I can't think of one instance when an argument that starts with, "There are plenty of people who..." should be convincing. Here in NC, when the governor and legislature made their final push for a lottery, the governor said, "We're at a competitive disadvantage with surrounding states who do have a lottery." Which is a fancy way of saying, Everybody's doing it. We need to start a huge advertising campaign to entice our poorest and most ignorant people to gamble.