The Lottery Ticket

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I can still remember the day my life changed forever. I am a single mother of two children struggling with income. Life has been a constant struggle since my husband left me. I was not only in depression, but I was a gambling addict. I bought a lottery ticket every week in hopes of winning and not having to declare bankruptcy to pay off some loans. I never had any luck until the day I will always remember: December 11th.

December 10th started out as any other day. Before, I went to work as a waitress; I went to the local supermarket to buy a Lotto 649 ticket. The jackpot that week was worth approximately 30 million dollars. The numbers I picked were the same as always: 7, 17, 18, 21, 39 and 44. After buying the lottery ticket, I went to Lucky Fortune, the restaurant where I worked.

The restaurant was full; every table was occupied. As I walked through the door to the kitchen, my colleagues greeted me. I picked up a plate of chow mein and was about to go out the door, when I heard a scream. I looked around and saw a rat scampering towards me. I have musophobia, the fear of rats, so I accidentally dropped the plate of chow mein as I tried to jump onto the counter. The rat dashed outside the kitchen to where all the customers were eating. The customers who saw the rat acted crazy. Someone jumped on the table hollering, others rushed out the door and others started shouting like the rat was a devil. It took us 15 minutes to calm all our customers down after the owner had called an exterminator. After the exterminator trapped the rat in a cage, the government health services ordered Lucky Fortune to be closed for a month because of unsanitary conditions. Not only am I living in poverty, I also was fired because the owner thought it...

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...t connection. I checked out the Lotto 649 site and saw a picture of the clerk, holding up a check for 24.15 million dollars (80.5% of the jackpot since the ticket had 6/6 matches). I researched the winning numbers and my heart sank. The numbers were: 7, 17, 18, 21, 39 and 44. I had been scammed. I called the police but was told that since I did not sign my name on the back of the ticket, I had no proof the winning ticket belonged to me. I did not take the necessary precautions, and it cost me over 21 million dollars. Although I had more money than I ever dreamed of, I knew the scam was preventable. Even though I thought I had no chance in winning, I should have been more cautious. After paying off my loans, I had half a million to spend. I was left wondering what might have happened if I was smart. I guess if something is too good to be true, it probably is.

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