I-Like-To-Bike

You could probably use your time and stooping more profitably by picking up discarded bottles and cans and returning them for the deposit. And be just as likely to win a big Lottery jackpot, ya know, like next to no chance.

B. Carfree

The OP sounds familiar. My next door neighbors, who make ten to fifteen car trips per day, decided to tell their car-addicted guests to park in/across my driveway. When I finally lost patience with this behavior and called the police, they tried to tell the police that somehow my driveway wasn't a "real" driveway (presumably because my family doesn't drive a car on it). I gave the cop the relevant city ordinance and she informed my neighbors that if they persisted in their behavior she would cite the next car that parked across my driveway and tow the one after that. Two days ago they used up the citation step, and I suspect they will have one towed later this year.

Oddly, until about four years ago the woman next door used to ride her bike for the 1.5 mile trip to work. Since then, she has changed to only travelling by car. In that same time frame, she has put on about twenty pounds of adipose. I would not have predicted such a dramatic weight gain from such a small change in activity.

chewybrian 

Small things add up over time. But, there may be related changes, too, like eating out for lunch more often.

dynodonn 

The OP's story is not surprising, based on how a number of people in the US view the automobile as a gauge of a person's wealth.

JoeyBike

A friend of mine used to collect discarded lottery tickets with the notion that when he wins the big one he can use the losing tickets against his winnings so the tax man won't take so much of the winnings. He had shoe boxes full of the nasty, faded, foot-printed, waterlogged things in his attic.

I told him he should have stayed awake in math class when they covered Probability.

I-Like-To-Bike

Used to see similar types at the race track looking for gold in the discarded betting tickets. I also have heard the same tax avoidance scheme mentioned by the losers.

As if such dreamers would ever have any winnings large enough to be reported to the IRS to start with, and as if the nasty, faded, foot-printed, waterlogged things would be accepted by the IRS of evidence of anything but a self-deluded joker.

JoeyBike

Whenever I get the urge to play the Lotto, I go to a convenience store that sells tickets, pull out my dollar bill, and purchase a small bag of M&Ms instead of a ticket. A winner every time! (unless you count my $1200 root canal recently)

I-Like-To-Bike

For a little variety, you might try CrackerJacks or a Happy Meal and be guaranteed a prize with every purchase. Much better odds then the lottery.

Dahon.Steve

I once spent an hour in an OTB (Off Track Betting) to see how life in the other side lived. It was the most depressing hour of my life. There were a whole bunch of dirty, unshaven men walking around with their last dollar guessing at which horse would win.

Then someone would win and he would shout out that he had a "system" and they could all profit. However, this "system" was only going to cost you $500.00 dollars! LOL.

I did see one woman there too. She was a addict too down to her last dollar trying to borrow money from other broke men.

JoeyBike

Yeah, every now and then my wife and I may venture into a casino to use the restroom and get a big dose of "I'm glad I'm me". Very sad, zoned out looking people mesmerized by slot machines, sitting or standing in a haze of second-hand smoke amongst a surreal cacophony of bells, buzzers, and jingles. No windows or clocks in sight. If that's not depressing enough, leaving the casino rides us past a gauntlet of pawn shops.

The only bright side is that "casino people" are going to squander their money somehow anyway - be it Meth or Church collections. (Two extremes I guess that don't collect taxes). At least the tax money generated by legit gambling helps the state pave roads and improve schools. Theoretically anyway.

We have OTB here too. I have not ventured into one of those places yet. I do spend Thanksgiving day at the Fairgrounds (actual horses racing) opening day when the place is packed with "normal" people and the food spread is freaking awesome! Tradition has a group of us meeting there each year and a great excuse to dodge boring family "obligations" eating way too much and watching football on TV. Oh...and being annoyed by family members of course.

Roody

It's getting kinda judgy around here!

wipekitty

Funny stories from back when I had a car...

One neighbor thought it was weird that I was home all the time. I explained that I was actually gone a lot - I just didn't usually use my car to go places.

Another rather inconsiderate neighbor had an abandoned vehicle sticker placed on my car. I confronted her about it, and she informed me that I wasn't allowed to park in front of my house for more than 72 consecutive hours. So, every three days, I turned on the car and re-parked it across the street.

wolfchild

Gambling is a serious disease...Winning few millions can actually destroy somebodys life unless they have wisdom and understanding on how to put all that money into a good use. Next thing you know, those same people who won are collecting welfare cheques.

mrodgers

I've been in a casino once. I was at the mercy of those I was traveling with. 4 of us with 1 being a gambler. I put $20 in a slot machine and 15 seconds later, I was $20 poorer. Just walked around for the next 2-3 hours people watching while that 1 gambler of our group shoved hundreds upon hundreds into the machines.

JWK

Well, I don't know why that would be a "bright side" if it were true, but it's not. I have spent a good portion of my adult life working in the gaming industry. That's what they call it; the "gaming industry". Like it's a game that makes something. It's gambling. It's not a game. I've also spent a good deal of time since then studying books and taking courses on different addictions including gambling. Many gamblers do not waste their money anywhere else.

I worked for an Indian casino out west that had just opened up. Up until that point people from that area had to fly to Las Vegas to do any kind of gambling. Within one year I watched a handful of affluent locals lose their homes and businesses. One of them tried to kill himself after he lost his last restaurant (he had owned three). These people had been fine up until that point taking their twice a year trip to Vegas. Once it was in their backyard, it was all over. They had not squandered their money on anything else. Just gambling. It's a sickness. Don't be so judgemental.

I-Like-To-Bike

I suppose the takeaway from your post is: If someone no longer owns a car/house/business it must have been squandered away on gambling or on some other sick vice.

JWK

I can't even begin to imagine how you got that from my post. Wow. Total disconnect. Did you mean to quote JoeyBike?

Dahon.Steve

I visited a casino once too but had the opposite experience. I put $20.00 dollars in a slot machine but placed low bets. This was after watching a women put loads of money into the same machine and won nothing. Well anyway, I figured if the 20 bucks gets lost, so what! All of sudden, the machine starts giving me credits for some reason and just like that, I was up almost $20.00 dollars!!! I ended the game right then and there, took my receipt, went to the window and ran with the money! I was so happy and NEVER returned!

Dahon.Steve

Stand outside the casinos in Atlantic City and all you hear all day are police sirens every 10 minutes! It's a slum outside and it makes you wonder how many of those police calls are due to gambling addiction.

wahoonc

No deposit on cans and bottles in my state... aluminum cans are currently bringing ~50 cents a pound, glass and plastic... nada.

Aaron

I-Like-To-Bike

Probably about 50 cents better than a pound of discarded Lottery or Horse Race tickets.

wahoonc

Dunno... don't mess with lottery or the horses. I kind of figure the lottery is a tax on people that can't do math.

Aaron

loky1179

See, you're looking at this the wrong way. You buy that bag of M&Ms, and a half hour later they are gone. You buy that lottery ticket, and you have two or three days of day-dreaming, about that statistical chance that is ever so slightly greater than zero, that you will be rich! And what will you buy? Who will you buy it for? Where will you travel?

I don't gamble - I did take statistics. But I think the $2 lottery ticket gives you the best bang for the buck, and does the least damage to your bank account. Which is not to say that I don't get royally pissed off when I'm stuck in line behind some yahoo that has to give the convenience store clerk his very, very lucky numbers for the Powerball.

Rowan

The number of casinos in Atlantic City evidently is being reduced to about half what they used to be. They are closing down. There also is some discussion that Las Vegas is in trouble because it is running out of water, based on current consumption levels and lack of adequate storages into the future.

Hobart, Tasmania, was the first city in Australia to have a legal casino. The second legal casino in Australia was in Launceston, also in Tasmania. Each major capital city on the Australian mainland now has a casino. Poker machines (slots) were introduced into pubs/hotels decades ago in one State, New South Wales, and now they are ubiquitous throughout the country.

Gambling addiction is an issue. There are a number of people who haven't been able to resist the temptations, and have ended up in court and then jail because of the large amounts of money they have embezelled from their employer or even charities, to fund their addiction. I have never succumbed to it, and am happy about that.

contango 

If we parked in the garage where would we store all the crap that goes in the garage?