Lottery

I bought two lottery tickets yesterday - one scratch ticket and a Mega Millions bet. I did not win more than $10 million but I did win $4 on the scratch ticket. So I'm not a wonderous magical person, in case you were wondering. I am, at best, a mediocre magical person.

Anyway, I looked on line for more lottery facts but alas really did not find that much, aside from the fact that it's mostly the people who can least afford it who buy lottery tickets. That makes sense.

I did, however, review my notes from the March breakfast meeting of the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce, where they were talking lottery and casinos.

A minister named Dave that I met at the breakfast told me that at little bodegas in Lawrence (where there are 65 lottery outlets within 12 square miles,* according to State Sen. Susan Tucker of Andover) people buy a loaf of bread, a quart of milk and take their change in lottery tickets. Dave related a story to me about a boy with his father in a bodega asking his father if he could get some candy and the father saying no, there wasn't enough money, but then proceeding to purchase lottery tickets. Dave said that happens day after day after day in the poor neighborhoods.

"It's hard to convince (other) people how many people have so little," he continued. "There are children in Lawrence who go to school every day without underwear. Their whole wardrobe is from Goodwill."

*To put this in perspective, Tucker said there are just 12 lottery outlets in 60 square miles in Andover, a wealthy community.

So if the cities and towns in MA get a share in the lottery proceeds, does Lawrence get more money than Andover because it has more outlets?

This, and other questions, will be answered on tomorrow's episode of "As the State Turns (a profit)."