Fat chance of landing the jackpot

I say this with no intended disrespect to Dannevirke, but it is not the sort of pleasant and modest little Norse hamlet where one would expect to see a Lamborghini Gallardo pull up outside the supermarket.

Or an Audi Q7 for that matter, although they are a more accessible model of car than the Italian stallion.

The Lamborghini is a stand-out car but in reality not really designed with the road from Dannevirke to Ormondville in mind.

But upon that stretch one may well soon be spotted - and maybe regularly.

Although I suspect not.

The Lamborghini Gallardo was one of the glamorous material prizes in the $14 million Big Wednesday draw which went Dannevirke's way a few days ago.

Someone local (although you can't rule out a passing traveller) picked up this remarkable bounty, and from the very moment the tossed coin on screen landed heads side up, their life changed forever.

Money, a lot of it, does tend to change things.

It also tends to spark a strange rush on tickets for the next million-dollar opportunity, with the sales outlet responsible for selling the big winner inevitably reporting increased sales as a result.

But of course, like the very numbers which emerge to create a winning ticket, it all comes down to nothing more than pure luck.

Just because a certain number has come out more than any other does not mean it is going to come out this weekend.

Given there is no science or pattern to a number exiting a barrel, the simple luck of the draw equation means it is entirely possible that number will never come out again.

Or it could come out eight times in a row.

Random luck.

But try telling that to the person I once watched hand over $140 for what appeared to be every conceivable chance of picking up what had become a record Powerball prize.

The big prize failed to go off, and I could only wonder (a wonder tinged with mild horror) if they went out and splurged big again the following week.

The odds of being the sole winner of a multi-million dollar prize currently runs around the one in 3.8 million mark.

But oh, the big spenders will insist - "if you're not in you can't win".

True, but winning does not come with any guarantees and a lot of money goes AWOL from hard-pressed family budgets every week, as excessive gambling kicks in, and that is sad.

Forget the alleged odds - bottom line is a $6 ticket has as much chance as $140 worth of tickets, because it is a game of sheer and simple luck.