the sandwich was invented because john montagu, its inventor, was a gambling addict who did not want to stop gambling long enough to eat a complete meal.

the reward pathways and hippocampus shrink in human beings that are depressed. playing games revives them, and drives motivation, goals, learning, and memory.

financial counselors and stock experts typically pick winning stocks less often than just throwing darts at lists of them.

2 out of 3 americans gamble.

amount that americans spent on gambling in 2014: us$103 billion

number of u.s. states that don't allow gambling: 2

if you purchase us$530 million's worth of powerball tickets, each one a different number combination and all for the same day's drawing, you will likely win.

unfortunately, because the prize is unlikely to ever climb that high, it's equally likely that you will lose at least us$200 million by doing so.

you are 7 times more likely to date a supermodel than to have a royal flush in poker.

in the u.s., those who make less than us$10,000 per year spend us$597 on lottery tickets. (the average person spends us$162.)

one of the most common places where people attempt to commit suicide, other than bridges: casinos.

casino dealers' uniforms have no pockets, to prevent theft.

many casinos and payday lenders specifically target military bases and retirement homes.

if you are a woman, the most common place for you to be robbed in a casino - other than the obvious - is the bathroom. keep your purse with you at all times.

casinos are intentionally laid out as a maze to prevent escape and send you back to the gaming area.

casinos are designed to keep players from noticing the passage of time. there are no clocks or windows, and the music that they play is an unending, innocuous stream, rather than actual songs. restaurants don't close, and phones are forbidden at the tables to keep you from checking the time.

casino guards prod awake compulsive slots players so that they don't get robbed and to keep them playing. it is not uncommon for compulsive gamblers to soil themselves rather than leave their spot to go to the bathroom.

(think about that the next time you sit on a casino chair.)

toddlers that consistently act out are more likely to be addictive gamblers later in life.

a mongolian princess named khutulun said that any man who wanted to marry her had to beat her at wrestling first. if they lost, they had to give her their horses. 10,000 horses later, she was still single.

almost every store in finland has a slot machine. all of the proceeds go to charity.

it is possible to guarantee a winning jackpot lottery ticket. here's how:

the current odds of winning the powerball jackpot are roughly 1 in 176 million. tickets cost us$2 each. therefore, to purchase every possible number combination, you must spend us$352 million. assuming that you will lose roughly half of the winning amount paying taxes, it is necessary for the jackpot to be about us$700 million before you will actually make any money.

the current odds of winning the megamillions jackpot are roughly 1 in 259 million (that's right - the population of the entire country). tickets cost us$1. therefore, to purchase every possible number combination, you must spend us$259 million. assuming that you will lose roughly half of the winning amount paying taxes, it is necessary for the jackpot to be about us$520 million before you will actually make any money.

and remember, they roughly double the odds against you at least once each year. so - unless you have a few hundred million sitting around doing nothing - playing either game is the equivalent of setting your money on fire.