Even Steven Has A Conscience

I suppose Even Steven was feeling guilty for dealing me such a dirty hand on the casino trip we made Saturday. I swear I've not had such a losing streak since...um...let me think...EVER!

I'd been having no luck with the scratchers, either. That darn lottery owed me 8 winners, if I went by the odds on the backs of the tickets. That's even after winning $75 on a $5 ticket on Friday. I'd show you a picture, but I cashed it in on Sunday.

Anyhoo...I took part of the money back to use for future play, and invested some of it in more tickets. Lucky for me, I won all that back except for $5. Monday, I cashed in those winnings, and bought more tickets. And again, I won it all back except for $5. I could play a long time that way, only losing $5.

Here's the thing. I'm not so sure Even Steven actually meant for me to win. I had the tickets in mind that I wanted to buy. Knew before I even drove to town. All planned out. How much I was spending, which tickets in each store. Monday was Mo' Money Monday! The last Monday of the month, new tickets come out. I had looked them up before leaving home. A new $5 ticket, and also a $20 ticket and a $3 ticket.

Let the record show that I never buy the $3 tickets. That makes my money come out odd. I've never had much luck on the $20 tickets, so I rarely buy them. In fact, with my big windfall, I'd bought a $20 on Sunday, and won that right back. So I sure wasn't going to push my luck with any kind of $20 ticket so soon.

My plan was a new $5 ticket at The Gas Station Chicken Store, and a green one like I won the $75 on. However...for the first time ever, The Gas Station Chicken Store did not have the new tickets! They're always the first store to have them! So...I asked the Man Owner for the green ticket, and one of the next-to-new orange 20X tickets. I had traded in winners for them, and handed him my correct change for my magical elixir, when I saw that he had given me the wrong ticket! He'd handed me an OLD orange ticket, a Cash Craze.

Of course I didn't make a scene. He was busy, and I figured maybe there was a reason for that mix-up. But this threw my plan off at my next stop at Casey's. Because I had to get an unplanned 20X orange ticket there. But they had the NEW $5 ticket, so I got it, too.

This sent me to Country Mart for an old ticket that doesn't even have a bar code on it! But since I'd varied my plans at Casey's, I now had to substitute a second ticket at Country Mart. Which they were OUT OF. So I got a different one.

Anyhoo...as if you're not confused enough...the wrong ticket Man Owner gave me was a loser, but the one I bought in its place at Casey's won me $10. And the green one I'd asked him for won me $5. AND the one I substituted at Country Mart won me $10. So I did okay.

In spite of whatever Even Steven had planned for me when I left home.