It's an exciting week for Atlantic Canadian degenerates, because the ALC has released two brand new lotto scratchers.
I'm only trying one, though.
Because look at this thing.
That's the 30X.
And it's kinda neat. It's green like American money. It's got a lot of spots to scratch off. There's an X in the middle, which I can only imagine means some kind of multiplier, so that's some extra excitement in every ticket. Winning the $3,000,000 jackpot would be neat, too.
But if you allow your eyes to wander to the upper left corner, you'll see that this green beast costs thirty whole dollars.
Thirty!
Even for a fool like me, that feels like such a bold risk.
It also happens to be my entire weekly lotto budget.
Until my financial situation changes (in either direction), I'm allowing myself $30 per week to gamble however I wish.
And yeah, I could put all my faith in the 30X and blow it all on one ticket. But that would leave nothing for Mrs. Lucky Duck, and I do like to get her at least a couple tickets a week.
So I won't be messing with the 30X any time soon.
But lucky for me, the Atlantic Lottery Commission decided to do a solid for people of more modest means. Their other new scratch-off joins the ranks of the many fine $5 tickets they sell. And since that fits my budget, I grabbed one as soon as I could get my hands on it.
Boom!
I guess the ticket is called Boom. But I couldn't bring myself to ask for "one Boom please" so I used the subtitle too.
"One Boom Multiplier, please," I said. Out loud. To an adult. Somehow convincing myself that didn't sound equally ridiculous.
Despite its silly name, it's a nice-looking fellow. Pleasantly yellow. There are dollar bags all over it (gotta get me some of those!) I like it.
Payouts range from $5 (well, technically $0) to $50,000.
Odds of winning are a respectable 1 in 3.92.
And it's your standard scratch-off situation: uncover the winning numbers, then uncover your numbers, and if any of them match, you win the corresponding prize.
So, scratch them I did.
My winning numbers were 01, 19, 14, 40, and 44. And I don't know how to explain this, but it felt unlucky, just a bogus set of numbers.
But I dutifully scratched out each of the dollar bags. Because you never know when your unlucky number will actually be lucky. That kind of voodoo happens all the time.
The money bags were nice to scratch out. Every swipe went smoothly. Very pleasant.
But not very win-y. No matches. Just a bunch of money bags I don't get to claim.
Here's the thing, though. Those lightning clouds aren't just for show. Those multipliers are three more changes to win.
The way it works is that each one has a number hiding behind it. And if one of the multiplier numbers matches one of the money bag numbers, you win that prize multiplied by 2, 5, or 10, depending on which multiplier was a winner.
So, I scratched out my first lovely little cloud - the 2X one.
And would you look at that?
 |
| boom.wav |
The 2X cloud revealed a 36, which matched with a $10 prize.
And sorry for getting technical with you, but 2 x 10 = 20. So that's a $20 prize right there.
Not too shabby!
And now I don't know what to tell you. Because I'm quite a fan of the Boom (aka Boom Multiplier) but it's entirely possible my judgment is clouded by getting a decent win my first time using it.
So I guess I'll have to lose on it a few times before forming an opinion.
But one thing I know from experience is I like any ticket that gives you a second chance. It's really exciting when you think you lost but then you win in the end. It's also cool when you win and then you win again - not gonna turn my nose up at that. Hell, it's even kind of thrilling to lose and then lose again, because you get to experience the gambler's rush twice in a row.
Safe to say, I'll be playing this one again.
And if I ever get so lucky as to score one a 10X multiplier, maybe I'll celebrate by getting myself one of those fancy 30X tickets.
Tally
Wagered This Session: $5
Profit This Session: $15
Total Profit Overall: $156.96
