This first comprehensive history of America's lottery obsession explores the spread of state lotteries and how players and policymakers alike got hooked on wishful dreams of an elusive jackpot. Every week, one in eight Americans place a bet on the dream of a life-changing lottery jackpot. Americans spend more on lottery tickets annually than on video streaming services, concert tickets, books, and movie tickets combined. The story of lotteries in the United States may seem straightforward: tickets are bought predominately by poor people driven by the wishful belief that they will overcome infinitesimal odds and secure lives of luxury. The reality is more complicated. For a Dollar and a Dream shows how, in an era of surging inequality and stagnant upward mobility, millions of Americans turned to the lottery as their only chance at achieving the American Dream. Gamblers were not the only ones who bet on betting. As voters revolted against higher taxes in the late twentieth century, states saw legalized gambling as a panacea, a way of generating a new source of revenue without cutting public services or raising taxes. Even as evidence emerged that lotteries only provided a small percentage of state revenue, and even as data mounted about their appeal to the poor, states kept passing them and kept adding new games, desperate for their longshot gamble to pay off. Alongside stories of lottery winners and losers, Jonathan Cohen shows how gamblers have used prayer to help them win a jackpot, how states tried to pay for schools with scratch-off tickets, and how lottery advertising has targeted lower income and nonwhite communities. For a Dollar and a Dream charts the untold history of the nation's lottery system, revealing how players and policymakers alike got hooked on hopes for a gambling windfall.

Features three stories about people whose lives are forever changed after winning the lottery.

"Eight Dollars and a Dream tells of a remarkable personal and professional journey by one of America's premier CEOs and corporate directors. Raj Gupta, working with Syd Havely, offers a candid and captivating story, told with passion and special appreciation for how family, mentors and other leaders transformed him and how he in turn changed his world, a compelling account for all who are navigating a corner office, a boardroom, or their life course. " - Michael Useem, Professor and Director of the Leadership Center, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania "Raj's story is the American dream writ large with a focus on what is really important in life. I have had the privilege of working with Raj for many years and have seen his qualities as a business leader firsthand. But I have benefitted even more by watching his example of how to lead one's life with dignity, integrity, and grace. This is a book that needs to be read!" - Bill McNabb, Chairman and CEO, The Vanguard Group, Inc.

A walk through a young African American entrepreneur who relates and tackles todays social problems. Documented regrets and reflections of a far from normal childhood experience mixed with modern day views on being bullied, self-consciousness and the popular insert: What's Love.

Olivia Beckford is a successful and dynamic dancer from Manchester who has gone on to make her mark on the world’s stage. She has toured the world as a professional dancer, going to all the far-flung corners of the globe, and at the very young age of twenty-seven has now produced this very interesting and handy book. In it, she describes her journey to the top of her game and gives useful and on-point advice to any would-be professional dancer. She covers topics ranging from how to present yourself in auditions, to how to navigate the often choppy waters of the world of professional dance, how to stay on top of and ahead of your game, and how to do it with people still liking you in the end. And calling you back to give you more work! This young author is savvy about life and is a driven, motivated go-getter who shows in this book what it means to achieve success – that it’s not just money and bookings but about a deeper appreciation of life, about strict discipline, emotional intelligence, and having a versatile approach to everything you do. She knows how to use her energy to achieve all she has achieved, and that same energy and drive bounces off the pages of this fascinating book that is both a study of a person in place and time and a very motivational educational piece.

The books in the Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series demonstrate the University Press of Florida’s long history of publishing Latin American and Caribbean studies titles that connect in and through Florida, highlighting the connections between the Sunshine State and its neighboring islands. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. They examine topics critical to the area such as travel, migration, economic opportunity, and tourism. They look at the growth of Florida and the Caribbean and the attendant pressures on the environment, culture, urban development, and the movement of peoples, both forced and voluntary. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series gathers the rich data available in these architectural, archaeological, cultural, and historical works, as well as the travelogues and naturalists’ sketches of the area in prior to the twentieth century, making it accessible for scholars and the general public alike. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, under the Humanities Open Books program.