ASSIGNMENT | What would you do if you won the jackpot?

Discussion week #2
What would you do if you won the jackpot?
It’s the ultimate dream. Hitting that massive lottery jackpot and all your wildest dreams are suddenly a possibility at your fingertips. It is estimated that roughly 5.8 billion dollars is spent on all lottery methods in the sunshine state each year. Which means that a typical Florida resident spends an average of $273. 22. (Varian, 2019 Tampa Bay Times) Of course not all of us play the lottery. But most of us have taken that chance at least a couple times when that Powerball gets too big to resist. My dad has always played the lottery. I don’t know his numbers, but he sure does and plays the same consistent numbers every week. When I play, I tend to gravitate toward the scratch offs instead. We all, at some point, have dreamed of what we would do. I must admit, I oddly get convinced I will win. So much so that I am legitimately surprised each time that I didn’t. Silly but true. Statistically you are probably more likely to get struck by lightning in Florida then you are to win the lottery. With the chances or winning the big jackpot coming in at a 1 in 175 million and getting hit by lightning at 1 in 3000. (Lake, Rebecca 2019 Credit Donkey)(Hiltner, Edvin 2021 Lottery codex) Of course, that’s not how are brains work. We get lost in the possibility of it all. The vivid trips we would take, pay off debt, buy a home (or two), retire, get a tesla. I am a firm believer in the idea that you make your own happiness. Money cannot make you happy. However, it can make things easier such as paying bills and letting you destress enough to be able to get to your happiest self. We have five children in our home. This makes it hard to do a lot of just normal family activities. Even going to a movie costs a fortune. Think about how much it might cost for a family of 7 to go to Disney? Or to fly somewhere on vacation!! Because of that I think that is the main reason I play from time to time. The idea of traveling with my family. Showing them the world. The best method I think is scratch offs. They have a website in Florida that shows you what tickets have the biggest jackpots still outstanding. I use that guide when feeling lucky and buy 3-4 of the same ticket (very important) based on the website’s statistics. Statistically the scratch offs have a winner every 3-4 tickets. If you buy different tickets, you have less chance of winning. However, I do play the Powerball as well sometimes. When I do I use the most frequently drawn numbers, that is the numbers that are statistically drawn most often. Other than a few minor wins from my scratch offs, I have sadly never won anything big. My dad won once a little less than 6 figures when I was very little. But to dream is human. And I will continue to do so.

References:
What Floridians spend on lottery (Varian, Bill June 20th 2019 Tampa Bay Times websites)
Lottery statistics (Lake, Rebecca May 9th 2019 Credit Donkey website)
Lottery vs Lightning statistics (Hiltner, Edvin November 15th 2021 LotteryCodex website)

SAMPLE RESPONSE

Discussion Response
The response to the discussion question starts in an appealing fashion. The first statements provide a clear position of the author on what it means to win a lottery. The statistical information about the value of jackpots in the contemporary sports explores a clear view that the author understands what it means to win a lottery and especially the benefits that come by. The author gives a clear background history of how lottery…