From Seth Godin’s blog (hope you don’t mind), but I found this to be a pretty true statement:

What you buy when you buy a lottery ticket
Hint: you don’t buy a future of money.
People who win the lottery are almost always unhappy in the long run, and most of them continue to buy lottery tickets.
It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. Same thing with first dates, blog posts, opening presents and answering a phone call from a stranger.
The thrill of possibility, the chance for recognition, the chemical high of anticipation. That’s what people pay for.