When the lottery gal slid our checks through the metal trough, she also gave a little token of her (MOLottery's) appreciation to us. They didn't used to do that. However... they used to have good items you could get when you redeemed points that you earn from losing tickets. Oh, how times have changed!
The old prize system had several tiers of goods you could trade your points for. Redeem them for coupons for future tickets, or coolers, camp chairs, small electronics, picnic sets, BBQ grills. I can't even remember the stuff now, but it was worth saving your points to get the good stuff.
The prize redemption changed several years ago. Now all you can get are tickets, magazine subscriptions, and gift cards. No actual merchandise. Just online stuff that nobody really wants. I feel betrayed.
In-store giveaways were better than the current stuff. The lottery lady was at the Gas Station Chicken Store a couple years ago, with a table set up, and a wheel to spin if you bought tickets. I won a pair of plastic sunglasses, and a little spiral flip notebook.
Anyhoo... here's what the lottery gal gave us:
SCRATCHERS! For scratching scratchers. I don't know if I'll use one. I have my "lucky" quarter that I have used for years. No need to upset the applecart. But you can bet that I will take Hick's scratcher. After all. They were MY winning tickets, bought with my weekly cash allowance money. Hick will never miss this plastic gadget.
I thought the lottery ticket freebie was just a key chain when you showed it. A lottery ticket scratcher is better than just a key chain. Not better than what they used to offer but still better than just a key chain:)
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of when I was a kid, and my dad brought home keychains for us. He worked for Southwestern Bell. The keychains were on the metal loop like these, and in the shape of a princess phone. I remember three colors: tan, turquoise, and pink. They weren't useful for anything, but a cute novelty to hook onto something. These were the days before backpacks were popular, and I wasn't old enough to have car keys.
DeleteThat looks like a tiny ice scraper. I would never have guessed if you had not revealed it. Even the prizes in cereal boxes are awful, usually a code for use online.
ReplyDeleteIt DOES look like a tiny ice scraper! I haven't tried it. Don't want to jinx my lucky quarter!
DeleteLet's not even get started on when Cracker Jack stopped the fun prizes. That was the best part!
Keep the lucky quarter and try scraping ice with this orange scraper.
DeleteThat was a ripoff when I looked for the prize in Cracker Jack!
I could clear enough ice from T-Hoe's windshield to let one eye get a glimpse of the road! No Cracker Jack for me, without the lure of a prize.
DeleteI was going to say that you might loan it to him when his windshield freezes up next winter.
ReplyDeleteHeh, heh! That would be so generous of me, to loan Hick a tiny scratching implement. Seeing as how it really isn't his anyway, him claiming half my prize in name only. Too bad Hick doesn't have itty-bitty doll arm/hands, to better grip such an implement. Good thing he parks SilverRedO under the carport.
DeletePoints earned from loser tickets??? none of that for us down here. A losing ticket gets exactly zero.
ReplyDeleteWe can scan in the tickets and enter them on the MOLottery.com website, but it's a tedious process, without any rewards that appeal to me. There are second-chance drawings for the expensive tickets, but I don't buy them much.
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