Editorial: Next time I'll win

Everyone's dream is to win Lotto.

Monday morning and my alarm goes off at the normal time.

I sigh and put it on snooze and lie back for another nine minutes while I contemplate my day. Now if only I had won Lotto, I could be lying on a beach or poolside somewhere tropical - or at least on my way there.

I bought my Triple Dip on Saturday and hoped for the best along with thousands of other Kiwis. I had my fingers and toes crossed and waited in anticipation of the news that someone in Tauranga had won.

I scanned news websites on Sunday to see if there was any winning tickets sold in Tauranga, maybe I was in luck. To my disappointment, a Powerball player with a ticket sold in Auckland scooped Saturday night's $26.2 million jackpot.

The winning ticket, sold at Willy Wonka in Westfield Downtown, was worth $26,061,898 from Powerball first division and $200,000 from Lotto first division.

However, someone who bought their ticket closer to home managed to nab $200,000.

The ticket was sold at Papamoa Beach Four Square, obviously not where I bought my ticket.

This week I was sure it was my turn, sadly it wasn't and back to reality I go.

I don't buy Lotto tickets every week but when I do, I really do have the unreal expectation I'm going to win.

Like many others, I daydream about what I would do and plan how I would spend and distribute my wealth among friends and family.

It's always the same, pay off debts, buy property, go on holiday. The list goes on.

No wonder I have high hopes of winning when last year more than $2.6 million was won at a Tauranga Lotto outlet, making it the luckiest outlet in the Bay of Plenty and the country's fifth-luckiest.

Bayfair Lotto sold 53,999 winning tickets, with combined winnings of $2,675,102, in 2013.

Tauranga City also had the eight biggest winnings per capita out of the 79 regions listed. If the city's winnings were distributed evenly, each person would receive $172.18.

Bayfair Lotto was also rated the Western Bay's luckiest store in 2012 with a total of 51,224 winning tickets sold, equating to winnings of $905,460.

I know the chances of winning Lotto are slim but I can dream.

I probably won't be buying a ticket this weekend but the next time I do I'm sure I'll win.