Entry # 18

Reality Check: Winners and Losers

After reading the case study, I can say that I am biased towards the side of Stanek. What he said actually made sense: Lotteries give an equal chance of winning without regard for one’s economic stability. After all, they all pay the same amount of money to play. Second, it’s not like the “poor” are forced to join; they join out of their own free will.
I honestly believe there’s nothing wrong with the campaign. It’s true that the lottery is an “easy street” to take in gaining riches so I do not find the campaign offending at all. Nor does it sound like it’s targeted towards the poor; even the abled dream of getting riches the easy way sometimes. Another thing I don’t understand is why the protectionists thought that the lottery preyed on the unrealistic hopes of the poor. Are they saying that the poor relies more on fast money? Are they saying that the poor are easily fooled and manipulated? I agree with Stanek that it seems as if the protectionists are insulting the intellect of those who play lottery games in general.

Yes, I do think that the campaign made the lottery a lot more enticing, but then again, all forms of gambling are like that. I don’t see why the marketing campaign for the Illinois State Lottery must be made an issue. The campaign was just effective, that’s all. In the end, it’s up to the people whether they will invest $1 to try their luck, invest more or none at all; and if they’ve used up all their life savings on the lottery and still lost, it isn’t the fault of the lottery. It’s the people’s responsibility to know when enough is enough.  

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