A Day Late and $20 Thwarted

While standing at the right-side lottery machine in Country Mart yesterday, I was passed by one of the workers who always talks to me about winnings. She has extraordinary luck on tickets I won't even think about buying. The ones with the 1-in-10 odds. Like you pay $10 for a ticket, and the only prizes are $50 or $100. There's also a version that costs $20, with prizes being $100 or $200. She's always winning on them, to hear her tell it. I have no reason to disbelieve her. Some people are just lucky.

Anyhoo... That Lady went by, and said, 

"How have you been doing?"

"Okay. Not great."

"I won $1000 yesterday!"

"Wow! On one of those tickets I won't buy?"

"No. On that $20 ticket right there."

She pointed to a ticket that is black with pink and silver markings. The very ticket I had debated on buying the day before she bought it. I was wavering, and chose the newest $20 scratcher. Which lost. Should have eenie-meenie-minie-mo-ed it. That would have given me a fifty-fifty chance, rather than choosing the wrong one. There's a reason I rarely buy a $20 ticket, even this normal kind with odds of winning 1 in 3.04.

Anyhoo... I was happy for her. 

"So now you have to take it to the lottery office in the city!"

"No."

"Anything over $600 has to go through the office. So they can take out the taxes. But if you have somebody else to claim with you, you can each claim half of it, so that's below the limit, and they don't hold it out."

"I don't have to go to the office, because I have a friend who'll buy it from me! He works in the city, and goes by there all the time."

"Oh. That's a good deal for you."

Hick and I were debating later whether the guy would pay her the whole $1000. Hick thought not. That maybe he'd give her $750. Since he'd have to pay the taxes on it, and the gas to the city, and the aggravation. I thought he might give her more, but that the entire amount would be cheating himself.

Anyhoo... it's not our business. At least I know not to buy that ticket at Country Mart for a long time! That's the good part about talking to people about your wins. You can get info that makes your odds better.

More on yesterday's lottery activities tomorrow...