Having 2 or more EBT cards around here always gleans a small grimaced look from the cashiers especially when there are 2 different last names on them. The card holders (as opposed to the owners) are generally spoken of as EPT pimps. If someone has a card with say, a hundred beans on it, the pimp will pay fifty to the owner of the card, go in the grocery and use the full amount on the card and then return it to the owner. When I helped open up the meat butchering department at a new local grocery store, the pimps were all over the place because the grocery was new and they figured no one knew who they were or what they were doing. It's actually too easy to spot especially if they go through a line with a grocery cart full of meat like steaks and such and pay using 2 or more cards.
We don't have food stamps here . We've heard of them of course, and it's often suggested that those in receipt of benefits should get them so that they can't use their benefits to gamble or for any other items except food... but the idea is always dismissed for the very reason Bobby states with regard to Pimps...
The lottery issue is a big thing here in Alabama. The powers that be always bring up the fact that the folks on EBT, SNAP or some other welfare program would spend what little money they have on lottery tickets. To me, if the argument keeps going that direction they have to note that we live in the computer age. If an ID were mandatory for getting a ticket then the ticket computers could be set to kick out anyone who is on a welfare program thereby preventing them from spending their money on gambling. But we have to face the real facts. People will spend money regardless if it’s on a gamble, cocaine, booze or on more practical things. It’s just the way it is. And yes, to get back on track, I’ve been stuck in grocery lines in Florida when someone ahead of me was purchasing lottery tickets and scratch offs. No fun at all!
Bane of my life standing at a counter waiting behind someone who is buying 20 different scratch off cards, and tying to decide which ones they want....and the times I've seen them get as far as the exit and stand there scratching them off.. jeez!!That's a a gambling addiction!! My daughter's half brother took his own life due to a scratch card addiction which had got him into serious debt.
At our supermarkets you can’t get them at the checkout. There are machines that sell the lotto and scratch off tickets after you are done checking out. Gas stations do sell them at the cashier though.
I don't think you can at our local Hannaford either, although it's the same store chain. As far as I know, the big-money lottery tickets are sold at the service desk and they have a machine for all of the scratch-off ones.
The big money lotto tickets used to be sold at customer service but that changed awhile ago and those are sold from a machine also. You can do quick pick or pick your own numbers.
They're all still sold over the counter here in supermarkets and smaller high street stores and newsagents , no machines!!
@Holly Saunders I wonder if the lotteries over there are operated as, er........crookedly........as here....... For example, here in Arizona, the tickets being 1 dollar apiece, the first 11 cents goes to the seller as "commission". The remaining funds accumulate and just prior to the "draw", the remaining funds after the State syphons off another 48% for Administration Costs, often in the millions of dollars, are offered up for sale at auction, the high bidder almost always being a giant Insurance Company, which might buy the "pot" at 20 cents on the dollar, gambling there will be NO BIG WINNER. The small winners must be paid, and if dough is left over, it's "gravy" for the big-money interest. When I learned of this, I was shocked but gratified that when the lottery was being voted on the people, I told all my coworkers to vote no! They were in turn shocked I would suggest such a thing: "they will repair the highways, fund more useful public programs, etc., etc. All hooey. What could conceivably be a worse system? When the "numbers rackets" were in full bloom in our large cities, the illegal operators often revealed they paid back well over 90%, keeping the rest. IF there were winning numbers....... Frank
Thank goodness, we do not have to stand in line for that mess. There are machines that dispense those tickets here. The convenience stores do sell them at the counter, but that is not so bad.
Thanks to my mixed Jewish Scottish heritage, I am absolutely too frugal to ever bet my money, not even a dollar, on the gazillion chance of winning something.
@Bess Barber Frugal combination, yes. But Czechs are said to be the "cheapskates" of all time.......I know, I ARE one! Frank
I'm always envious of people who can spend money without agonizing. The first thing I do in the morning, is check my bank balances to make sure nothing has went wrong. This gives me more joy than all the shoes in the world.