Ex-con is now lucky millionaire, but I still don't like the lottery

A convicted bank robber on parole who recently won a $1 million lottery prize will get to keep the money, according to an Associated Press story.

Buying the ticket violated the Massachusetts man's parole because part of the agreement stated he could not "gamble, purchase lottery tickets or visit an establishment where gaming is conducted," according to the story.

However, officials have ruled he will get to keep his jackpot.

I'm glad for him, I guess, but I really don't like the lottery. It's just another way for a state to milk more money out of lower income households for projects.

I don't care that the lottery in Tennessee has generated a billion dollars to send students to college. And, yes, I realize that playing the lottery is voluntary.

It just strikes me as odd that we have a system that seduces people of limited means with promises of riches, and then we use that money to send kids to school who, in most cases, could have found another financial way to go to college.

However, this is something that the people want, so I guess I should shut my big fat mouth.