Day 5, still feeling great. I will mention though that I did end up buying a scratcher at the grocery store yesterday. Now, do I see this as a failure? No, I do not. I have never had a problem with the lottery. It is a different vibe I get from it all together. I’m not going to defend it as I know a lot of people on here will agree that any form of gambling should be avoided. It is however different to me as I am not being soul sucked by a machine and losing money faster than avocado toast stock (San Francisco joke).
Looking back, I cannot think of one time where I fully regretting playing the lottery. And it has never sparked my cravings to go play at a casino (which I can’t even do now anyways). San Francisco is pretty great in the sense that there are no casinos close to here, and the only card room (no slot machines) we have close is about 20 miles away. I have self excluded myself from these card rooms, and California is great because you can exclude yourself from every card room with one application. Indian casinos are a little different in the sense that you have to exclude yourself from each one. There is one that is about 40 miles away, but I’ve excluded myself from it. The next one is 100 miles away, and I just have never gone that far nor want to.
So, how to feel…if I’m being perfectly honest, I feel totally happy right now. No regrets. I actually won $40 on the scratcher as well, which I will use for food for the next few days as it is still sitting in my car. I know the outcome doesn’t matter, but it is what it is. I will say that my situation is probably a little different. I have never been to the UK, but if it is like other states here, they have slot machines in gas stations and restaurants sometimes (depends on the state). If that was here, I would think the urge to play them when buying a scratcher would be pretty high. Not sure I would agree with any form of gambling then. For now, if it isn’t a problem, then that’s okay with me, and it also has to not influence other problems (which it hasn’t). I think the most I have spent on scratchers in one sitting is $40 or so. I’ll take that over the 10k+ I’ve spent having my soul sucked. Hope everyone has a great day.
–Nick