The Kentucky Lottery had record ticket sales in fiscal year 2018. The Lottery Corp took in $1.04 billion and just over a quarter of the proceeds—$253 million went to the state general fund. Another way to look at this is that Kentuckians lost $1.04 billion in fiscal year 2018. Instead of receiving a product or valuable service, the people who played the lottery may have gotten an adrenaline rush as they scratched off their ticket but most don't have anything to show for it. That's because most lost. That's the problem with the lottery. It specializes in elevating hope but it delivers empty promises. Remember their moniker "Somebody's gonna win. Might as well be you." Maybe they should change that to somebody's gonna lose, and chances are, if you play, it'll likely be you.