Results of the $100 Scratch Off Lottery Project!
For anyone who missed it, on Friday I decided to embark on a $100 Scratch Off Lottery Project.At first it was purely for entertainment, but after generating some buzz on Twitter I decided to donate all my winnings to charity - specifically Project Hopeful.
Before I get into the results though, I wanted to thank all those who have graciously decided to match my contributions! What started off as a financially stupid game has now ended with a handful of money for our charity :) So a major thank you to JerryB, Sid, Forest, Michele, RainyDaySaver, and Brad - you guys are awesome.
And now, the results:
Well my friends, the party has ended and I feel hungover. For all the build up (and hope) this weekend, the results really blew. As expected as it may sound, I really thought I'd win a lot more than I did! And not because I was feeling extra lucky lately either (which I was) but because I usually win at least every other time when playing on a whim. Like an idiot I was just hoping it would carry over into this little game of ours ;) Oops.But with all adventures in life, there is always something you can take away from it. I'll be getting into that in a bit, but first I thought it would be fun to share some interesting stats from this weekend's project (I created a gallery of pictures too):
- When placed end to end, the 100 tickets reached 400 inches long! Or roughly 33 feet.
- Stacked on top of each other it was about 2 inches thick (1 inch if smooshed).
- The store clerk wrapped all the tickets in a white paper bag. I found this strange for some reason.
- The odds of winning on back of tickets: 1 in 4.21
- The REAL odds of me winning: 1 in 5 (20 winners, 80 losers - bleh!)
- It took me 1 1/2 hours to scratch them all off.
- Then another 5 mins to make sure I didn't miss any!
- I did them all with my right pointer finger.
- By the end I had a MAJOR headache, followed by weird finger sensations?!
- I was also frustrated, pissed off, grumpy, and overall just sad.
- $1 winners: 12
- $2 winners: 4
- $3 winners: 2
- $6 winners: 2
- MY TOTAL WINNINGS: $38.00
- Add in JerryB's match of $38.00
- Along with Sid's match of $20.00
- And Forest's match of $38.00
- With Michele's match of $38.00
- And RainyDaySaver's of $25.00
- And finally Brad's of $25.00
Takeaway Thoughts:
When all was said and done though, I came away much more enlightened. I wasn't the happiest person to be around when finished, but I did learn from this. Here is what I wrote minutes after the last ticket was scratched (I wanted to get my feelings down while they were hot & fresh):Sometimes it's more exciting thinking about things than doing them. The *idea* of all those lottery tickets was awesome!!! Going to the store and buying them was awesome! The thinking about "what ifs", the buzz around it, the whole damn thing was awesome - right up until the point of scratch time. That's when things started sucking.
Gambling brings out the emotions in you. As soon as I began scratching them off I started getting super competitive. And then mad, and then happy!, and then sad, and then nervous, and then happy!, and then pissed, and then lucky!, and then totally embarrassed. Playing the lottery every now and then is one thing, but playing 100 times in a row is a TOTALLY different experience. You know the odds are greatly stacked against you, but it still doesn't make you feel any better when you lose 15 or 20 in a row. In fact, it seemed I only won in a row, or lost in a row (w/ the losing spurts being much longer). Truth be told, it was an emotional roller coaster.
Giving back is contagious. I was really happy knowing Project Hopeful would be getting all my winnings, but even more so after some of you decided to play along! While I wish I could have won a helluva lot more for them, it really does go to show what a wonderful community we have here. As soon as one person decided to match, 4 others hopped right on board and that really touched me quite a bit :) Before even scratching we had the opportunity to triple our winnings!
There really can be too much of a good thing. The first 30-40 tickets flew by like crazy and I enjoyed every last second of it. But the more I went along from that point, the less fun I started to have, and the more "chore-like" it became. Maybe it would have been better had I hit it big, but I think that's really the exception to the rule. That doesn't mean all the buzz and excitement leading up to it wasn't great (it was the best part!), but the act itself wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
In Summary
We didn't hit the jackpot friends, but I'd still call the $100 Scratch Off Project a success! We learned a little, struggled a little, were entertained a lot!, and all in all had a great time experimenting :) You won't see me doing it again anytime soon, but I'm really glad I can now check it off the list. And on top of it all we donated more than $200 to charity!!! Not too bad for a random post idea...I hope you guys enjoyed this! And if you want even more of this lottery craziness, check out today's post over at My Next Buck - It turns out I wasn't the only one to do something like this ;) Although I do hate him for beating me like that....See you all tomorrow!
--------------
PS: For anyone interested in Project Hopeful, here's some contact info:
Project Hopeful, NFP
P.O. Box 350
Plainfield, IL 60544
Phone: +1 815-823-3297
Website: ProjectHopeful.org
DONATE: Click the purple "Donate" Button on the right
E-mail: projecthopeful (at) projecthopeful (dot) org
posted by J. Money at
7:23 AM
33 Comments:
Aww man J, I was really hoping for more too, although I have to admit I didn't expect much. I don't want to be the guy that says I told you so so I'll instead be the guy that says thanks for entertaining the hell out of me! :D
I think it was a great way to have a little fun man and I was glad to see others jump in to donate. I agree! $200+ to charity is a success my friend!
I just tried to click the paypal link to donate but it says: Your last activity could not be completed. Let me know when it is fixed and I will complete my donation.
This little experiment has been a lot of fun to follow, J! Congratulations to Project Hopeful, and kudos to you for putting it together! I hear you re the highs and lows of gambling -- [violins][wonder_years]I guess you learned a little bit about yourself today.[/violins][/wonder_years] :-p But seriously, I'm sure you'll have a different perspective in the future when it comes to scratch offs.
Its all about the intentions and the interest that you built up and it all started out with a little tweet right?
Gambling is contagious, whether its sports betting, the stock market, or lotto tickets, something about it just gets your brain going in directions of imagination that is fun. Its always great to fantasize about winning the lottery isn't it?
Great work again and a great way to start thanksgiving week with a little charity work! DM or email me the addy to send the check while I still have money in my account!!!
Yeah, it was def. fun!
I also fixed the donation link too - you basically just have to click on the purple "donate" button on Project Hopeful's website on the right hand side. Thanks guys!
Too bad you didn't win more, but awesome that your charity of choice lucked out anyway. Interesting results!
Too bad you didn't win more, but it was a lot of fun! Just headed over and made my donation (and I rounded up to $40 because I like round numbers) :)
This is why I don't deal with gambling of any kind because I've wound up with the exact same results, the only 2 times I've tried to gamble.
Not my thing.
May also have been a result of my parents being hardcore (in my head) gamblers... turned all of us kids off gambling.
We call it the tax on the stupid. ("Hopeful" for my parents)
My donation is in -- sorry you didn't win more, but Project Hope is the big winner! =) Thanks for letting us play along!
Donation made J! Thanks again for taking one for the team. :D
This was a cool "experiment" even if you were left with a killer gambling hangover. And more than $200 for charity is awesome!
Hello! They make things called Quarters so you don't end up with weird finger sensations. LOL. That was a great experiment. Just shows that lotto tickets don't pay off and people can really come together for a great cause. Happy to see the results. :)
Excellent post, sir, and some good lessons learned.
I agree with the MFer above -- use a coin!
I was going to use a quarter, but I always feel like it's cheating. Real men use their fingers! haha...
Btw, when I was buying them the clerk said that a lot of people buy 1 of every ticket they have - so all the $1, $2, $5, $10, and $20 tickets. While I'm in no mood to get jacked again, I thought this was pretty interesting. Less tickets but bigger jackpots. Maybe when I'm famous as Dave Ramsey I'll give it another shot :)
Thanks J. for your support of project hopeful. :) And thanks also to your amazing supporters who aggreed to match. That's quite an impressive gesture. You guys rock. Thanks again--PH will use the money to serve widows and orphans who are living with HIV and AIDS in Ethiopia. I've seen the need firsthand, as I spent part of last year in Ethiopia when I adopted my own daughter there.
HILARIOUS J! GREAT work! I really did believe you'd make over $300 like I guessed. All it takes is just one!
THANK YOU ALL!!! This has been so much fun and such an awesome way to make a point AND to give much needed recognition to Project HOPEFUL, not to mention the generous donations.
I find it extra incredible as we strive to be the best financial stewards we can possibly be where it relates to Project HOPEFUL and all we set out to do. The source of this is all the more excellent!
Jessica, leave it to you for the spin!
Thank you again for all of the effort and your generosity. Thanks on behalf of the children living with HIV/AIDS across the world that we work to give voices to!
ALL for ONE,
Carolyn Twietmeyer
Executive Director
Project HOPEFUL, NFP
You're really an insightful guy, you know that? Are you sure you are not, like, 50 years old? I say that only because you can reflect and learn and many people never do that or at least don't get started till they're about double your age.
I especially like, "Sometimes it's more fun thinking about things than actually doing them."
My lesson today was: "Some people are just assholes, no matter how closely related to you they are, and no matter what you do, so it's not worth trying to figure out what you did [usually nothing] to cause it, and it's not worth figuring out why they are so negative and nasty, and not worth pointing out to them how bitter and mean they come off; you should just move on."
Posts like this are the precise reason personal finance blogs are different from so many other blog communities:
1. The community aspect: Turning J.'s $62 loss into a $222 gain for a charity? Where else would you see that?
2. Teaching a lesson: The lottery is a sucker's bet.
3. Bring the funny with the money: Never lose your sense of humor, even while losing a few bucks in the name of a good cause.
Keep doing what you're doing!
Although I didn't expect you to win millions I had hoped you would do better than I had predicted.
Like Forrest I rounded my donation up to $40.00
Hope that tingly feeling in your hands has gone away.
This was great. Congrats on winning something. You're great to do this and you're readers are awesome to contribute!
Wow. I was only off by a buck.
Yup, you were the big winner MBHunter!!! And you know what you win? A beer the next time I see you. Perhaps that will get you out more ;)
I think everyone's wondered what would happen if they bought a ton of tickets. So thanks for solving that question for us.
That said, I think the thing about gambling is pretty simple: Your mind remembers the good stuff (because it's unexpected) and dismisses the bad stuff (because it's expected).
Obviously, in the case of 100 tickets, the results can't really be shaken off easily. But ask yourself how often you REALLY win when you think to buy a scratch ticket. Is it actually around every other time? Because chances are that it's less than that. Still, your brain remembers when you win, because it's unexpected and good. That sticks in the memory.
Perhaps your luck really is that good. But most of us just remember our win ratio as being higher because we remember the good stuff more sharply. And if the non-winning times just sort of slide out of memory, it can easily seem like we're really lucky.
It's all just part of my theory that the human brain was not at all meant for this kind of society, poor thing. Still, at least we have bright, shiny/flashy things to look at. Which is what I'm off to do.
i was really hoping you would win more for your charity. however, i love the idea of matching your contributions.
Love the experiment! While it sounds crazy at first, it’s no worse than buying $100 tickets for house lotteries… I’ve done that three times while barely even thinking about it!
What a great idea!
But it does illustrate, with a flourish, what a scam the numbers game is, and how shameful it is that state governments took it over from the Mob. At least when you bought a number from a street runner you had a better chance of winning.
The lottery exploits the ignorant, who generally are poorest people in our society, the ones who need that hundred bucks a lot more than they need a stack of worthless tickets.
Thanks for all your support and words everyone! It was one of the most fun, and enlightening, projects I've done in quite some time :) I'm glad I was able to share it all with you! And a HUGE thanks again for all who donated and egged me on.
Looks like Mighty Bargain Hunter and I almost nailed your total exactly with our guesses. If we are playing by The Price is Right rules, then I would technically win I think :)
mbhunter: $39
nodebtplan: $36
I'll take my genius crown now ;)
How about a Beer instead?! You drive over here and get it, and it's all yours my man. haha...
This was an awesome idea! Good for you, for giving all your winnings to charity.
Thanks man, just trying to have some fun with it all ;) Considering creating a spinoff of this so keep your eyes open!
And actually, your experiment might have MORE of a positive effect than
you gave yourself credit for, because some of the proceeds from
state lotteries go to education.... :D
Yeah, I know right! Def good stuff...makes the lottery not as "bad" ;)
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