Lucky Jack

For Jack and his family(1), life was hard. Jack and his family lived in the rural town of Fort Valley(2). Jack worked two different jobs and struggled to pay for his bills(3), let alone his family. Like anyone else in his situation, Jack had a habit of playing the lottery a couple of times a week.

Today there happened to be a lottery drawing and so Jack following his usual routine and approached(4) Carl's market at the local gas station to purchase a lottery ticket. Although he usually bought scratch-off tickets(5) Jack instead opted for the PowerLotto because the mega Jackpot had reached a staggering 280 million. He gave the cashier a wave and gave him the numbers that would seal his fate; his mother's birthday, the last 3 digits of his wife's phone number, and his favorite number 5.

As the winning numbers played on the TV he heard the same numbers echo in his head; his mother's birthday, the last 3 digits of his wife's phone number, and his favorite number 5. Jack rushed over to call his wife and tell her the good news and she told him she would come back after she finished her shift.

However, His wife came straight home and revealed that she had quit her job and came straight home after the news had sunk in.

"I quit my job, Jack," said Jack's wife as she walked in the door "Why did you do that?" responded Jack. Jack's wife paused before responding "Because... We won Jack! That's it! We're set for Life" and she later added "You should quit your job tomorrow" "Yeah your right!" responded Jack while he considered the implications of winning the jackpot.

Later in the week after making the appropriate calls and subsequent news appearances Jack and his wife proceeded to tell every soul they knew about their lucky winnings. The young couple who had once promised to spend their money smartly slowly began to crack under the enormous pressure to spend. At first, it was a gift to families and friends. Next, it was a trip to New York City, then Dubai, then every other exotic city under the sun. Of course, it didn't stop there the couple bought Porsches and Mercedes(6), not to mention a multimillion-dollar dream home. Life was good for Jack and his wife however, like so many other tragic lottery winners before them, their newfound wealth was unstable and swiftly came crashing down. Jack and his wife now at the brink of desperation and bankruptcy erupt into an argument.

"We're broke Jack! What are we going to do!" desperately screamed Jack's wife "I don't know!" Jack angrily responded then later screamed," I told you we shouldn't have bought this house! I knew we couldn't afford it!" "Don't try to blame me, I didn't see you complaining about money when you were buying your sports cars!" shouted Jack's wife as her face convulsed with anger later following up with "The Repo man came yesterday because we couldn't make car payments on your stupid cars!". As Jack's wife illustrated her point she smashed her hand on the table with such force the lamp came crashing down sparking. The spark successfully ignited the wall burning the last of their fortune and their relationship(7).

The final nail in the coffin came later as Jack's wife found out he had cheated on her with loads of women he had met using the jackpot winnings. Jack now has ended up losing everything. However, he still has hope and continues to play the lottery to this day as he begs for change on the street.