. The Powerball jackpot is up to $730 million. The Colorado Lotto jackpot is up to $2.6 million. Muse about any of that and the automatic, kneejerk, lamely repetitive and predictable
reaction from many is: It's a tax on the stupid.  Of course, this usually comes from those who have
just spent $8.22 for a Grande, Iced, Sugar-Free, Vanilla Latte With Soy Milk. They also have no sense of humor or whimsy. I'm actually taking this far more serious here than I should. It's just that the self-righteous attitude
offends me. 
There's nothing wrong with saying, hey, somebody's got to win -- the "big" mullti-state
games or the state lotto -- and spending a few bucks taking a shot. It's parking meter money. It's fun. Whether you
buy a ticket for every drawing for both Powerball and Mega Millions, or wait until the jackpot for either gets over $100 million,
or whatever is your system or pleasure. They have those news conferences and take pictures of the ceremonial, oversized checks, don't
they? Or is that fake news? OK, now go ahead and rattle off the statistics about probability and odds. Go ahead, parrots: You have the same chance of winning whether you buy or don't buy a ticket, of
any denomination. It's like seventeen
gazillion trillion million to one. Only a fool plays those odds. I know
all that when I walk away with the tickets. I know what's next. My goodness, there are people spending a lot of money -- not just
a few bucks here and a few bucks there -- investing in the impossible. We can debate that part of it another time, but the
presumptuousness of assuming that is the pervasive approach is maddening. My system? I wait until the multi-state game
jackpots get so high that they draw all the attention ... then also buy the Colorado Lotto ticket, intending to sneak in the
back door, so to speak. When I win the $2.6 million Wednesday,
I'll be asking for advice on whether to take half at once or in annuity payments for the full total. Of course, I wouldn't
turn down either the Mega Millions or Powerball jackpots, either. Stay tuned.
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