Lottery is a form of gambling where you buy tickets, choose numbers and hope that your ticket matches those randomly spit out by machines. People spend billions of dollars a year on it and there’s an inextricable human impulse to play. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. It’s expensive, the odds are bad and it makes you feel like a loser, which isn’t healthy.

If you have won the lottery, make sure you set up a proper retirement fund with help from a financial professional. It’s important to consider things like inflation, medical bills and the members of your family that you support in your calculation. It’s also a good idea to save a year’s salary in an emergency fund.

Many state-run lotteries are a major part of American culture, with players spending upwards of $100 billion annually on tickets. The games are billed as ways to generate revenue and improve public services, but how much of that revenue is actually being spent on the people who need it? And what’s the true cost of the glitzy jackpots that are designed to grab attention and drive sales, but often grow to absurdly large amounts before being won? This week’s episode of Lottery explores these questions and more.