BETWEEN THE LINES: WINNING LOTTERY CHANGES MORE THAN JUST LUCK

I am one of the few people in Missouri who didn't buy a lottery ticket for the $250 million Powerball drawing Wednesday.

Despite the frenzy in local lottery outlets, I didn't make an attempt to join the lines of hopeful winners.

I even passed on the office lottery pool collected for Saturday's drawing. Because none of my co-workers won that pool, I suppose they'll be buying tickets for the next lottery drawing as well.

But I still won't be playing. There are plenty of reasons -- ranging from the odds being too high to my bad luck -- for why I don't buy a ticket.

I've never won anything of worth, except for those free Coca-Colas. But it took buying nearly 20 two-liter bottles for me to win those. Again, the odds aren't in my favor.

I understand that you can't win if you don't play, but, in my opinion, the lottery is just another game for me to lose.

Sure it's a game that could potentially change your life if you win, but I'm not that lucky and I doubt anything will change overnight.

I did buy a ticket during the last Powerball frenzy, but I didn't win then either. I had a hard time convincing my uncle, Jimmy, that I only needed one ticket to win. He bought about $20 worth to better his chances of winning. I thought he was just helping to raise the ante.

Either way, both of us remain lottery losers. But I've decided that I'm not cut out to win the lottery.

Truthfully, I don't think I fit the description of a lottery winner since I seldom play.

And I doubt I would be able to handle the changes that a $250 million prize would bring to my life if I were to win the lottery. Even a smaller sum would bring too many surprises and complications to my life.

I've heard of people who win the lottery and completely change their lifestyles by buying vacation homes, extravagant mansions and shiny, new cars. Others remain the same but have the benefit of never again scrambling to pay their bills.

A friend told me a story recently about a man who tried to file bankruptcy even though he was a millionaire. He had won the state lottery and it caused so much trouble among his friends and family that he wanted to give all the money away.

Unlike that man, I've imagined how I could spend my winnings. At least I can dream what my life would be like.

Winning a $250 million prize would certainly bring the wealth every person dreams of -- I'd never have to live from paycheck to paycheck, as is my current lot.

And I'd be able to buy a house without hassling over a purchase price or getting a loan, a new car wouldn't upset the delicate balance of my budget and I'd be able to buy whatever I wanted.

But the true test of wealth would be filling a refrigerator with ice cold bottles of Coca-Cola. I'd certainly feel wealthy with that sort of luxury.

I guess that means wealth doesn't always come in monetary packages.

~Laura Johnston is a copy editor at the Southeast Missourian.