Quote: Dolly Dagger @ October 4 2009, 10:17 PM BSTWhat do you think about people who win millions and then refuse to change their lifestyle, staying in the same modest home etc?
Good for them. I'd follow the 'keep half, give half to friends and family who need it more' sort of thing. I wouldn't be too extravagant.
I f**king hate these nuevo riche chavs who've never done a days work in their f**king lives and buy gold porshes and gravel their drives with diamonds and other vulger perverse shit. Ban the lottery I say, just to prevent more of them.
£65 was my record in circa 1995 but there was one draw where I got one correct and the other five were all just one number out ie 22 instead of 23 etc.
Quote: Moonstone @ October 4 2009, 11:06 PM BSTI f**king hate these nuevo riche chavs who've never done a days work in their f**king lives and buy gold porshes and gravel their drives with diamonds and other vulger perverse shit. Ban the lottery I say, just to prevent more of them.
The lottery does actually serve a purpose. It provides funding for sports, arts, heritage, enviromental projects etc. Without that money, these projects would suffer greatly. As some who works in the arts, I am very aware of the difficulties of getting funding and awards for all have given individuals and communities oppotunities and experiences they would otherwise not have. Yes annoying chavs win and wind everyone up but I take comfort in the fact that some chain smoking baby popping foul mouthed bellend who probably would tell me to f**k off if I asked for a donation towards a good cause helped pay for a theatre games workshop for children with disabilites without knowing.
I don't know how it works there, but in the U.S. the states are in charge of their various lotteries. Large amounts of lottery proceeds are funneled into schools, but that just means the states can spend the money they would have allocated to schools on something else. I don't think the schools are suddenly flush with cash once a state begins a lottery.
Quote: RubyMae - Glamourous Snowdrop at Large @ October 5 2009, 12:05 AM BSTThe lottery does actually serve a purpose. It provides funding for sports, arts, heritage, enviromental projects etc. Without that money, these projects would suffer greatly. As some who works in the arts, I am very aware of the difficulties of getting funding and awards for all have given individuals and communities oppotunities and experiences they would otherwise not have. Yes annoying chavs win and wind everyone up but I take comfort in the fact that some chain smoking baby popping foul mouthed bellend who probably would tell me to f**k off if I asked for a donation towards a good cause helped pay for a theatre games workshop for children with disabilites without knowing.
You tell'em Roo!
Quote: RubyMae - Glamourous Snowdrop at Large @ October 5 2009, 12:05 AM BSTThe lottery does actually serve a purpose. It provides funding for sports, arts, heritage, enviromental projects etc. Without that money, these projects would suffer greatly. As some who works in the arts, I am very aware of the difficulties of getting funding and awards for all have given individuals and communities oppotunities and experiences they would otherwise not have. Yes annoying chavs win and wind everyone up but I take comfort in the fact that some chain smoking baby popping foul mouthed bellend who probably would tell me to f**k off if I asked for a donation towards a good cause helped pay for a theatre games workshop for children with disabilites without knowing.
How did these things happen before the lottery then? Or is the lotto just a tax on the poor and stupid that enables governments to be spending the money they should be doing anyway on "good causes" on wars on foreign territory instead?
I'm just asking... I like to play cos I love a crazy gamble I have a squillionth of a chance of winning.
In the UK we just have one lottery for the whole nation and a percentage of tickets sales go into a scheme called Awards for all who providing funding for projects that benefit the community in some way.
Quote: DaButt @ October 5 2009, 12:08 AM BSTI don't know how it works there, but in the U.S. the states are in charge of their various lotteries. Large amounts of lottery proceeds are funneled into schools, but that just means the states can spend the money they would have allocated to schools on something else. I don't think the schools are suddenly flush with cash once a state begins a lottery.
Over here there is only a single national lottery (with any clout). It was government founded and then franchised. It's regulated by government and independently. The central charity fund is pretty much completely separated from state spending - although projects such as funding for London 2012 have received substantial lottery-funding. Otherwise, all arts/sports/community project funding from the lottery is based on a transparent grants application process. The amount of money from the purchase of a lottery ticket which goes towards charitable funds is regulated in law. 
My father-in-law won $2,000 on the lottery with a scratch off and went to the local casino and lost every penny and $500 more. What a nice guy!
I remember Vic Reeves coming up with an idea that all big lottery winners had to start up a business or employ something like ten other people, so that the wealth spread. It was actually quite a good idea (so good I can't remember it).
Quote: Badge @ October 5 2009, 12:11 AM BSTHow did these things happen before the lottery then? Or is the lotto just a tax on teh poor and stupid that enable governemnts to be spending money they should be doing anyway on "good causes" to be spent on wars on foreign territory?
I'm just asking... I like to play cos I love a crazy gamble I have a squillionth of a chance of winning.
Well I can't speak for all projects but I know for the arts, back in the day, you would have to request funding from the Goverment which was like getting blood out of a stone (They like spending money on things like schools and hospitals blah blah...) or come up with it through whoring yourself to sailors hence the tension between Awards for all and the Navy.
Quote: Tim Walker @ October 5 2009, 12:13 AM BSTThe amount of money from the purchase of a lottery ticket which goes towards charitable funds is regulated in law.
Same here, if I'm not mistaken. But if there isn't a law that says something like "The government will budget $300 billion for education yearly, will increase it every year by an amount pegged to inflation and will add additional funding if it is determined that the quality of education is lagging" then it just means that the government will spend what it would have spent on education somewhere else.
How much lottery money has been spent on schools? Is there anyone out there who will say that schools and our childrens' education in general are better than before the lottery?
And that reminds me that I saw a sign today that the Texas lottery jackpot is up to $105 million. I need to spend a few dollars "for education and the arts."
Quote: RubyMae - Glamourous Snowdrop at Large @ October 5 2009, 12:16 AM BSTWell I can't speak for all projects but I know for the arts, back in the day, you would have to request funding from the Goverment which was like getting blood out of a stone (They like spending money on things like schools and hospitals blah blah...) or come up with it through whoring yourself to sailors hence the tension between Awards for all and the Navy.
I was reading a review of a book today about Georgian London. Turns out that 1 in 5 women in the capital were in some way involved in prostitution. Revenues from the sex industries funded the building of loads of great London architecture, many artistic projects (including supporting artists, playwrights and theatrical troupes) and quite a few educational establishments.
Perhaps we should have funded London 2012 this way? 
Quote: Tim Walker @ October 5 2009, 12:22 AM BSTI was reading a review of a book today about Georgian London. Turns out that 1 in 5 women in the capital were in some way involved in prostitution. Revenues from the sex industries funded the building of loads of great London architecture, many artistic projects (including supporting artists, playwrights and theatrical troupes) and quite a few educational establishments.
Perhaps we should have funded London 2012 this way?
With Boris Johnson involved don't think it too far-fetched!