Day 114: A 60 Million Dollar Winner

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 114: A 60 Million Dollar Winner

For the past few weeks, the jackpot of Max Millions stood at $60 million dollars. Week after week, nobody won this jackpot, until yesterday which means that someone or a group of someones are celebrating this weekend as he, she or they are $60 million dollars richer.

During these past few weeks, people who otherwise never bought a ticket now did and they didn’t just buy a ticket, they went all out and bought $20, $50 or even $100 worth of tickets. Which makes me wonder … does the jackpot have to amount to $60 million before people get interested? Is $5 million, $10 million or $20 million not enough?

I also hope it’s not an undeserving person who won. You know the one who says … “Oh I never play, this was the first time I bought a ticket.” I find this terribly unfair. There are people, like me, who play every week without fail. Most of us have a firm set of numbers we use every week like birthdays, anniversaries, and other dates with a special meaning. So you can imagine, when some jackass wins millions who otherwise never plays that we feel betrayed.

As for me, I had high hopes of winning and plans of helping friends who could do with some financial assistance. Unfortunately, my hopes and plans turned to dust. Other than two free tickets I won nothing.

Not that this came as a surprise, I never win anything (other than free tickets and the occasional $10). Although, I must admit, many years ago – about a month after we arrived in Canada - I did win something.

Back then Max Millions was known as the Super 7. As the name implies, gamblers would pick seven numbers and then hope for the best. That particular Friday night I watched the draw of the numbers on TV and wrote them down on a notepad. Once the draw was finished, I retrieved my ticket and moved to the dining room table.

When I checked my ticket I had not 1, 2, 3 or 4 numbers right, I had 5 numbers right! Dieter and I were besides ourselves, thinking that we had won thousands of dollars. How much were five right numbers worth … $30,000, $50,000, $75,000 or even more?

Since results were not posted online back then, Dieter put on his coat and shoes and went to the nearest convenience store to pick up a ticket with the winning numbers and the money breakdown.

When he came back I immediately could tell that he didn’t have good news.

“Not $30,000, $50,000 or $75,000?” I asked him.

He shook his head.

“How much then … $10,000?”

Another headshake.

“$5,000 … $3,000?”

More head shaking.

“Well, how much then?”

Dieter put the ticket on the table so I could see for myself. The payout for five correct numbers was … $131,57.

From what I can tell, everyone agrees. The difference between 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th prize is too big. See for yourself …

Prize	Matches	Amount	Winners
1st	7	$60,000,000.00	1
2nd	6 + Bonus	$202,003.60	5
3rd	6	$5,536.80	194
4th	5	$107.50	12,678
5th	4	$20.00	288,496
6th	3 + Bonus	$20.00	276,488
7th	3	Free Ticket	2,537,042

Still, come Friday, I'll play again because as every gambler knows ... you have to be in it to win it and perseverance pays off. And if nothing else, I am persistent. I live by the slogan NEVER GIVE UP!

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Lotto Winnings

Tonight was Lotto night and I won ... nothing.
I was close, I could have had four numbers right, but close isn’t good enough.

The Lotto corporation’s motto is ‘You have to be in it to win it’. Well, I have been in it. I have been in it for years, but I haven’t won yet.
What exactly do they mean by ‘You have to be in it to win it'? Win a free ticket? Win five or ten bucks? That’s all I’ve ever won.
No, wait, I’m lying.

We were only two or three weeks in Canada when I started playing Lotto. Back then I played Super 7 and when checking my ticket I noticed, with growing excitement, that I had not three or four but five numbers right.
Being new to the game I thought I had won several thousand dollars.
I mean, five out of seven numbers, that had to be a sizeable payout, right?
Wrong, I won exactly $132,23.

Since then I’ve won numerous free tickets for three correct numbers and the occasional $10 for four correct numbers, but other than that ... nothing worth mentioning.

Occasionally you hear or read of people who won the jackpot. Usually old folks or the disabled. And if you hear of someone winning it’s usually a lucky shot. According to their interview they usually never play, them buying a ticket was a fluke, a shot in the dark. Yet here they are, millionaires.

Don’t you find it strange that it’s always old folks, disabled or ‘new’ players that win? Maybe it looks better that way for the Lotto corporation. I mean, how would it sound if a 32 year accountant stated that he had been playing for years and years and never won anything more than $10? That wouldn’t exactly prompt people to buy a ticket, now would it?
They might think ... ‘If that guy had been playing for years without winning anything, then we might also have to wait for a long long time before this game pays off’.
On the other hand, if you hear someone stating that he was a first time ticket buyer, then others might think they might get lucky too.
Does it all come down to strategy?

So what happens to all the money that the Lotto corporation collects? Does it all go back to the players or does it find another purpose? I once heard that half of it goes to the players and half of it gets divided among charities.
So let’s say that the Lotto corporation collects forty million dollars in one week, does that mean that twenty million dollars get divided among charities? Surely not, if that were the case the charities would be swimming in money.
I personally support the Toronto Cat Rescue (TCR for short) and I’ve never heard of them receiving a cent from the Lotto corporation.
So where does the money go?

If I question the Lotto corporation as I do, why do I keep playing you might wonder. Simple, I have two sets of numbers I’ve been playing with for years and I know them by heart.
In the event that I forget to play, as I did yesterday, I don’t dare to look at the Lotto results for fear of seeing some or (God forbid) all ‘my’ numbers. Can you imagine, playing for years, not playing one week and exactly that week having the winning numbers! I would go bananas!

So I keep on playing and hoping. Maybe one day when I’m old and/or disabled I might actually win.