Why I Bought $5 in Scratch-off Tickets

Buying Into A Fantasy

There's a scratch-off dispenser at the supermarket in my town. It's an obnoxious machine that appeared in the store a couple months ago. There's a lighted scrolling banner on the top and it doesn't give change. I didn't buy from that machine.

I went to the Hallmark store next to the liquor store to buy them. There's something off about the Hallmark store. Everything feels kind of old and yellow. It feels vestigial. I would be surprised if they made a sale in the last month. I suspect it's the lottery tickets that keep them in business.

I don't normally buy lottery tickets for myself. I have trouble shelling out money for nothing in return and that's what it feels like. On occasion I will put my two dollars in a pool (mainly cause I've convinced myself that they'll win if I don't and I'll spend the rest of my days kicking myself).

I gave the man behind the counter five dollars and asked for five one dollar tickets. I stuck the tickets in my pocket and went back to work.


I wondered if maybe, just maybe I wouldn't be parting with my hard earned money for nothing. Maybe I would get something. I traded my money for the possibility of something.

I went home with the tickets. Five chances to win something.

There were no visions of future purchases dancing in my head. That's not what I would do with the money. If I ever won a million dollars, a thousand dollars, a hundred, it would go straight into savings. I love the comfort that a healthy savings account offers.

I wouldn't want a mansion. I would not want a Porsche. I would want to know that all those stressful and sucky aspects of daily life are taken care of. I would want to know that I'm in a better place than I was before. I would want to have that cushion. Money doesn't buy happiness but having it can be a comfort.

I guess the reason I bought the tickets was because I'm in the market for dreams. That's what they sell. That's what people buy. The slogan in New Jersey is "Give your dreams a chance".

I bought the tickets to buy them and I got the transient hope of getting money and the definite possibility that I would get no money. Either way I got something different to write about out of the deal.