Or sometimes I use my instincts. If I see a number over and over, I play it, and it usually comes up. Government lotteries in the United States date to the Colonial period. But they have taken on the trappings of a big business only in recent times. Thirty-seven states and Washington sell lottery tickets through 225,000 outlets, according to the lottery trade association.
Lottery tickets are fat-free.
They don't trade on graphic images of sex and violence. They don't lead to cancer or car wrecks. The profits go to the common good. Those who were not fortunate in the drawing of genes and inheritance can venture a chance equal to everyone else to benefit financially. Some critics decry the lottery as regressive, because it draws disproportionately from those with the least to spare.