The North Carolina Education Lottery was started in 2005 and
over the past 10 years it has grown tremendously. This project was very
interesting to me. I learned a lot of things I didn't know. I also didn’t realize
how many lottery games there were. I have played the lottery maybe once or
twice since being 18 and I have never won. Sometimes the adrenaline of the
winning numbers being picked takes over my body and thoughts of "if I win what will I do with all that money". I can only imagine how bad it is
for a person who is addicted. While researching I have seen a lot of how to
tutorials on how to play the game and essentially tricks/tips to winning. Some
will argue that it is for a good cause after all it is called the "Education
lottery” which is true they give the money back to schools to decrease class
sizes and give teachers more resources. 43.6% of the proceeds go to classroom
teachers (NC Education lottery). There are over 100 scratch off games and over 12 lottery ticket games. Working at a retailer (Harris Teeter) I have ultimately realized
how this can be an addiction. I see the same people buying tickets over and over
again. Winning big money and then spending it all over again. I have encountered
a man who wanted to buy $300 worth of lottery tickets because the jackpot was “huge”.
To me that is excessive because the odds are against you and if you lose that
money its gone. The repetitive adrenaline people get when buying these tickets
drives them to keep going just as other addicts do. The pros and cons are very prevalent and I only hope
that if somebody is addicted and having a problem they should seek immediate help.
-Ka'Rin L.
-Ka'Rin L.