oh well,back to working for a living tomorrow,dont know whats up with these shops,i walk in every Tuesday and Friday for the euro and say can I have a winning lottery ticket please,they never do give me said ticket,thinking of phoning Camelot and ask them when its my turn,as I say back to the grind tomorrow on my wagon
truckman020:
oh well,back to working for a living tomorrow,dont know whats up with these shops,i walk in every Tuesday and Friday for the euro and say can I have a winning lottery ticket please,they never do give me said ticket,thinking of phoning Camelot and ask them when its my turn,as I say back to the grind tomorrow on my wagon
I’ve seen the future mate, and you’re due a win straight after me! 
By my calculations, it’s just you, me and 114 million other people! 
Evil8Beezle:
truckman020:
oh well,back to working for a living tomorrow,dont know whats up with these shops,i walk in every Tuesday and Friday for the euro and say can I have a winning lottery ticket please,they never do give me said ticket,thinking of phoning Camelot and ask them when its my turn,as I say back to the grind tomorrow on my wagonI’ve seen the future mate, and you’re due a win straight after me!
By my calculations, it’s just you, me and 114 million other people!
so we are in with a chance then,great stuff
Odds of winning are one in 45 million since they upped the numbers to 59. You’d need to buy a lottery ticket every minute of every day for 90 years to win and dont’ buy one for Saturday before Friday because you’ve got more of a chance of dying than winning.
Conor:
Odds of winning are one in 45 million since they upped the numbers to 59. You’d need to buy a lottery ticket every minute of every day for 90 years to win and dont’ buy one for Saturday before Friday because you’ve got more of a chance of dying than winning.
That’s the UK lottery, the OP said euro millions…
I’ve played with the same line every week since the lottery began…reckon if I won the jackpot now I’d just be getting my money back
It’s a tax for the mathematically challenged.
Euromillions odds are somewhat more than 116,000,000:1 (that’s one hundred and sixteen million to one against you winning the jackpot). Your chances of dying before the lottery is drawn are actually greater than your chances of winning, on account of the fact that ticket sales close about 90 minutes before the draw, and you’d need to buy the ticket with less than 15 minutes to go to stand a better chance of winning then dying.
And no, it doesn’t stop me buying a ticket either 
Santa:
It’s a tax for the mathematically challenged.
But the thing is, that the advantages that would come from winning a large amount of money (which thousands of people have done) far outweigh the disappointment of losing the £2 stake. Additionally, numerous “good causes” have been helped by lottery funding, the vast majority of which would have had no other way of obtaining funding.
So I play, without any genuine expectation of winning a large sum of money, but content to be funding the restoration of historic buildings, hospices, tree planting, holidays for disabled people etc etc etc.
I often see that flying finger going overhead. Despite me waving away like some marooned sailor stuck on desert island Brit… 
Harry Monk:
Santa:
It’s a tax for the mathematically challenged.But the thing is, that the advantages that would come from winning a large amount of money (which thousands of people have done) far outweigh the disappointment of losing the £2 stake. Additionally, numerous “good causes” have been helped by lottery funding, the vast majority of which would have had no other way of obtaining funding.
So I play, without any genuine expectation of winning a large sum of money, but content to be funding the restoration of historic buildings, hospices, tree planting, holidays for disabled people etc etc etc.
everytime someone wins the big one I say I am going to find out where they are and demand my two quid back,lol
“A lottery is a tax upon imbeciles”
Dr Samuel Johnson
If you want to do a lottery do premium bonds. At least you’ll get your stake back if nothing else.
I personally think the lottery has been polluted. Used to be special, one night a week on a Saturday. Pound a go, jackpots big every week. There was a kind of buzz about it. Too much extra crap going on now.
Harry Monk:
Santa:
It’s a tax for the mathematically challenged.But the thing is, that the advantages that would come from winning a large amount of money (which thousands of people have done) far outweigh the disappointment of losing the £2 stake. Additionally, numerous “good causes” have been helped by lottery funding, the vast majority of which would have had no other way of obtaining funding.
So I play, without any genuine expectation of winning a large sum of money, but content to be funding the restoration of historic buildings, hospices, tree planting, holidays for disabled people etc etc etc.
I’m with ya there, we know it’s highly unlikely we will win, but as you say, about half of the money goes to charity.
Plus there is a chance, no matter how slim, IT COULD BE ME!!!
P.S. I don’t know how many tickets are sold each time, but I wouldn’t grumble if I ONLY won the millionaire raffle!
Actually, both Premium bonds and the ordinary lottery are considered duff in “compounded financial attrition” terms - the same as 1917 war bonds.
You are guaranteed to lose 99% of your money in your own lifetime, assuming one puts money into them on a regular basis.
Even the max £40k in premium bonds yields well below 1% - below the real rate of inflation, thereby losing the difference gradually over time. The longer you hold them - the more you lose.
Thus, premium bonds - like the Lottery and war bonds are nothing but “Government Rake upon Imbeciles who are unable to calculate the effect of compounding”.
The best bonds are zero coupon bonds - assuming the issuing body doesn’t go ■■■■-up over the duration. They even allow you to calculate exactly what your return will be at the outset. 
Winseer:
Actually, both Premium bonds and the ordinary lottery are considered duff in “compounded financial attrition” terms - the same as 1917 war bonds.You are guaranteed to lose 99% of your money in your own lifetime, assuming one puts money into them on a regular basis.
Even the max £40k in premium bonds yields well below 1% - below the real rate of inflation, thereby losing the difference gradually over time. The longer you hold them - the more you lose.
Thus, premium bonds - like the Lottery and war bonds are nothing but “Government Rake upon Imbeciles who are unable to calculate the effect of compounding”.
The best bonds are zero coupon bonds - assuming the issuing body doesn’t go ■■■■-up over the duration. They even allow you to calculate exactly what your return will be at the outset.
Gotta be in it to win it dude, do you buy a lottery ticket expecting a return or do you buy it with the hope of winning x million quid…
merc0447:
If you want to do a lottery do premium bonds. At least you’ll get your stake back if nothing else.
Buying PB is about as smart as buying over 50’s life cover from Micheal Parkinson, the interest rate on PB is pants, your actually better off sticking it in the bank and getting 1-2% interest.
Harry Monk:
But the thing is, that the advantages that would come from winning a large amount of money (which thousands of people have done) far outweigh the disappointment of losing the £2 stake. Additionally, numerous “good causes” have been helped by lottery funding, the vast majority of which would have had no other way of obtaining funding.So I play, without any genuine expectation of winning a large sum of money, but content to be funding the restoration of historic buildings, hospices, tree planting, holidays for disabled people etc etc etc.
+1.
I realise that I’ve got virtually no chance of winning, but as I also volunteer on a lottery-funded restoration project, I don’t mind “losing” the money.
Of course, while the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 45 million, the odds of getting something are much higher - you also have a 1 in 97 chance of winning £25, for example.
I figure that there are worse ways of wasting £4/week - visiting Starbucks, for example…
I don’t mind sacrificing £2 (less than a pint) a week for a minute chance of becoming a multi millionaire.
I had the same numbers for 20 something years, when it went up to £2 a go (£200 a year) I packed it in. Now I have the excitement of worrying that my numbers will come up.