Are you stupid enough to give away 45 cents of every dollar ?
Of course , we have to pay tax . We mostly dislike that . Same with GST . And no , I'm not adding 30% top tax , and GST . This actually has nothing directly to do with tax .
But would you knowingly give away 45 cents of every dollar you spent ?
This weekend , Lotto hits $50 million , so here is your chance to win $50 million ! Race out and buy a ticket . If you have more dollars than sense .
Have you read the Lotteries Commission glossy PR brochures ? You must be in to win . Safe , smart gambling . Blah , blah , BS .
Dig a bit deeper , behind the headlines , and you will never , ever by another Lotto ticket .
" In the 31 years that New Zealanders have been paying Lotto , over $4.6 billion in essential community funding has been contributed via the Lottery Grants Board " . Wow -- what a great community service . Yeah right .
WHERE YOUR LOTTO MONEY GOES ( per $1 ) --
22 cents -- Lottery Grants
12 cents -- operating costs ( yes , thats what Lotto NZ spends on itself ! )
6 cents -- retailer commissions ( including credit card fees )
5 cents -- taxes -- goes to Government
55 cents -- Prizes .
Yes , if you spent $1 million on Lotto tickets , you are likely to get around $550,000 back . Spend that next week , and you will be down to $302,500 next weekend . 'Reinvest' that , and by week 3 your $1 million will be down to $166375 . By the time you have been through 4 draws , you'll be down to $91506 ! Seriously ! So in 4 draws , you have lost over $900,000 of your original $1 million .
So who is buying a ticket for Saturdays draw ?

What would you like to see in this spot?
Hot shot Hamilton property developer Matt Stark has scooped up the old Fed Farmers building in London Street.
Stark Property has bought all of the Waikato Farmer Trust’s property assets for sale on the site, a sizeable chunk on the west end of London Street opposite Seddon Park.
What would you like to see in this spot? Tell us in the comments (adding NFP if you don't want your words used in print).


Poll: Have you had a parking fine recently?
Parking misdeeds cost drivers in Hamilton almost $1m in a year, with several streets racking up high fine totals.
In 2024, Hamilton City Council’s parking team issued 22,892 parking infringements, which is 5255 more than in 2023.
Have you had a parking fine recently?

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11.1% Yes
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88.9% No

Poll: Are domestic flights with Air NZ out of your budget?
A Tauranga man has filed a complaint with the Commerce Commission, claiming that due to dynamic pricing, it’s cheaper for him to fly to Los Angeles than to book a flight for his daughter from Tauranga to Wellington.
Do you think their pricing needs addressed to encourage more people to fly?

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95.8% Yes, it's too expensive
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3.5% No, it's reasonable
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0.7% Other - I'll share below