Gamblers have some odd ways of thinking when it comes to a jackpot frenzy. A friend of mine told me with some relief that a lucky player had finally won the $800 million lottery last week.
There had been people lined up around buildings to buy tickets in New Jersey and (in the interest of full disclosure) I was one of them. But I got my tickets during a routine stop at the store so I like to think I didn’t bring any additional pressure to bear on the system.
It did get me wondering, however, why people seem to go bonkers when Powerball or Mega Millions when the jackpot frenzy starts approaching $500 million or some number that could pay the national debt of some small countries.
It’s a refrain heard over and over: some variation of “I usually only play when it gets this big.” Really. Like $50 million or even $500,000 wouldn’t change your life?
Read more at North Jersey.
