Jacob Lovings reached over to grab a coin and the tickets off the bench seat on his red 99 Ford F-150. Actually it was called red, but one door was green and the hood also just out of the junkyard was a totally different shade of green. He thought to himself, ‘The paint job will be the first thing I buy when my ship comes in!' Never one who would putter around wasting time, he was casino bound on the Interstate at seventeen miles over the posted limit of fifty-five. The coin was needed for the scratching on the steering wheel.
When Jacob was done using his coin, he looked down in his floor board. All his trash goes into the floorboard, and not on to the road because ‘Tennessee is to Pretty to Trash.’ Between a couple empty Pepsi bottles he can see eight Green Gold two dollar scratch offs and four Giant Jumbo Bucks that cost him five dollars each. He even had one of the new twenty dollar tickets. None of these tickets were winners! If they had been winners they would have been on the counter at the nearest retailer and not made it to the floorboard. Jacob multiplied quickly; there was seventy-two dollars worth of losing tickets on the other side of his classic truck. Today, he was a many bucks over his daily scratch off limit of fifteen dollars. Jacob thought to himself, ‘you are still a loser’ He would throw them away before Thelma saw them. She would bitch at him over the Pepsi bottles and other trash much less the wasted wages spent on the lottery. Thelma, his high school sweet heart and wife of 23 years did not know he was a participant in the Lottery. She was a church woman who would never approve. When that ship finally tied up to the Loving's dock, when he did hit it really big, he would lug home a ton of cash and fling it onto the old, scratched kitchen table. He mumbled, ‘I will also have to get her another table when we win.' She might not approve of the fun of the lottery, but Jacob was sure even a church woman would be willing spend those big wads of life-changing cash.
It is not just the instant games, Jacob plays them all. Every Sunday night he stands in line at his favorite convenience store with fifty dollars and his betting slips in his hand. He plays his children's birthdates. Thomas's birthday of January 28th, 1994 becomes 1-2-8 for the three ball game, and 1-2-8-4 for the four ball game. From His daughter Samantha he gets 8-0-3-7. Jacob has an older son Frank, but he never plays his numbers being that he was born on January 11, 2001 his numbers which are all ones would be a very dumb bet. He always lets the computer pick the automatic numbers for the Pick 5, Lotto Plus, and the Power Ball. Each week, it cost eighteen dollars to play his numbers for both the 3-ball game. Another fourteen to experience the fun of playing the twice daily Cash Four contest. Seven dollars each for the weekly Pick five and the Lotto Plus. The remaining eleven dollars is spent on the national game, The Power Ball Jackpot, after all this week someone could win over 200 million., and like the guy on the TV says ‘You can't win if you don't play!’
Thelma, his wife, did not know or even suspect that Jacob had been leaving work every Thursday three hours early. This time inconsistency would allow him luxury to visit the Lady Luck Casino, nick named 'The Boat.' Any accomplished Black Jack Player, like himself, could take a few hundred (all he had left in his wallet for the long week ahead.) and turn it into a couple thousand in just under three hours. He would have this Thursday also, but the cards just did not fall his way! So he left the Boat after an hour and a half clutching his empty wallet. He never witnessed such bad cards, what a terrible streak of luck! He stated under his breath, "Jacob you are still a loser!", as he unlocked the faded green door on his red ride. Jacob had been saying that to himself a lot recently. He could not go home too soon, or Thelma might wonder where he should have been on those other Thursdays. That is why he sat in his hot parking lot for another hour listening to the radio. Then he started off toward his double wide which was crammed full of his adoring family.
He was on the off-ramp at his exit on the Interstate when he realized that his nightly chore was still undone. It was after seven o'clock, and it was time for the nightly ritual. He dialed the 800 number. As soon as Jacob heard 'Welcome to the Tennessee Education Lottery' he started punching his numbers. He did not need the computerized prompts from the voice on the other end. He had punched in the same buttons on his phone everyday for 19 weeks, and each result was the same. For 133 days Jacob had ended this phone call as a loser. Star-1-1-1 gets the mid-day Pick Three Contest winners. Star-1-2-1 gets the evening Pick Three. Star-4-1-1 gets the mid-day Cash 4 drawing, Star-4-2-1 gets him the four winning numbers from that afternoon drawing. Weekly he also checks the Pick 5, the Lotto Plus, and the national Power Ball Jackpot numbers. Jacob goes through all these recordings because he plays them all. Tonight the outcome would certainly be different.
He had to call the Lottery recording immediately. As his phone buttons were being pushed he could hardly believe his ears. He was a WINNER! He had to call again to confirm what he thought he heard. Yes he was a winner! His life was changing for the better. He pulled into a store where he saw the familiar Tennessee Lottery green and gold L, got out his pick three ticket and got in line. The ticket paid forty dollars, which Jacob shoved into his empty wallet. As he left the store he turned and yelled to the clerk and the other ten shoppers, "I am a WINNER! I am a WINNER!"
When Jacob was done using his coin, he looked down in his floor board. All his trash goes into the floorboard, and not on to the road because ‘Tennessee is to Pretty to Trash.’ Between a couple empty Pepsi bottles he can see eight Green Gold two dollar scratch offs and four Giant Jumbo Bucks that cost him five dollars each. He even had one of the new twenty dollar tickets. None of these tickets were winners! If they had been winners they would have been on the counter at the nearest retailer and not made it to the floorboard. Jacob multiplied quickly; there was seventy-two dollars worth of losing tickets on the other side of his classic truck. Today, he was a many bucks over his daily scratch off limit of fifteen dollars. Jacob thought to himself, ‘you are still a loser’ He would throw them away before Thelma saw them. She would bitch at him over the Pepsi bottles and other trash much less the wasted wages spent on the lottery. Thelma, his high school sweet heart and wife of 23 years did not know he was a participant in the Lottery. She was a church woman who would never approve. When that ship finally tied up to the Loving's dock, when he did hit it really big, he would lug home a ton of cash and fling it onto the old, scratched kitchen table. He mumbled, ‘I will also have to get her another table when we win.' She might not approve of the fun of the lottery, but Jacob was sure even a church woman would be willing spend those big wads of life-changing cash.
It is not just the instant games, Jacob plays them all. Every Sunday night he stands in line at his favorite convenience store with fifty dollars and his betting slips in his hand. He plays his children's birthdates. Thomas's birthday of January 28th, 1994 becomes 1-2-8 for the three ball game, and 1-2-8-4 for the four ball game. From His daughter Samantha he gets 8-0-3-7. Jacob has an older son Frank, but he never plays his numbers being that he was born on January 11, 2001 his numbers which are all ones would be a very dumb bet. He always lets the computer pick the automatic numbers for the Pick 5, Lotto Plus, and the Power Ball. Each week, it cost eighteen dollars to play his numbers for both the 3-ball game. Another fourteen to experience the fun of playing the twice daily Cash Four contest. Seven dollars each for the weekly Pick five and the Lotto Plus. The remaining eleven dollars is spent on the national game, The Power Ball Jackpot, after all this week someone could win over 200 million., and like the guy on the TV says ‘You can't win if you don't play!’
Thelma, his wife, did not know or even suspect that Jacob had been leaving work every Thursday three hours early. This time inconsistency would allow him luxury to visit the Lady Luck Casino, nick named 'The Boat.' Any accomplished Black Jack Player, like himself, could take a few hundred (all he had left in his wallet for the long week ahead.) and turn it into a couple thousand in just under three hours. He would have this Thursday also, but the cards just did not fall his way! So he left the Boat after an hour and a half clutching his empty wallet. He never witnessed such bad cards, what a terrible streak of luck! He stated under his breath, "Jacob you are still a loser!", as he unlocked the faded green door on his red ride. Jacob had been saying that to himself a lot recently. He could not go home too soon, or Thelma might wonder where he should have been on those other Thursdays. That is why he sat in his hot parking lot for another hour listening to the radio. Then he started off toward his double wide which was crammed full of his adoring family.
He was on the off-ramp at his exit on the Interstate when he realized that his nightly chore was still undone. It was after seven o'clock, and it was time for the nightly ritual. He dialed the 800 number. As soon as Jacob heard 'Welcome to the Tennessee Education Lottery' he started punching his numbers. He did not need the computerized prompts from the voice on the other end. He had punched in the same buttons on his phone everyday for 19 weeks, and each result was the same. For 133 days Jacob had ended this phone call as a loser. Star-1-1-1 gets the mid-day Pick Three Contest winners. Star-1-2-1 gets the evening Pick Three. Star-4-1-1 gets the mid-day Cash 4 drawing, Star-4-2-1 gets him the four winning numbers from that afternoon drawing. Weekly he also checks the Pick 5, the Lotto Plus, and the national Power Ball Jackpot numbers. Jacob goes through all these recordings because he plays them all. Tonight the outcome would certainly be different.
He had to call the Lottery recording immediately. As his phone buttons were being pushed he could hardly believe his ears. He was a WINNER! He had to call again to confirm what he thought he heard. Yes he was a winner! His life was changing for the better. He pulled into a store where he saw the familiar Tennessee Lottery green and gold L, got out his pick three ticket and got in line. The ticket paid forty dollars, which Jacob shoved into his empty wallet. As he left the store he turned and yelled to the clerk and the other ten shoppers, "I am a WINNER! I am a WINNER!"
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