What's Luck Got To Do With It?

I did everything right (or so I thought). I followed the rules. I paid on time. I met the damn deadline. I chose good solid upstanding numbers (these numbers were good. damn good). I didn't lie. I didn't cheat. I didn't steal. I helped little old ladies across the street. I followed the rules to a T. Oh lord did I try.

But I lost the damn lotto. Again.

The lottery is still the best game, though, in my opinion:

• It's accessible to all--rich and poor alike
• It transcends race, class, gender, religion, and sexual orientation (how many institutions can claim that?)
• It's cheap (damn cheap)
• The benefits disproportionately outweigh the risks
  
• The tickets are all cute and orange
• The reception from the other parties involved (e.g. store clerks) is overwhelmingly friendly and positive ("Good Luck!")

Ah, so what if the odds of winning the big win of Super Lotto Plus are one in 41,416,353. Nothing good comes easy. Even good ketchup...you have to wait for the damn thing to pour out of the bottle.

My California State Lottery record, to date, is a whopping $11.00. But I do have faith that I WILL WIN BIG SOMEDAY ! Something about the proletariat nature of the game and aspirations of spending copious amounts of time on the beaches of Mallorca just keep me going back for seconds (and thirds...).



Little known facts about the lottery* :

• Keno slips were discovered in China c. between 205 and 187 B.C
• The Dutch were the first to implement an exclusively money based lottery system with prizes based on odds
• Princeton University was initially financed on lottery proceeds
• The lottery lost favor in the US in the late nineteenth century; in 1890, US President Benjamin Harrison demanded legislation against the lottery and Congress (and the Supreme Court !) complied
• The US lottery only came back into vogue in 1964!
• The California State Lottery (as we know it) began in 1984
• The world's largest jackpot, $390 million, was one by one ticket holder from Georgia and one ticket holder from New Jersey in a March 2007 US Mega Millions drawing
  
• Some modern lotteries outside the US include: Nationale Loterij, Lotería Nacional, Lotto 6 aus 45, Zahlenlotto, TOTO 2 6/49, Lotería Electrónica Internacional, Lotaria Popular, Loto 6/49

Super Lotto. Mega Millions. Fantasy 5. A girl can dream, right? And if you're going to dream, you might as well dream BIG. As in:

• Trip around the world (first class) BIG
• New car(s) BIG
• Chauffeur BIG
  
• New house (or 2 or 3) BIG
• New wardrobe BIG
• Pure breed dog with matching dog walker BIG
• Bodyguard BIG
• Five-star restaurant BIG
• Never cook your own food or do your own laundry or run your own errands again BIG
  
• Bye-bye day job BIG
• Bling BIG (diamonds, rubies, pearls, Rolexes...)
• Big toys BIG (jet ski, powerboat sailboat, scuba gear, home theater complete with multiple video game systems, pool table, trampoline, personal tanning bed, nightvision goggles, mini arsenal, golf clubs, grandfather clock, subzero refrigerator...)
  
• And the list goes on. And on. And on...
  

*Source: Wikipedia (Lottery)