Virginia lottery mega millions

Americans spend tens of billions of dollars on government-run lotteries each year. But as income inequality widens, low-earning households spend a disproportionate amount of money on lottery tickets, according to a new study. The lowest-income households in the U.S. spend an average of $412 each year on lottery tickets -- nearly quadruple the $105 a year spent by the highest-earning households, according to a study released on Wednesday by Bankrate.com. And almost 3 in 10 Americans in the lowest income bracket play the lottery once a week, compared with nearly 2 in 10 who earn more than that. The Bankrate.com study was conducted by research firm GfK, which surveyed a national sample of 1,000 American adults on Aug. 17-19."Lotteries have become an alternative mechanism of social mobility -- a way of achieving financial success in an economy that's increasingly bereft of those opportunities," said Jonathan Cohen, a doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia who's completing his … [Read more...] about Lottery math: Poorest Americans risk the most in hopes of striking it rich