History Main / LotteryofDoom

* ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire'': Darth Vader's men draw lots to see who's stuck bringing him bad news, on account of Darth Vader's proclivity for strangling anyone who pisses him off. (The practice itself does not irk him; being a Sith Lord, it pleases him that his subordinates have a healthy amount of fear of him.)

* ''Literature/TheLottery'' by Creator/ShirleyJackson is about a town that has a yearly lottery. The TwistEnding is that whoever wins the lottery gets [[spoiler:stoned to death as a sacrifice for the next harvest.]] Some have claimed it's allegorical of the draft. WordOfGod says, "It's just a story."

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' is a lottery to be put into a DeadlyGame. Children between the ages of twelve and eighteen must put in a ticket each year, with each year adding to the number of times entered; poorer children can also provide for themselves and their families by getting more tickets. These are cumulative, so a poor teenager trying to help feed a large starving family can end up with a truly staggering number of tickets.
** Downplayed a little by the rule that another person of age can volunteer to take the lottery winner's place, and that in a few districts, getting to compete in the Hunger Games is treated as an honor worth training for.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' episode "Dickisode", meals from a certain restaurant in town all come with peel-off lotteries much like the annual [=McDonald's=] Monopoly game that include free drinks, meals, coupons... [[spoiler:and a one in ten chance to get your dick ripped off.]] That last part is even mentioned in the ''commercial'', but it's said quickly and quietly. Not even thirty seconds after Carl "wins" the lottery, the collectors show up...

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Squidbillies}}'' had the Tricky Two Jackpot. The winner gets torn in half by monster trucks. [[spoiler:Granny wins, but the Monster Trucks are incapable of tearing her in half, Granny stretching for hours as the trucks try. During this, Dan Halen mentions Literature/TheLottery and even reads it to the crowd.]]

So next time you buy a lottery ticket, ''be sure'' to read the fine print.

* ''Film/TheIsland''. The people apparently participate in a lottery, the winner of which is relocated to a paradise island. [[spoiler:Only the people are clones, the lottery's a sham, there is no island, and the winner is harvested for body parts.]] If this sounds familiar, know that ''Clonus'' came first and yes, there was a lawsuit.

-> ''I told them that when Legionaries are disloyal, some are punished, the others made to watch. And I announced the lottery. Each clutched his ticket, hoping it would set him free. Each did nothing, even when "loved ones" were dragged away to be killed.''

* Most ironically of all, the lottery itself. A disturbingly large percentage of jackpot winners die a few years later, either because they went crazy with all the people begging them for money, or because a family member murdered them for it. If they're lucky, they survive [[{{Irony}} as a bankrupt hobo]]. Long version [[http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=749519 here.]]

* ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' features a version of it that isn't dangerous to the winner, but results in a terrible "prize" that marks the point where [[CrapsaccharineWorld Columbia's idyllic image comes crashing apart]]: Booker wins a local draw that turns out to be for [[HateCrimesAreASpecialKindOfEvil the stoning of an interracial couple]], and is given the first baseball ([[{{Eagleland}} the American way!]]). The game prompts you to either throw it at the couple, don't throw it at all, [[KickTheSonOfABitch or throw it at the announcer]] (which you almost certainly might feel tempted to [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain after his little "Do you like your coffee black these days?" remark]]), but whichever way, the coppers stop and notice that Booker has [[MarkOfTheBeast the brand of "The False Shepard" on his hand]] and attempt to execute him on the spot. Booker's retaliation is ''[[{{Gorn}} violent]]'', and everything goes sideways from there.

* The Creator/AndreNorton novel ''Literature/TheZeroStone''. Gem dealer Vondar Ustle and his apprentice Murdoc Jern are in a bar on an alien planet. A group of priests from the local religion enter, set up a wheel, and start it spinning. Jern knows that whoever the wheel is pointing at when it stops must be sacrificed to the local deity. The wheel ends up pointing between Ustle and Jern: Ustle is quickly killed by the fearful locals, and Jern barely escapes with his life.