[ExI] alternative gambling game

[Mike Dougherty]

2010/6/30 Gregory Jones <spike66 at att.net>
> If the game is modified to where one inserts the money and then is given a randomly generated number, then the game comes out as I calculated, but greatly reduces the incentive to play, for it hands the lotto maker an open invitation to cheat.  But video slots have that feature, and the proles still play.  I don't get that.


If you've ever watched a moth banging repeatedly into an incandescent
bulb it makes more sense.  The moth is wired to go towards the light
for whatever evolutionary purpose was originally served by moonlight
or reflective surfaces like water.  After the thousandth failed
attempt to reach the light, it will try again.  I imagine the
anticipation of winning is a more powerful attractor for the addicted
gambler than a loss or the cerebral gobbledegook of statistical odds.
The delusion of the next being the lucky play that wins and changes
the prole's life is more exciting than the reality that the next
million plays won't be any luckier than the most recent loss.