Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Once again, the Missouri Lottery is running commercials with the tag line of “Give the gift of possibility.” Keep in mind that I would rather have the money you spend on this. Read the disclaimer on the ticket telling what the odds are. If you give me the few dollars you would spend, I will put it in my IRA, and in a few years, it will be worth something.

I like to remind players of the lottery that this is a self-imposed tax. I was happy when you voted for this many years ago. I am also pleased each time you approve a gambling issue on the Missouri ballot. It never costs me anything and may keep the legislators from increasing my taxes.

I have purchased lottery tickets when the prizes have increased to multiple millions of dollars. I believe God blesses me. He has given us prizes in drawings. I’ve never won if I had to pay for the chance to win. There is a difference between what is possible and what is probable.

Your probability of winning these games is in the millions to one. You are more likely to be hit by lightning or by a satellite falling out of orbit. If you want to give me a gift, then give me the money. Once, I was in a family gift exchange where our suggested limit was ten dollars. I received a gift that I knew had only cost one dollar. I felt cheated. At least at the end of the day, I had something.

When the receiver scratches off a losing card, they are not the only losers. You have lost the respect and possibly even the friendship of not just the person you gave it to. You may also offend everyone who hears what your present was.

I know that some of the scratcher’s cards cost more than a few dollars. I’ve been told that ten- and twenty-dollar tickets are given as gifts frequently. That makes it ten or twenty times as bad because you gave the money that you could have given to me to the government.

May I suggest that you burn that bill and put the ashes in an envelope with a note stating that before you burned it what it would have been worth. I think I will start making some gifts like this and keeping them with me, and when I open a gift with a lottery ticket in it, I will hand them my gift. When they thank me, I will return the sentiment.

I have participated in gag gift exchanges before. If you haven’t, the idea is to give something humorous or of little to no value. This would be a perfect time to give lottery tickets or envelopes with burned paper and a note that tells them you burned a one-hundred-dollar bill. These will both bring a laugh, rather than a groan.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger