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

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.

ÒEight Dollars and a Dream tells of a remarkable personal and professional journey by one of AmericaÕs 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. Ò Ð Michael Useem, Professor and Director of the Leadership Center, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania ÒRaj'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!Ó Ð Bill McNabb, Chairman and CEO, The Vanguard Group, Inc.

In this book, the author shares how she discovered her reason to come to America. She shares stories of her childhood and of her family members, some killed during the Communist Rule in the '70s. The author's father, a prisoner did a daring escape and took his family to a refugee camp in order to survive the war that was devastating the country of Lao. The author courageously shares her experience, reading the newspaper clippings and stories written about her, her family, and her friends. In this book filled with the history of their journey into a new life, she shares the kindness of strangers and how without them, their lives may have ended. A definite must-read! Powerful,, riveting, and truly engaging.

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.

A million dollar boy with a billion dollar dream is about a young man growing up in the streets of Springfield Massachusetts in the early nineties . Presley Williams learns the game from a o.g in his hood and takes the game to another level. with each million made the enemies get more intense and the connects more dangerous.