2 things that I fail to understand - Lottery Lines and Costco Gas Economists

I rarely play the Michigan Lottery. I've got nothing against it, nor against those who play it; I'm just not that pushed - time and money... neither of which I could be bothered gambling that much.

That said, on occasion, I will play. Recently I did, and I won a whopping $2. Now I'll go to collect this and "re-invest" my winnings. Will I become a millionaire by Friday night? Will I get hit on the head with a coconut? I know which is more likely to happen.

Now with the assistance of the internet, I checked to see if this week was going to be one of the "Mega Weeks", i.e. a huge prize, because if it was, I'd hold off as I really could not be bothered getting in line to put on a lottery ticket. It's not. It's a measly $25,000,000 jackpot.

I am digressing, so here's what makes me wonder. Why is there no line when it is $25 million, but if it were, say $100 million, there would be a line out the door? Are the general lottery-playing public so financially secure that they could not be bothered playing if the prize is ONLY $25 mil? At what point does it become "worth winning"???

Me, I'll take the $25 million. Thanks

Wondrous thing #2 - people lining up for gas at Costco.

I usually fill my tank up at Costco; this is for 2 reasons, the first being that they are consistently 5 to 10 cents a gallon cheaper that everywhere else, and the second being that they are on my commute. As anyone living here knows, the price of gas is going through the roof here, now at around $3.50 a gallon.

These days, it's a 10-minute wait to get to the pump at Costco. Normally, it's nowhere near as busy. I really do not understand!

Do people not understand that, during normal prices, you save the margin between regular gas station prices and costco x the number of gallons you put in your tank? And when the prices rise, that margin is almost always the same; therefore you save the same amount of cash. Why do these people only fill up there during high prices?? Why not all the time???

Also, I'll bet that some of the Yukon / Escalade / Excursion / Hummer drivers will propel their oversized underdesigned guzzlers a good distance to get this cheaper gas. Cos the trip to the gas station don't use no gas!