Know When To Run

 I'm not a gambler.  I mean, I've done it, but I don't do it.  Not my bag.  I'll tell you a short story before I tell you my story.

 I took a walk through a big casino a few years ago.  I went because it was raining outside, the parking was free, and it doesn't cost anything to go in.  Seemed like a way to kill some time and people watch.  I definitely saw some stuff.

A young man walked up to the Blackjack table with $100, placed a $50 bet.  Lost.  Placed another $50 bet.  Lost.  Turned and looked at me with a smirk and a shrug, feigned a chuckle, and left.  *poof* 

A group of bros went to the roulette table, one of them bet $100 on 0 Green, and hit it.  His buddies erupted.  Then he placed the exact same bet again, and hit it!  Immediately and out of nowhere, a swarm of suits came and changed out the roulette wheel and the little white ball.  The area turned to chaos and we just got out of there.

I walked by a completely different roulette table, said "27 black" and hit it.  No bet.  I just called the number.  Do you know the thrill, in and of itself, of guessing which number the little white ball will land on turns out to be rather minor?  I think in that moment I learned the games themselves are pretty boring.  I'd guess most people walking into a casino never much think about that.  They're not really there for the game.

I left that casino without spending a dime on anything.  Not even a snack or drink.  That was kind of a good feeling.

 But when some entity says they're giving away close to a billion dollars... well, for a $2 gamble, you should probably throw your name in the hat.  At least I thought so.  Now the jackpots often reach the high 9 figures, and the drawings are every few days.  A non-gambler could find themselves going to the convenience store a few times a week to hand over those $2.  It's the kind of thing that will make a non-gambler habitual.  But you know what?  This isn't even what I'm here to talk about.  Let me get right to it.

 I sure do have a lot of self-imposed rules for a non-gambler.  That's because I believe in fate. I think when it comes to the lottery, you have to.  You can't control any of it.  You pays your money, you takes your chances.  That's the full extent of it.  So when I buy a ticket, I ask for a quick pick.  I don't pick my own numbers and I don't intervene by injecting any "lucky numbers" into the mix.  What the computer gives me is what I get.  Fate.

So when I ask for a $2 quick pick, and the clerk spits out a $3 mega-multiplier or whatever it's called, well frankly that fucks up the whole system because now what do I do?  WHAT IF THAT TICKET TURNS OUT TO BE THE WINNER?  I have to take that ticket.  I hope this doesn't sound like comedy because I think it is absolute truth.  If the winning ticket in a high 9-figure lottery drawing comes from the same store where I refused a ticket, I don't see how that would not gnaw at me for the rest of my life.  No sir, if someone hands you a lottery ticket, you take that ticket.  Minimize your personal points of failure in the fate-delivery system.

And seriously - don't pick your own numbers.  Forget about your lucky number.  What if, because you had to play your lucky number, you match 5 out of 6 and the one that was wrong was your "lucky" number?  You okay living with that?  Don't put that on yourself.  Leave the heavy lifting up to fate and don't try to inject yourself into the process.

 And while we're at it, no, don't buy a lottery ticket for someone else. "Hey, when you go to the store, will you buy me a lottery ticket?"  That's a hard no.  That says, "Hey, can I borrow your fate for a sec?  Just long enough to make me rich, thanks."  I hope I don't need to explain that further.

 Anyway I'm not a gambler.