My curiosity was piqued after my mother told me about “Pangarap Kong Jackpot”, a TV series aired by Radio Philippines Network, Inc. (RPN) for 12 years. Carlos Caparas collaborated with Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), where the lives, or struggles, of lotto jackpot winners were depicted. I checked out the past episodes on YouTube, and I was unsatisfied.
Are PCSO lotto jackpot prize winners real?
I asked a lotto bettor who frequented Araneta City. It was done randomly, not thinking that my inquiry would yield an immediate result. I was surprised that Rosie, an unemployed woman in her late 20s (and not her real name), had been doing it for years.
In fact, she often joined TV shows and radio programs that offered cash prizes. Her chances of winning there would be higher, she quipped. And it wasn’t hard to believe. (Not too many would be patient to write their contact details on a piece of paper and then insert the paper inside a long, white envelope. A proof of purchase of a certain grocery item must be added, which would come from one of the promo’s sponsors.)
Rosie’s mother scolded her on a number of occasions, reminding her that the money she spent on bond papers, white envelopes, and certain items could be more than what she might win. But she couldn’t think of another way. And then lightning struck.
“Eat Bulaga!” had another weekly promo, where three winners would be called. The first-prize winner would receive P100,000. Rosie wasn’t expecting much after losing count of the number of TV promos she joined.
She didn’t even watch that draw. Her mother did. She was both surprised and excited when Vic Sotto called out Rosie’s name. Shock was all over Rosie’s face. It was a dream come true. She went into hiding after claiming her first prize at Broadway Centrum and then depositing the winner’s check. A few months later, she decided to go job hunting one more time.
A business processing outsourcing (BPO) company hired her. She thought she had left her old life, but the urge to buy a lotto ticket was too strong to resist. She would buy a ticket every two months or so, she pointed out. She believes that lotto jackpot prize winners are real after her experience.
I still have my doubts about the lotto jackpot prize winners. I wasn’t a huge fan of Carlos Caparas, but that's another story. Creating a make believe is bread and butter for filmmakers. And both PCSO and Caparas provided a soothing, cynicism-free balm for TV viewers during these struggling times.
I could guess the demographics of the audience, most of whom wanted a huge slice of the lotto jackpot pie. Perhaps the only way to validate my doubts, or stand corrected, was to buy a lotto ticket. I will keep on doing it until …
My cousin, who was based in New York, was quite amused after I told him about my latest obsession. He recalled a Midwestern couple, whose story became a hot commodity.
Seventeen bidders, or producers, vied for the rights to film their story. Even Scarlett Johansson repeatedly called the couple. I was about to ask him what was special about them when my cousin beat me first. They found out how to win a lotto.
Jerry Selbee and his wife, Marge, lived in the sleepy town of Evart, Michigan. The newly-retired Selbee was a math wiz, who worked as materials analyst at Kellogg’s cereal factory. He was passing by a convenient store when a brochure caught his attention.
It was a state lottery game called Windfall. After reading the fine print, Selbee realized that Windfall had a mathematical flaw that would guarantee him millions if he bought enough lotto tickets.
“I looked at the odds, I looked at what the payoff would be and I did a risk-reward analysis,” the plain-spoken Selbee said.
Selbee and his wife spent countless hours buying and studying thousands of tickets in Windfall. He wanted to test his theory, or lotto pattern, and he turned out to be right. (Selbee won 16,000 US dollars.)
The couple did the same thing on a similarly structured lotto in Massachusetts. They invited a couple dozen family members and friends to join. Their venture resulted in a gross of more than 26 million US dollars.
The story didn’t change my life, but it changed my day. It made me feel good. Jerry and Marge were making lots of money, which could’ve been the root of all evil. But what they did was doing a lot of good. The couple rather not be in the public too much, which was why Hollywood was too late to learn about their success story.
What did I learn from both stories? I’ll buy a lotto ticket if the jackpot gets over 50 million pesos. I won’t spend more than 20 pesos. And I won’t buy a house and lot (after I win the jackpot). But it depends.
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