I'm personally not anticipating winning the lotto or any large prize; actually, I don't recall ever participating in any kind of lottery either. I believe that the chances are extremely minimal, and I don't find any meaning or entertainment in it. $50,000 is a decent amount of money, though, depending on the country of residence, it may be a life-altering event. Kudos to her; hopefully, she spends them wisely, preferably invests them, and doesn't end up gambling them all away.
Well everyone knows that winning in lottery is something not so easy and it is a luck based chance that will only hit if you are extremely lucky. If we gamble on other games, the chances of winning are far more than as compared to the lottery. Not only that, the amount we need to participate in the lottery is very minimal so a lot of people will lose but they won't be feeling bad about it because they have not lost any big money.
You can participate in lotteries thinking that the little money you put in gambling will go in vain and wasted but if you are lucky, it can win you a jackpot. Its a game of luck and we never know when we may be lucky. Not participating in lotteries means that we are not giving that 0.01% chance of getting quick rich. Since it does take much to participate, many people are willing to try their luck. Just like that mom stories in the OP post, if she hadn't participated and given up, she would not have been the winner of 50,000$.