Getting a lottery ticket is a great way to make some extra money for yourself. A lottery is a game that has been around for centuries. The first known records of a lottery date back to the Chinese Han Dynasty. One of the oldest recorded signs of a lottery game is a keno slip, a game that uses a set of dice. These days, you can buy a lottery ticket for an entry fee at a variety of locations. There are even lotteries that are multistate, meaning that they have different odds of winning.
First recorded signs of a lottery are keno slips from the Chinese Han Dynasty
Probably the first recorded sign of a lottery is the keno slips of the Chinese Han Dynasty (205-187 BC). The game, which uses about 120 characters, is said to have helped fund the construction of the Great Wall of China.
The Chinese Book of Songs mentions the game, stating that it involved “drawing lots” and “the drawing of wood”. The first known lottery in Europe was held in the Roman Empire, around 200 B.C., and was probably held during dinner parties. The Roman Emperor Augustus organised a lottery to raise funds for repairs to the City of Rome.
Some governments have regulated or banned lotteries, while others have endorsed them. The Louisiana lottery, for example, involved bribery and was eventually banned in 1964.
Multistate lotteries have different odds of winning
Using random number generating software, multistate lotteries such as Mega Millions, Cash4Life and Lucky for Life produce more than tens to hundreds of millions of tickets per week. While the likes may be tamer, the odds of winning are still stacked. The lottery aficionado would do well to read the odds before jumping in. A recent study in the journal Scientific Research suggests that the number of lottery ticket sales is on the rise. In the UK, the lottery industry is estimated to be worth more than one billion pounds per year. Fortunately for the hard-working lottery fan, the UK’s multistate lottery operators have been known to be a tad more cordial than their North American counterparts.
Latest big winners of the lottery
Buying a lottery ticket can be a life changer, but sometimes a lot of money can ruin a life. Many of the recent big winners of the lottery have made a lot of bad choices and spent money that should have been spent on something else. Some of them even ruined their lives.
Jack Whittaker was a West Virginia construction worker who won the $314 million Powerball jackpot in 2002. He spent his winnings on a variety of different things, including giving money to strangers and even donating funds to churches and a local strip club. He also donated money to diner waitresses.
Gloria McKenzie, who won a Powerball drawing that was worth $590 million, also had a lot of bad choices. She did not choose the 30-year payout option, which meant she would only get her money back in installments. She also said she was cut by someone, so she was only able to collect the full $278 million after taxes.