Thanksgiving Lottery Ticket

Submitted into Contest #16 in response to: Write a story around the theme: Be careful what you wish for.... view prompt

363 comments

General

John Franklin bought a lottery ticket. He wished he could hit the jackpot on the Saturday night after Thanksgiving.


           He knew he might win three hundred million dollars with a single two-dollar ticket. Would John double his chances to win if he bought two tickets? No.


A quick look at odds shows he would have one chance in three hundred million to win. If he bought two, it’s two in three hundred million to win the Powerball or Mega Millions. Pretty small odds. What if he bought a hundred and fifty million tickets? Then his odds are two to one that he would win. That’s about the same thing as flipping a penny and betting everything on that single flip of the coin. Would you do that with your hundred and fifty million dollars? If you had that much money, would you need to?


           Look at the penny. If you bet five dollars on a flip and you lost. What are your chances that the next time, if you call the same side, that you will win? It’s still fifty-fifty. Yes, over an infinite number of flips, it will be half heads and half tails. But nothing says it can not be heads seven times in a row. Happens all the time in Vegas on red and black on the roulette wheel. If you doubled your bet after each loss of $5, on the seventh bet, you are gambling $740 that you will win and only break even. What kind of odds is that?


           Back to the lottery. Perhaps John is not dissuaded by the odds. So why? Maybe it’s fun for just a two-dollar ticket. The fun of saying, I have a horse in this race and WISH I could win. There are a lot of others running, but if you don’t have a horse, you certainly have zero chances to win.


           John did pull off a miracle and win. He hit the big one. His Thanksgiving wishes come true. Would John’s life change? Would yours? You bet your life it would. John’s life did change, after living through what he thought was a heart attack that Saturday night. He and his family were ecstatic. John quit his job the next day. He could buy almost anything he wanted on credit. Merchants were more than happy to extend it based on confirmation of John’s win. New car for him, wife and grown kids. Trips, luxury, and money is no object. That’s the life, huh?


           Let’s visit with John two years later. He is miserable. John says to a reporter, “It was great for a while to have all that money. But my wife and I had to get unlisted phone numbers to keep friends from calling and asking for money for a great investment, or for a worthy cause, or their dying relative that could be cured with a costly radical new drug or procedure. I gave money at first. You can’t imagine the anger when I finally said ‘No’ to them. It was terrible. Soon I had no friends. My kids hated me when I finally started saying ‘No’ to them as well. My new friends were shallow money-friends.”


           John shook his bowed head he now held between his hands. “You can’t imagine the burden that comes with a ten million dollar mansion in Florida and the staff to keep it going. Rip-off property managers. The insurance, taxes, and salaries of everyone. My Yacht captain keeping my ship in ready to run condition month after month. Now triple that for my other two places around the states and the private jet plane to get there.”


           John drew up a deep breath and exhaled as if he was glad to get it all off his chest. “My wife left me months ago and went back home to live with her parents in another state. Course she took half of what we had in the way of property and liquids left in the bank. Heck, she could afford the very best lawyer, and I ended up paying for him.”


           He looked at the reporter and said with a hollow stare in dark eye sockets, “So you ask me what it’s like to win the lottery? Not all it’s cracked up to be. I’ll be broke soon, and the bills may keep coming out of nowhere. To get any peace at all, I need to sell everything I own for a fraction of the price, but I still can’t be happy.”


“Everything that meant anything is gone. The life I had that I thought was hard. I had friends, family, and good times. Never again will I have a Saturday afternoon cookout with beer, friends and a game on the portable TV.”


           John drew one last huge cleansing breath and said, “Everything that ever brought me true joy is gone. Winning the lottery was not my dream wish come true. It was my worst nightmare.”

November 15, 2019 15:32

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363 comments

Janet Willis
19:20 Jul 28, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

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Janet Willis
19:20 Jul 28, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

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Janet Willis
19:20 Jul 28, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

Reply

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Janet Willis
19:20 Jul 28, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

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Janet Willis
12:41 Jul 24, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

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Janet Willis
12:41 Jul 24, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Janet Willis
12:40 Jul 24, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Janet Willis
12:40 Jul 24, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

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Henry Smith
11:16 Jul 24, 2023

Hi, I'm Henry Smith, living in Dallas,Texas. I came across many testimonies on net testifying of DR. UWAIFO a voodoo spell caster that will help you cast a LOTTERY spell and give you the rightful numbers to win the lottery, i didn't believe it, at first but as life got badder i decided to take a try, now my try has made me a million dollars, i have been playing all types of lottery since 2 years now but i have not win up to $20,000, after contacting DR. UWAIFO cast the lottery spell and gave me the hot figures. Behold, I won $230,000,000,00....

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Henry Smith
11:16 Jul 24, 2023

Hi, I'm Henry Smith, living in Dallas,Texas. I came across many testimonies on net testifying of DR. UWAIFO a voodoo spell caster that will help you cast a LOTTERY spell and give you the rightful numbers to win the lottery, i didn't believe it, at first but as life got badder i decided to take a try, now my try has made me a million dollars, i have been playing all types of lottery since 2 years now but i have not win up to $20,000, after contacting DR. UWAIFO cast the lottery spell and gave me the hot figures. Behold, I won $230,000,000,00....

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Henry Smith
11:15 Jul 24, 2023

Hi, I'm Henry Smith, living in Dallas,Texas. I came across many testimonies on net testifying of DR. UWAIFO a voodoo spell caster that will help you cast a LOTTERY spell and give you the rightful numbers to win the lottery, i didn't believe it, at first but as life got badder i decided to take a try, now my try has made me a million dollars, i have been playing all types of lottery since 2 years now but i have not win up to $20,000, after contacting DR. UWAIFO cast the lottery spell and gave me the hot figures. Behold, I won $230,000,000,00....

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Ben Sanford
09:23 Jul 16, 2023

LOTTERY WINNER: My stepfather and I love playing the lottery and we always buy tickets together. Our winning wasn’t always guaranteed so we lost together. I became concern and research online on how to win the lottery when I saw numerous testimonies where people thanked lord Bubuza for revealing the right lottery winning numbers to them after casting a lottery spell. I discussed with him on WhatsApp:+1 951 442 2214 and he assured me that he will reveal the right lottery winning numbers to me to win the MEGA MILLION LOTTERY after casting a lo...

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Ben Sanford
09:23 Jul 16, 2023

LOTTERY WINNER: My stepfather and I love playing the lottery and we always buy tickets together. Our winning wasn’t always guaranteed so we lost together. I became concern and research online on how to win the lottery when I saw numerous testimonies where people thanked lord Bubuza for revealing the right lottery winning numbers to them after casting a lottery spell. I discussed with him on WhatsApp:+1 951 442 2214 and he assured me that he will reveal the right lottery winning numbers to me to win the MEGA MILLION LOTTERY after casting a lo...

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Rajeev Mashal
00:14 Jul 11, 2023

REAL LOTTERY NUMBERS TO HELP YOU WIN THE LOTTERY.......Dr Kumar is the best lottery spell caster and his lottery numbers strikes without any problem. The lottery numbers he sent to me struck and I won the sum of $64m and my friend also won $28m with the lottery numbers Dr Kumar gave to him. I came across Dr Kumar's contact through a comment on youtube when someone testified about his lottery numbers because I was searching for tips to improve my chances of winning the lottery. I contacted Dr Kumar and told him I needed the lottery numbers an...

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Ian Martin
09:32 Jul 06, 2023

Good day to you all, I’ve always played lottery games with the hope that someday I will win but that never happened. I did some research online and I came across an advert about Dr Amber who helps people that believe in his work. I explained my situation to him and he prepared a lottery spell for me and gave me some special digits to play the lottery. I did as he said without any skepticism and could you believe that after 3 days, I checked my ticket at a store where I bought it from and for the very first time in my life, I won the sum of £...

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Zatoichi Mifune
14:38 Jul 06, 2023

I've just been through your comments on your profile. 3 copy-and-paste comments, exactly the same. I understand if that actually did happen you might want to share it, but I'm pretty sure - actually I'm completely sure - that it didn't happen. There's no such thing as a lottery spell, for starters. Or, in my opinion, any spell. And I'm pretty sure that having 30,820,000 pounds would mean more than being your own boss. Also, looking up 'Dr. Amber' I find that he's a spiritualist/voodoo kind of person. How on earth would that help with l...

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Brenda Logan
03:33 Jul 05, 2023

Hi everyone i want to share my amazing testimony on how Dr Wealth transformed my financial life, i still finds it difficult to believe that i now worth millions of dollars, am from US i have been playing lotto for so long and i have never win any reasonable amount, i was glancing through things online and i came across a testimony of a woman who won a very huge amount of money with the help of Dr Wealth who prayed for her and gave her a winning numbers to play, and surprisingly her name came out among the winners she won 36million dollars, s...

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Ashley Walters
17:12 Jul 04, 2023

My name is ashley walters !!! i am very grateful sharing this great testimonies with you all, The best thing that has ever happened in my life,  is how i won the Powerball lottery. I do believe that someday i will win the Powerball lottery. Finally my dreams came through when i contacted Dr. OSE and tell him i needed the lottery winning special numbers cause i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never knew that winning was so easy with the help of Dr. OSE, until the day i meant the spell caster testim...

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Janet Willis
14:03 Jul 01, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Janet Willis
14:03 Jul 01, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Janet Willis
14:03 Jul 01, 2023

This is certainly a shocking and a genuine live Testimony!!!!. It was hard for me to believe when i saw a comment on the internet regarding how Dr Emmanuel help people winning lottery by sending them the winning numbers. This winning numbers are 100% guarantee that you must win the lottery. I give it a try and i won 39,000,000,00USD. My dreams came through when i email Dr Emmanuel and tell him i need the lottery numbers. i have come a long way spending money on ticket just to make sure i win. But i never know that winning was so easy until t...

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