LOTTO FEVER.

My neighbor, Brian, came over on Friday to fix my computer after I'd set a reset point and wiped out my internet connections back to factory settings, meaning zero ability to get on-line or get email. He was able to get me up and running and while we talked, he was jazzed about PowerBall, because the amount for the winning ticket was up to 600 million. He was going in with other neighbors with the idea that pooling increased the odds of winning. If anyone got three numbers a small pay off, but matched with the PowerBall number, could net a cool million or so.  Intrigued, I thought, what the heck. So I handed him $10 and the next thing you know, I'm mentally musing about what I would spend the money on. It was exciting.

Neighbor Jan had recruited 5 more people and asked if I could go buy the tickets on Saturday while on an errand. While buying the tickets, I met another excited neighbor who normally doesn't buy into the lottery.  She chose the MegaBucks lottery then at 170 million. Excitement is contagious, and I got the "fever". The next thing you know, I bought a ticket with my old winning Keeno numbers, I bought a second $10 Powerball ticket, and a MegaBucks ticket, totally unlatched from my former philosophy-its a sucker bet, don't do it.



The plan was, Brian and Attilla were going to watch the football game, and stop at 7:00 for the drawing. The rest of us would report to Brain's, and after the numbers were revealed, we'd repair to my house for a Win Or Lose celebration with wine and cheese and a video. By the time we went to Brian's house, Jan had recruited four more people. None of them wanted to party, they just wanted results. Here, then, Attilla, Brian, Attilla's wife Patty, and Jan, happily holding a possible fortune, in that little glob of yellow paper.  Whoo, whoo.  The football game was forgotten. Brian had wine and hors d'oeuvres for us while we waited for the numbers. The PowerBall Website was so jammed, we didn't get the numbers until almost 9:00 p.m. and, then from a youtube video. Silly me, I thought the numbers would be announced in a game type format on TV where a billion people would watch an official push the button on the official PowerBall machine, the balls would drop one by one, the numbers displayed before a hooting, expectant audience. Nope.


Here,  the winning numbers on Brian's computer. Among our pooled tickets, one ticket earned four dollars for getting the powerball number right. All hopes dashed. Before we left,  Brian was trying to find out if anyone had won, by then, $949 million dollars?
Jim called me this morning and told me nobody won. It goes up over a billion for next Saturday's drawing. An obscene amount of money. Am, I going to buy a ticket?