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jimrandomh comments on On dollars, utility, and crack cocaine - Less Wrong
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A good reason for not playing the lottery is that you can get better odds by playing roulette, or using other forms of gambling. I am unimpressed by arguing against gambling in general because it's average dollar payoff is negative. That argument is ridiculous.
The discussion about lotteries that I presume lead to this thread was correct, though. It didn't talk about expected winnings, it talked about utility. There are cases where playing the lottery has a high utility - and if the utility is too low, then you shouldn't play.
Then the problem is with the argument, not the conclusion. A better argument against gambling is to observe what happens to gamblers, who generally end up broke.
That's habitual gamblers. Gambling is OK sometimes - for example, if it helps you to obtain your ferry fare home, thus saving you a long walk.