Is the Lottery Ever a Good Bet?

No. The greater majority of people end up out of pocket.

For those extremely fortunate people who do win the lottery, their gains are very short lived, except for an exceedingly small percentage of those lucky people who can turn their lives around.

At a rough guess, I'd say one in a hundred thousand lottery winners would keep their winnings more than a few years, before they revert to their previous socio-economic level in life.

I know of one relative who inherited 250 thousand dollars. Instead of putting that money into a house or something solid, he went through all of it as well as some thirty grand more on credit cards within 2 and a half years. And then rang me asking to borrow a few thousand for his rent.