You Can Bet on That!

There are a lot of things Filipinos are fond of. One of them is putting their hopes on lottery tickets. Everyday, one can see long lines of people waiting for their turn to purchase tickets from Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Lotto outlets. You really can't blame them. Their 10 pesos could become a hundred million pesos if they scored the right combination of random numbers. Having said that, it is easy to be tempted into trying out this numbers game especially that in these days when life seems so hard on everyone, an easy way to take home wads of money is very welcomed. The popularity of lotto is evidenced by a report that these past few days, over 8 million people bought lotto tickets. As of this writing, the total sum of money one could win is P 543, 660, 673.20.
As with everything else, the lotto has it pros and cons. Obviously, the beneficial part of lotto is that you "earn" half a billion pesos easily. On the flip side, relying too much on lotto tickets to solve your financial problems isn't so healthy. What do I mean? Not everyone is lucky (or rather, blessed) enough to predict the correct (and winning) number combination. If one didn't get it right, then he/she just wasted 10 pesos. But the persistence of the Filipino man has prevented him from seeing the loss as a waste of money. Often, one keeps on betting and betting, hoping he'd hit the bull's eye. This persistence will lead to one's downfall because the more one bets and the more one loses, more money will go out of one's pocket until he/she got nothing left to bet.
And of course, the super messiahs from the Catholic Church has something to say about betting. And so do other churches. And they all have a point in objecting. The lottery is legalized gambling but it is still gambling nevertheless, and whichever way you see it, in the eyes of morality, gambling is wrong.
Well, each of us has his/her own free will. We are free to do whatever we want as long as it is within the law. There are and will always be people who want to solve financial problems through the lottery, and we are in no position to tell them what and what not to do. Rather, we should give them advice on the pros and cons of gambling, and hope he/she hears us out. Ultimately, that person will decide what happens with his life.
And so, here's my advice to all the gamblers out there:
The lottery does spell easy money but there's no guarantee you'll win big or you'll win at all. How about putting an end to that habit of betting in the lotto and work doubly hard with your job/work. But if you really can't give up gambling, try to gamble in moderation.

And just for fun, here's ten things I'd buy immediately (in order of importance) if ever I win that P 543,66,673.20 lottery prize:
1. An iPhone 4
2. A Playstation 3
3. A new house and lot
4. A freakishly cool car
5. The biggest flat screen TV in the Philippines
6. All the Kobe and LeBron shoes
7. A new laptop
8. A bigger home for my guinea pigs
9. More guinea pigs!
10. My very own coffee maker