There’s an old saying in the lottery world: “You have to play to win.” The only problem is that whenever I play—I lose. Not huge a huge amount of money (usually less than $5), but the sting is still there. So hearing about the 100 Wisconsin cheese company workers (they live less than an hour away from me) who won the recent Powerball jackpot worth $208.6 million was a bitter pill to swallow (which is not to say that I’m not thrilled for them). I have to give them credit; the workers (all who work the second shift at the cheese plant) pooled their money for three years before they bought the winning ticket. So I suppose their persistence paid off—big time.
Then less than a month ago there was the report of the Iowa couple who stepped forward to claim their $200.8 million Powerball prize. According to news reports, the couple met while working at Wal-Mart. Both say they will continue working despite becoming millionaires.
Of course, this brings me to all the people (like me) who have never won the lottery. Recently, the Iowa Lottery revealed a little know fact about what happens at their office after news spreads that a large jackpot has been won (prior to the winner being announced). According to lottery officials, after the winning numbers are drawn their office is flooded with callers trying to explain why they were winners but could not produce their winning ticket.
One Iowa Lottery official said, once, a Minnesota woman who was traveling through Iowa said she left her ticket on her car’s dashboard while she was in the store and her dog ate her ticket. Then there was the one where a person told the lottery that he left his winning ticket in the truck he was driving for work, but he could no longer get to the ticket because he no longer worked for the company. Another man who contacted the lottery didn’t remember much about his ticket.
“He left his ticket in his hotel room, but couldn’t remember what city he was in, the name of the hotel nor the store, nor the date (of when he bought it),” lottery officials said.
Another man called the lottery, claiming that he burned the winning ticket with some other trash when he cleaned out a car. He told lottery officials he couldn’t remember the details of the purchase or the day that it took place because he’d had a head injury nine years earlier and it affected his memory.
Lottery officials say the longer it takes for the winner to come forward, the more people wonder, “Was that me? Could I be the winner?”