Man wins $7 million in lottery after buying every single ticket:
Kevin Clark, from Candler in North Carolina, had a hunch that the top $US5 million ($A7 million) prize in the Mega Cash scratch-off game would be won in the western part of the state.
So he came up with an unusual strategy to ensure he got his hands on the lucky ticket – by travelling from store to store and buying every ticket he could find.
Mr Clark spent four hours on his quest to purchase every $20 Mega Cash scratchie ticket he came across in around 40 different stores.
And while it is not known how much he spent in total, it’s safe to say he came out on top after a ticket he bought from a Stop N Go outlet in Swannanoa, North Carolina ended up being the winner.
[...] In the end he decided to pocket a $US3 million ($A4.2 million) lump sum instead of taking the $US5 million as an annuity of $US250,000 ($A350,267) per year for two decades.
After taxes, he was left with a total cash prize of around $US2.1 million ($A2.94 million).
“I had a real good feeling it was going to be in the western part of the state,” Mr Clark said, according to the NC Education Lottery.
However, he said he was still stunned when his tactic paid off.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Subsentient on Monday August 10 2020, @08:05AM (2 children)
That's false hope, not real hope. The chance of victory is so infinitesimal that they'd be better off spending that money elsewhere, probably on a Snickers. At least then they'd be guaranteed to get something out of it.
False hope is inherently dangerous. It's better to be hopeless than deluded. At least then, perhaps you can come up with a strategy for something else entirely.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 10 2020, @07:36PM
Hope need not be real to be effective. If "false" hope keeps someone from blowing their brains out, isn't it real enough, for that person at least?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 10 2020, @11:01PM
The odds are probably better than the politicians making real systemic change that allows the bulk of people a real shot at success.