Anyone know anything about these girls who sell lottery tickets? There seem to be so many of them, often two or three standing together.

I would have thought they would want to have their own pitch as you would think they would be in competition with each other.

 

Do they make a good living out of it? I am just curious.

 

For me it seems the highest priority for Thais "work" is that they have some people around to chat. If a Thai has to chose between job A for money X with lots of people around or job B working alone with payment of 150% X I am sure most Thais would go for job A.

 

And with the lottery tickets: It seems few people go to the vendor with exactly one number in mind. There are always long discussions about many numbers. It must be a special science, I don't even want to try to understand it. But I am pretty sure when they talk about all those numbers then some buyers think they might miss the big draw. So after lots of talking they will buy some more tickets - just to be sure. TiT

There's an unofficial lottery as well where Thais sell cheaper tickets, the girls i know make a lot of money, well that's what I'm told. I guess the ones walking around don't make much at all

 

 

Official lottery they make 4 -7 baht per ticket...underground lottery is more profitable for the sellers and higher chance of a win (if only smaller) for the buyer.

22 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

For me it seems the highest priority for Thais "work" is that they have some people around to chat. If a Thai has to chose between job A for money X with lots of people around or job B working alone with payment of 150% X I am sure most Thais would go for job A.

 

And with the lottery tickets: It seems few people go to the vendor with exactly one number in mind. There are always long discussions about many numbers. It must be a special science, I don't even want to try to understand it. But I am pretty sure when they talk about all those numbers then some buyers think they might miss the big draw. So after lots of talking they will buy some more tickets - just to be sure. TiT

That's interesting.

21 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

There's an unofficial lottery as well where Thais sell cheaper tickets, the girls i know make a lot of money, well that's what I'm told. I guess the ones walking around don't make much at all

 

 

Yes, I know about the unofficial one. My friends wife used to do it.

9 minutes ago, johng said:

Official lottery they make 4 -7 baht per ticket...underground lottery is more profitable for the sellers and higher chance of a win (if only smaller) for the buyer.

Is that all? It's 80Bt per ticket, and I have seen the same seller at the local Sunday market. There is also the same one that stands outside the same shop regularly, she probably has to pay something to the shop owners.

I wonder if any seller who works the day shift same hours as a 7-11 worker earns as much.

If anybody is interested in the so called underground lottery I can highly recommend this book:

Guns, Girls, Gambling, Ganja: Thailand's Illegal Economy and Public Policy by Pasuk Phongpaichit

It was written and published some time ago but what it describes seems to be timeless in this country.

 

2 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Is that all? It's 80Bt per ticket, and I have seen the same seller at the local Sunday market. There is also the same one that stands outside the same shop regularly, she probably has to pay something to the shop owners.

I wonder if any seller who works the day shift same hours as a 7-11 worker earns as much.

Let's not forget that the minimum salary in this country is 300B per day or not even 40B per hour. I guess they should be able to sell a couple of tickets in the right location.

12 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If anybody is interested in the so called underground lottery I can highly recommend this book:

Guns, Girls, Gambling, Ganja: Thailand's Illegal Economy and Public Policy by Pasuk Phongpaichit

It was written and published some time ago but what it describes seems to be timeless in this country.

 

An extended caveat regarding Professor Phongpaichit and her broader catalogue of work - 

Though, she [and her good husband, Chris Baker] might promote herself as a sound alternative design, she is firmly in place as an apologist for the Thai establishment. Actually, quite astounding considering their backgrounds.

Contrary to some comments here my experience is that people do go with numbers in mind, and some number combinations will sell out fast, thus two or three sellers will attract buyers because more choice is available for longer.

Is that all? It's 80Bt per ticket, and I have seen the same seller at the local Sunday market. There is also the same one that stands outside the same shop regularly, she probably has to pay something to the shop owners.
I wonder if any seller who works the day shift same hours as a 7-11 worker earns as much.

Yes if they sell at 80 baht profit for them is 4-7 baht...thats why there was/is such strong resistance to selling at 80 baht....despite the "best efforts" of the "democratic soldier" the midleman still take most of the profit...just new midleman.

If they can sell 50 tickets per day they can live on it, less it will only pay for the daily food.

most Thai woman do several job including as freelancer,Beauty shop..etc

8 hours ago, NonthaburiBear said:

most Thai woman do several job including as freelancer,Beauty shop..etc

I don't think I ever saw a lottery vendor who would be hired as freelancer or in a beauty shop...

14 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If anybody is interested in the so called underground lottery I can highly recommend this book:

Guns, Girls, Gambling, Ganja: Thailand's Illegal Economy and Public Policy by Pasuk Phongpaichit

It was written and published some time ago but what it describes seems to be timeless in this country.

 

I have tried telling Thais that the mafia lottery only pays half the odds of the chance of winning. Do they care? No

There are girls and there are guys. Some have set places they sell from, others move around. Some walk, some ride bikes.

If you are a foreigner some will try to sell you tickets at 100 baht each because they assume you don't know the rules and won't go to the cops. Even if there are other Thais around, most often they will stay quiet about it as well and watch you get ripped off.

 

I will go up to a seller and ask him/her how much and if they say 100 baht I smile and walk away. Most are honest though.

 

And no doubt many are from the same family/village which is why they don't have a problem with competition. Besides, it seems to be the "Thai" way. If you see a shop (laundry, salon, moto repair) that is doing good business, then you should open the exact same kind of shop right next to it (or within a few doors at least) so you can try and cash in on their success.
You know, instead of setting up a shop where there are lots of people but no other (laundry/salon/moto) shops nearby thus guaranteeing you more business.

And as mentioned, many Thais have their "lucky" numbers that are guaranteed to win. The vendors are sold blocks of tickets in different number ranges so having a few vendors close together gives people a better chance of finding one that has their "lucky" number. (Also, it seems most Thais are only worried about the last 2 numbers anyways though a few do try for a 3 number win). Whenever I ask the g/f for a "lucky number" she only gives me 2 digit numbers. If she thinks "64" is going to win, she tells me to buy 64 and 46 (in case the numbers were reversed in her dream). 

I don't bother to tell her that some think that numbers in dreams are reversed and upside down (which is supposedly how "999" became "666" the "number of the beast").

 

No doubt most of them also have second jobs as well because you usually only see the vendors about a week before the draw date. They must be doing something during that time as I doubt they make enough to work "week on, week off".

15 hours ago, johng said:

Official lottery they make 4 -7 baht per ticket...underground lottery is more profitable for the sellers and higher chance of a win (if only smaller) for the buyer.

The payout on the illegal lottery is quit a lot higher and you can select, and get, the numbers you choose. With the state lottery you can only get your numbers if the vender happens to have them.

 

One of my nearest  neighbours  is a regular winner.

16 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

For me it seems the highest priority for Thais "work" is that they have some people around to chat. If a Thai has to chose between job A for money X with lots of people around or job B working alone with payment of 150% X I am sure most Thais would go for job A.

 

And with the lottery tickets: It seems few people go to the vendor with exactly one number in mind. There are always long discussions about many numbers. It must be a special science, I don't even want to try to understand it. But I am pretty sure when they talk about all those numbers then some buyers think they might miss the big draw. So after lots of talking they will buy some more tickets - just to be sure. TiT

 

First paragraph - very true, Thais see work as a social situation, well proven by research conducted by Thai behavioral researchers, some also suggest it has roots in agricultural 'work' situations', friends coming together to help each other etc.

 

Another angle, it's fairly common for Thais to say, just before they start a new job' I hope I can find some nice friends at my new job'.

 

Plus also common for thais to seek relationships bf/gf/wife/husband within the same company staff.

 

Why don't they want their own patch? Well some are more serious about this, and for some the social aspect overrides 'own patch', but keeping in mind that many lottery sellers (and other folks) have little to zero knowledge of the existence of subjects like  business strategy / location, etc.

 

Plus being alone is boring - Thais are surprised and confused to learn that other people go on holidays alone. Boring. This can even expand 'but don't you have any friends?

 

Another example, a Thai professional lady from my office went to the airport to see of her 19 year old daughter (flying alone) to study in Australia. Colleagues biggest most often mentioned concern was that daughter 'has no friends'.

 

In Australia the daughter had to stay in the uni dormitory for the first year (uni regulation).

 

Two days after seeing off daughter my work colleague came in all jubilant, stating again and again 'she found a friend, she found a friend'. 

 

 

Can anyone answer this ,what happens to unsold lottery tickets,

on the day of the draw 3.00 i think it is,do the sellers have to return

the tickets to where they bought them,or do they take the loss,?

 

It seems a very complicated system,prone to corruption,I remember

seeing the draw once on Tv, the guy drawing the balls had a scoop

and he was VERY selectively picking the numbers,i think the draw

has now gone automatic,untouched by human hands.?

 

Really they should change it to machines in 7-11's, everywhere,when

you can pick your own numbers,but a lot of people would be out of

work, 

regards worgeordie

I have to laugh at the " psssst , this lucky number , this number win etc " sellers. 

I told them , if this is a " winning number " why doesn't he/she keep it for him/herself ?

3 minutes ago, NE1 said:

I have to laugh at the " psssst , this lucky number , this number win etc " sellers. 

I told them , if this is a " winning number " why doesn't he keep it for him/herself ?

Why would he/she need to ?    2 and 3 numbers payout the same on the number  irrespective of the number of claimants.   Whether official or unofficial lotteries.   To keep these lucky numbers to oneself would just be pure selfishness,  would it not ?  Or conversely by sharing these lucky numbers,   if you loose,  they all loose,   fairs fair ?

Yeh right , cos' all those " lucky numbers " are winners.

 

 

22 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Can anyone answer this ,what happens to unsold lottery tickets,

on the day of the draw 3.00 i think it is,do the sellers have to return

the tickets to where they bought them,or do they take the loss,?

The vendors are supposed to return them by the set time and any tickets not returned are supposed to be "voided" (by the lottery). There were cases in the past where vendors tried to claim prizes for winning tickets they hadn't sold or turned in by the deadline.
Not sure how the money works but it sounds reasonable that they would take a loss for the unsold tickets if they didn't turn them in as well.
 

50 minutes ago, Esso49 said:

Why would he/she need to ?    2 and 3 numbers payout the same on the number  irrespective of the number of claimants.   Whether official or unofficial lotteries.   To keep these lucky numbers to oneself would just be pure selfishness,  would it not ?  Or conversely by sharing these lucky numbers,   if you loose,  they all loose,   fairs fair ?

I have not been looking, but I do not remember ever seeing a guy seller.

  I know a lady who thought she had won the illegal lottery, went to the man's house to collect her winnings only to find that the police had just arrested him!  The winnings depend on how much you pay, 100 times the purchase price I believe, using cloakroom tickets with what you pay written on the stub.

  Since the government got stricter on the 80 baht maximum you find most large stalls mainly sell the tickets in multipacks of the same number, the government propose to make it legal to sell these at 100 baht each.

17 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Yes, I know about the unofficial one. My friends wife used to do it.

A former Thai neighbour of mine used to run the unofficial (illegal) lottery and made a handsome profit doing it.  The substantial profits were invested in a piece of land on which she built a small resort.  Unfortunately for her, a lottery customer came up trumps with a million baht win, which she was unable to pay.  Under threats of an unpleasant death from the winner's family,  she was obliged to sell her resort quickly at a very low price so that she could pay out the winnings.   Another acquaintance, also running the illegal lottery ran into similar trouble when one of her customers came up with a big win and she was obliged to sell her business in order to pay out a negotiated 40% of the original winnings.

 

I guess many such sellers are lucky enough NOT to have any big winners who they are unable to pay and therefore do make substantial  un-taxable profits. They would consider the risk worthwhile, although I suspect that few would consider putting a substantial portion of the profits aside in case a big winner turned up one day, as that would involve a certain amount of planning and forethought.

3 minutes ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

A former Thai neighbour of mine used to run the unofficial (illegal) lottery and made a handsome profit doing it.  The substantial profits were invested in a piece of land on which she built a small resort.  Unfortunately for her, a lottery customer came up trumps with a million baht win, which she was unable to pay.  Under threats of an unpleasant death from the winner's family,  she was obliged to sell her resort quickly at a very low price so that she could pay out the winnings.   Another acquaintance, also running the illegal lottery ran into similar trouble when one of her customers came up with a big win and she was obliged to sell her business in order to pay out a negotiated 40% of the original winnings.

 

I guess many such sellers are lucky enough NOT to have any big winners who they are unable to pay and therefore do make substantial  un-taxable profits. They would consider the risk worthwhile, although I suspect that few would consider putting a substantial portion of the profits aside in case a big winner turned up one day, as that would involve a certain amount of planning and forethought.

I have no sympathy for cheats like that, by all means cheat people who are cheating you, but not innocent ordinary people.

2 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

One of my nearest  neighbours  is a regular winner.

I also know some of these regular winners. Mostly they buy so many numbers that they can't possibly lose.

They will guaranteed win with at least one number - and lose with all the others...

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

I have not been looking, but I do not remember ever seeing a guy seller. 

Lots of blind men sell tickets. I think at some stage there was even a quota for them.