A fortunate minority occupies a large share of media attention. Here we restore balance by catching up with some of those to whom lady luck has dealt an entirely predictable hand.
Ted Hurley, 59, a plasterer and home improvement enthusiast from Basingstoke picked the numbers 4, 19, 12, 36 and 41, none of which appeared in the draw this week. As a regular player he has won several small prizes over the 20 years he has played, swearing by the lucky dip. He said, “I’m neither surprised nor disappointed. It is a game of pure chance with 45m players, nearly all of them lose. So I play with the expectation of losing.”
A trainee nail technician from Runcorn Rachel Barnes, 23, who has run four half marathons, always uses digits derived from her siblings’ birthdays. “I did it since I started playing a few years ago.” One of them, the number three, came up in this week’s draw. “When I saw three had come up, I really thought it might be my lucky week, but then all the other numbers were completely wrong.” She says she will keep playing because, “It is only a matter of time until the other five numbers come up.”
This week’s star lottery loser: An IT technician Maidenhead, 38, who plays five-a-side football, who chose to remain anonymous, was excited to see four of her regular numbers. “I remember I checked when I was on the bus to work.” This would have probably meant she had won several thousand. But, a moment later, she realised that she had not bought a ticket this week because it rained really hard. She said she was “pretty annoyed” with herself. Asked what she will do now she has lost, “I would have liked to have paid off all my bills and have a holiday. I won’t do that now, not right away.”
We will bring you more stories of highly-probable outcomes next week. Do, please, contact Unreal if you would like to share the story of a lucky break which did not happen to you. ■