[ExI] What would you do if you won the billion dollar plus MegaMillions Lottery, and are lotteries a bad thing?

[Samantha Atkins]

My current plan for this fantasy outcome is:

1) Buy a house or perhaps two.  Be the snowbird in style

2) Buy a lot of fancy computers of my own.  Not that I do that well at
keeping the modest collection I already own busy doing things of some
putative worth

3) Fully fund my current startup idea

4) Fund several "vanity" companies that I don't know will ever operate in
the black but are all doing things I care about.    One for instance would
have as it purpose proving the full power of Lisp over all other
languages.  :)

5) Funds to many causes including a) Machine phase nanotechnology; b) AGIT;
c) space colonization; d) more varieties of government (and no government)
and the space for them to operate; e) life-extension/longevity/as close to
immortality as we can get

6) start a fully rational, highly futurist sociopolitical/religious
movement or at least disseminate ideas on how and why to do such a thing.

That should keep me busy to and beyond when practical deathlessness kicks
in. :)

On Mon, Oct 22, 2018 at 5:44 PM John Grigg <possiblepaths2050 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> The three big discussion points for lotteries seem to be, what would you
> do with the money if you won, what are the odds of winning, and are
> lotteries a bad thing?
>
> Personally, I would like to think that I could enjoy life more than I do
> now, if I won the l.6 plus billion lottery.  I have two huge zeppelins
> built!  And with one, I would take it from city to city, where science
> fiction and fantasy conventions would be held on board my aircraft!  The
> second zeppelin would be loaned to the Doctors without Borders nonprofit
> organization, to aid them in their work with the poor and sick.
>
>
> https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/lottery-tips-from-powerball-winners-4129586
>
> I realize many people have allowed lotto wins to ruin them, and there are
> countless stories about this phenomena.
>
>
> https://abcnews.go.com/US/lottery-jackpot-winners-lost-big/story?id=36313525
>
> I have a friend who likes to say, regarding the odds of winning, "I am
> just giving the universe a chance to be extremely nice to me, if it so
> chooses!"  Lol
>
>
> https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/why-you-shouldnt-buy-lottery-tickets/
>
> The funds for lotteries seem to go towards worthy beneficiaries, like the
> arts.  But certainly, gambling addiction can be a problem for some.
>
> Anyway, let me know what you think...  :  )
>
> "In the middle of the 20th century, when lotteries first started in the
> U.S., they were sold to states as a way to benefit the American public
> <https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2013/12/18/everybody-wins-lotteries-like-mega-millions-benefit-taxpayers-seniors-schools-more/#4da07fb63dc9>.
> That suggests that bigger and bigger jackpots should mean more tax dollars
> to spend on public services like education. But that isn’t happening. So
> what’s really going on?
>
> First, let’s look at how lottery jackpots got so big. This particular
> jackpot started at $40 million in July, and week after week, no one drew
> the winning numbers, but the tickets keep getting bought.
>
> You too have the chance to win the biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever with
> the simple purchase of a $2 ticket. However, your chances are pretty slim.
> With a 1 in 300 million chance of picking the matching numbers, you are
> three times more likely to be killed by a vending machine
> <http://moneyminiblog.com/interesting/things-more-likely-happen-winning-lottery/>.
> An easier way to really wrap your head around your chances: It’s like
> flipping a coin and getting heads 30 times in a row."
>
>
> https://theconversation.com/the-mega-millions-jackpot-is-now-more-than-1-billion-where-does-all-that-lottery-profit-really-go-105279
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