GAMBLING

Human beings are incurable optimists. They believe they have a pretty good chance to win a lottery, but that there is hardly any chance of their getting killed in a traffic accident.

Bits & Pieces, May 26, 1994, p. 9.

Horse sense is what keeps horses from betting on what people will do.

Oscar Wilde.

My grandmother, a staunch Southern Baptist, had marched me off to Sunday school and church regularly. So when I switched to the Episcopal church after marriage, she challenged me: "What's wrong with the Baptist Church, son?" "Well," I explained, "Carole and I flipped a coin to see if we would go to her church or mine, and I lost." "Serves you right," said my grandmother. "Good Baptists don't gamble."

J.E. Bedenbaugh.

There are two times in a man's life when he should not speculate: when he can't afford it, and when he can.

Mark Twain.

It may be that the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong--but that's the way to bet.

Damon Runyon.

Statistics

Average number of dollars, per capita, spent on lottery tickets each year, in the top ten lottery states: $135.

Gaming & Wagering Business, reported in American Demographics, February 1989.