So I came up with a plan, I'm always hearing about people who won big at gambling but they never talk about thier losses. So I wanted to see what would happen if I kept track. The plan was simple, buy a lottery ticket once a week and track my spending compared to how much I win. Of course I didn't stick to the plan and started spending too much based on "good numbers" or "someone just bought multiple tickets, this pack is gonna hit" and other gambling traps. And at the end of the year I was in the negative, but that was because some guy came in, asked for specific tickets and after they were printed decided they were all wrong so I was forced to pay for them, honestly I would have ended they year with a $20 profit otherwise. Anyhow I've decided for 2026 I was going to restart the experiment and stick to the rules, very specific rules:
One scratch ticket a week to be purchased on Saturday only. No good numbers, no strong feelings, no distractions.
The tickets will be purchased based on the amount in the Tip Jar, the money that people leave behind on purpose or by accident, including any money found outside of work.
If I find more than $20 the money will roll over into the Alternative Funds, which was created when I had a windfall of $200 which could be counted under "found money".
Buy tickets from games I haven't purchased before. I plan to start off including last year's tickets, if I already bought them I'm go for a new one.
I'll also buy Powerball tickets but only when the jackpot exceeds a billion dollars and the money will come out of the Alternative Funds.
So, for the rest of the year I'm gonna try to stick to the rules and see what the total is in December of 2026.
To start the year someone won the Powerball so I won't have to buy any for a while, so I won't be going into the negative column right away, until I lose on my first scratch ticket.
Week One
I started off the new year and the new experiment by sticking to the rules. I had $20.66 in the Tip Jar (Christmas people were either really generous or forgetful). There was a $10 ticket in the rack I hadn't bought, no magic numbers, not "someone just bought 5 so it's due", nope, just the one I needed to buy for the experiment. It had a potential payout of $500 and I started off my new experiment with...a $40 win! It's a great way to kick things off and if I don't get crazy this time I might end up in the positive column.
Week Two
So, just one day after buying a ticket to start my new experiment I was horribly tempted. There are a series of Christmas themed tickets and I realized one of them was at #25. Get it, Christmas, the 25th? Plus it was a ticket from a game I hadn't played before. However, I was four days into my new experiment and I vowed to not fall into gambling traps. Then a customer came in and wanted $21 in gas on pump #7. 21, the winning hand in Blackjack, 7 the winning roll in craps. It was as if the Universe was screaming at me "Buy The Ticket!" But no, I refused to give in to temptation, I was going to stick to the rules and if the ticket was still there on Saturday I would buy it. The next day the ticket was gone, someone had bought it. I asked my coworker if she knew if it was a winner and she told me the person checked it before leaving and sure enough, the Universe had lied to me, it was a losing ticket, I saved three bucks. The next day I got a message from the Lottery, someone had cashed in the last jackpot ticket and they were pulling the game. In the end I didn't buy any tickets from that game. And I still have a Saturday ticket to look forward to.
I made a decision that if the Tip Jar exceeded a certain amount I would transfer some of it to the Alternate Funds so that I wasn't tempted to get crazy with the spending. Well, at last count there was $31. 77 in tips so I moved $20 and left the $11.77 for future ticket purchases. Plus it made up for the $42 I had to spend on tickets I didn't want.
Ticket buying day rolled around. I made it without breaking the rules. Since I rolled the $20 into the Alternate Funds jar I had $11.87 in the Tip Jar. I got a new $5 ticket but instead of buying it I had decided to buy the $2 ticket from a game that might soon be coming to an end since there was only one unclaimed $1000 ticket left. Plus it was loose in the the case, I considered that a sign from the lottery gods. So I bought it and... didn't win. but I've stuck to the rules so I don't mind having lost. Now if I can just resist temptation for the next 7 days.
Week Three
This was a week of temptation. Sunday was January 11th, 1/11. One of the games was at #111 and I considered buying it at 1:11. It is a $2 ticket with a potential jackpot of $500, but it was a game I had bought before. I kept reminding myself that numbers don't mean anything and let it slide.
One of the things that bug me is when a game is down to the last ticket in the pack, if I could sell that one I could put out the new pack. It is a $10 and has a potential payout of $5000, however I had bought the game before so it was a multiple violations of the rules, so I didn't buy it. Later my coworker told me she had sold the ticket and it wasn't a winner. See, obeying the rules paid off.
The lottery has a new second chance game with a potential jackpot of $4000 and someone left behind a ticket so I've started entering those. It doesn't cost me anything and we'll see. I need to go through the tickets I had saved from past games and see how many of them already had the drawing so I can throw them away.
Ticket buying day finally rolled around and I had $14.18 in the Tip Jar. I had recently got a new game, a $5 ticket with a potential $5000 jackpot. It wasn't a winner but it's a new second chance game with the chance to win $4000. As of this point there are no games over $3, for now.
Week Four
I'm starting to think that Sunday the day after "ticket buying day" is the most dangerous of the week. There is a set of tickets and they have interesting numbers, the Game is 659, the Pack is 6594. When I first put them out I was tempted to buy ticket number #004 however I said I was going to stick to the rules and not buy the first 5 tickets, a total of $25 by the way. When I came back to work it was well past ticket #004 and I forgot about it. This week I realized it was up to ticket #054 but I figured I would wait to see if ticket #059 came up, then the number sequence would be 6596594059, but I can't justify spending the money to get to the last ticket. It was a slow week so I figured the ticket might pop up on Saturday and even though I already bought one from the game and I know that numbers don't mean anything it would still be fun just to find out. Then, towards the end of my shift two guys came in and went nuts buying tickets. They kept winning and losing and buying random tickets. In the end they walked away $50 up and had bought multiple tickets from the packs. The game with the good numbers was up to ticket #058, I could break the rules, buy two tickets for $10 and see what happens. However just then my coworker walked in and we did a shift change so I left the tickets behind, to see what would happen tomorrow, however... Tomorrow rolled around and I came down with the flu, and didn't go to work. I was going to have to wait for another day to see if it was still available or did I miss the opportunity.
The good news is the guys on a buying spree bought five second chance tickets but left them behind. So now to enter them on line and see if I wen anything extra. Bad news, the entry deadline for one of the games has passed so that is four less tickets entered for the second chance.
Ticket Buying day rolled around. I had $10.36 in the Tip Jar but I didn't spend it all, I had bought all the available higher priced tickets so I went for a $3 one. I had several choices but I figured I would go with the one that had a potential jackpot of $30,000. I checked the ticket and, holy cow it was a $10 winner! I actually came out ahead. I guess following my self imposed rules worked out after all.
By the way, someone won the Powerball so I won't have to worry about that coming around for a while, probably for at least 3 months. That's money I'll save.
Week Five
This has been a really slow week and the ticket with the "perfect number" is still in the case, behind a ticket with a not perfect number. All week long I've been tempted to buy both just to see, and all week long I've managed to avoid buying them. Thankfully the next time I am at work will be Ticket Buying Day and so no matter what happens I'm not spending an unnecessary $10. There was another ticket that had an interesting set of numbers but someone bought it then checked it and it wasn't a winner, once again proving that numbers don't mean anything.
When I went in on ticket buying day rolled around the game with the good numbers was gone, someone had bought it. Now I'll never know if it was a winner or a waste of money. That could be the worse thing about gambling, wondering about the bets you didn't make.
On ticket buying day I had $8.32 in the tip jar. There was a $2 Christmas game I hadn't played so I decided to go with that one. It has a potential jackpot of $500 which would be a good payoff. I didn't win, but it's only $2 so I'll actually end the first month of my new experiment in the positive column.
My January Total
I spent $22 on scratch tickets.
I didn't buy any Powerball tickets.
Won $50
Didn't find any winning tickets that someone else had lost.
I didn't get any real tips.
I entered 5 Second Chance tickets on line
At the end of the month I am up $28
I also have $194.46 in the Alternate Fund
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