Newspaper: Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Publication Date: Friday, March 9, 2007

Page No.: 11

Headline: AT THE SIDEBAR (Column) Big Jackpot Inspires Lotto Dreams

Byline: By J’AMY PACHECO

Body: I was browsing an online bulletin board I frequent when I noticed a new topic had been started. Its title read, “You won the Lottery!”

At first, I was really excited. I mean, for years I’ve been hearing that you can’t win if you don’t play, and for a moment, it appeared it was actually possible to do just that.

I soon realized, however, that the “You won!” headline was NOT a message for me, personally, but instead a thread in which people were discussing what they would do if they won a bazillion dollars in the lottery.

This thread was apparently started because of a California lottery jackpot that had surpassed the $350 million mark by Tuesday morning of this week. Not only do I not play the lottery, I wasn’t even aware the Golden State had a Tuesday game.

I’m pretty much oblivious to the lottery, except for those rare times when the jackpots climb to the levels that would make a solitary winner ridiculously rich. Then, the lottery is hard to miss, with people lining up everywhere for tickets and the media spreading lottery fever germs over front pages and airwaves.

It’s not that I wouldn’t like to win the lottery. The opposite is true. I would LOVE to win the lottery. But I figured out a long time ago that lottery winners are paid by the lottery losers. Judging by the size of the average jackpot, there are a lot of losers funding this thing.

When California first implemented its lottery, I used to buy tickets regularly. I used to joke that if I ever won, I’d get my apartment painted and buy new seat covers for my old Honda Civic.

Eventually, I lost interest along with the money spent on tickets. I guess I’m just not a born gambler. But with $350 million in the lottery pot this week, I thought it might be fun to buy a ticket. Or 10.

The online conversation got me thinking about what I would do with all that money. I know for sure I would travel.

I would start with a trip to Disney World, and follow that up with a Disney cruise. After that, I’d visit every Disney theme park in the world, and I’d take all my best Disney buddies with me. In my book, there’s just no such thing as too much Disney.

Once that was out of my system for a while, I’d head for Washington, D.C., where I’d visit all of the historical landmarks before spending a couple weeks going through the Smithsonian.

With that kind of money, maybe I could even buy an overnight in the Lincoln bedroom at the White House. Of course, I’d probably be too scared of the ghost stories to sleep, but if I were going to spend that much on a room, I’d probably want to stay awake all night anyway.

I don’t know where I’d live, but I would for sure buy myself a vacation condo in Hawaii. My husband and I used to go every other year, but we haven’t been in more than a decade and I miss the place. I’d make sure it had plenty of room for guests so we could bring our friends.

Next, I would figure out where “Phantom of the Opera” was playing, and take my daughter to see it. She’s always wanted to see it performed on stage, and it would be great fun to see it somewhere other than a high school gymnasium. London, I’m thinking.

While we were gone, I’d have someone come in and build a “Secret Garden” in our backyard, with a secret entrance to the garden from my daughter’s room. That’s always been her dream, but it’s never been a priority around our house. With $350 million, I think we could move that up a notch on our “to do one of these days” list.

At some point, I imagine we’d have to get to know all of the “relatives” who would come out of the woodwork. I’m pretty sure I know most of my relatives, but I’m even more sure that if I had $350 million in the bank, I’d get some more.

That kind of money would also buy some serious peace of mind. My 11-year-old intends to go to USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, for example, and it would be a huge relief to know her tuition is covered.

Naturally, I’d donate money, too, starting with schools and libraries and medical research. After that, well, we’d just have to wing it.

I suppose the house could use a new coat of paint, and my leather seats could probably use some sheepskin in the winter.

I guess some things never change. And with 350 million tickets competing with mine, I’m guessing my status as a lottery loser is going to remain one of them…