Winner ‘Listened’ To Lady Luck
People have a lot of superstitions and beliefs about lottery tickets and lottery ticket numbers. There are those who swear by lucky numbers which have won them a few dollars now and then, or particular ‘lucky stores’ which seem to sell more winning tickets. Other people use significant dates, some only play whenever they feel lucky and a few have even won by using number combinations taken right off fortune cookies!
Despite superstitions and so-called systems, it seems like people who are destined to win will get that jackpot most of us are still dreaming about. Many lottery winners in fact seem to have been led to their fortunes. Past stories include winners who bought a ticket while waiting out a storm at a gas pump, one who bought a ticket at the next machine because the first one was broken, and a few people who bought tickets because they just felt lucky.
Hubert Tang, who recently won a million dollar jackpot from an instant lottery ticket, seems to have been led to his newfound riches too.
Luck Chased Down Hubert Tang
News accounts say Hubert Tang is a bartender in the San Francisco Bay area. Until a few weeks ago, Tang had not purchased a lottery ticket for at least ten years. The papers don’t say why he stopped buying tickets so it can be anything from not having money to spare or maybe having given up on winning after years of play. But all that changed a few weeks ago when Tang chanced upon a $20 bill on the street just outside the San Francisco International Airport. Lady Luck must have thought that if Tang had no money to spare for tickets, then she would give it to him!
True enough, Tang took the $20 bill to Andrea’s Market, located at 1601 El Camino Real in Millbrae and bought two “$1 Million Jackpot! Scratchers.” He must have shared some people’s belief that such kinds of money are “lucky.” Or maybe he was just more comfortable taking a chance with money he has just found. Finding the $20 bill was sufficient to cause him to break his 10 year abstinence from playing the lottery.
As soon as he scratched the ticket right outside the store he realized he was a big winner, but he still asked a friend with him at the time to confirm it. One of the tickets had really won the top prize of $1 million.
What Now?
The big win came as too much of a shock for Tang to be able to think about things he would like to spend it on. The happy winner says since he has not made up his mind what to do with it, most of the money will probably go into savings for now. That is the most sensible thing for him to do.
But he is also considering the idea of leaving $20 bills on the street in different locations for people to find. He is hoping to share the luck in that way. And the store which sold the winning ticket also won a $5,000 seller’s commission.
What Can We Learn From His Win?
Hubert Tang seems to have been nudged toward playing the lottery again by finding a lucky $20 bill. But finding the money did not make him a winner. He won because he recognized that finding the money was Lady Luck’s way of prodding him to play the lottery again.
When a ticket seller hands you the wrong ticket or two tickets instead of one, try to feel for a hidden message from Lady Luck in there. When the weather or heavy traffic causes you to seek shelter at a place where there is a lotto outlet, consider buying an entry. And whenever you get a “lucky feeling” take a chance on a lottery ticket. You don’t want to ignore Lady Luck’s call after all!
What Would You Do?
If you were in Hubert’s position what would you have done? Look around for someone to give that $20 to? Hand it in at the
police station? Pocket it and walk on?
Let us know in the comments below.
Your Comments ↓
That’s a tough one. I like to think I would have just given it to somebody homeless. But now Hubert can do a LOT more for the homeless than if he’d just given away the $20! Moral dilemma!