I'm thoroughly convinced that only two types of people win the lottery: the poor who shouldn't be playing in the first place but do so in large number and the very rich who don't need the money but buy the tickets anyhow.
Case in point: Jim Sensenbrenner, a US Representative from Wisconsin and a millionaire (he is heir to the Kimberly-Clark fortune) won the lottery THREE times!
The conservative Republican first hit it big in 1997 with a $250,000 jackpot in the District of Columbia lottery. Then, last spring, he won a $1,000 consolation prize in the Wisconsin lottery, before winning another $1,000 in that lottery last week.
I call conspiracy, though it's possible that Jim, who spends $10 a week on lottery tickets, is just a really, really, really lucky guy: Link | Photo from Sensenbrenner's entry at Wikipedia.
666
http://www.wilottery.com/lottogames/apick3.asp
Also, considering he spends about $500 / year on the lottery, hitting two $1000 prizes isn't an example of tremendous luck. Even the $250,000 prize he won 10 years ago was nice, but it wasn't a typical multi-million dollar "jackpot" by any means. If he hit 3 such multi-million $ prizes, I'd be a little more suspicious...
As for your assertion that either dirt poor people or filthy rich are typical lottery winners, I'd guess there's substantial validity to it. Both groups will probably purchase a "greater than average" number of tickets. The rich buy them because they can afford to play for a little excitement and the poor play because they are too stupid to realize that it is a poor investment of their limited resources. Since each of these groups is over-represented in the "purchasing column", they are over-represented in the "winning column" as well. As the slogan goes, "Ya gotta be in it to win it"
probably = probably (I think :) )
So why doesn't he win the lottery more often?
Say anything otherwise and you might as well believe in unicorns.
No no no, winning the lottery is a VERY unlikely event. Winning two more times is EXTREMELY unlikely.
http://www.lotterypost.com/news/16939
Nothing suprises me when it comes to winning. Out here in California we have a second chance drawing using a mail in coupon, to go in and play a special game on the televised lottery show. I've sent in literally hundreds of them over the years. Never have been chosen. I've seen people go three and even four times. Some people are just super lucky.
I've stopped playing altogether because I'm the exact opposite of super lucky. I never win anything and I finally got it through my head I was never going to win.