Does the Lottery increase Hope, or decrease it?

[ManOnFire]

What a great question! I wonder if there have ever been any studies linking the two? I figure my chances of buying a winning lottery ticket are on slightly higher than my chances of finding one on the ground, so I just don’t buy them. But my husband buys them a few times a year. He’s so funny, EVERY time, of course, we lose and EVERY time, he says ‘But I REALLY thought we were going to win it this time’ and I have to say ‘There, there now. So did the other 42 million people who bought a ticket for tonight, and they were all wrong, too’
LOL!
But, I WILL say that my husband is overall a FAR more hopeful person than I am. I would say, based on personal experience, that the people I know who are lottery players are in fact more hopeful than those who aren’t.
.

Does your husband play because he is more hopeful than average, or do the combined net doses of little hope outweigh the obvious disappointment that is most probably coming? Or does repetitive losing become an irresistible challenge (to finally win)? These are the questions. I’ll bet the gambling industry knows the answers.