Play To Win

By: Daniel Greigg

“25… 15… 18… 20… 37.”

Toby listened as the host announced the winning numbers. A complete miss. Loss number 45, and Toby had only been playing for a matter of months. Local lotteries, state lotteries, national lotteries — he entered them all. He had even started playing the smaller scratch-off tickets.

Two months ago, Toby’s friend Josh had bought him a lottery ticket for his birthday. The jackpot at the time was already over $100 million, and no one had won yet. From then on, Toby had his eyes set on the Mega Millions, and he would not let anything get in his way.

Ticket after ticket after ticket.

Toby had a ritual. Monday it was the scratch-offs. Wednesday, the Montana State Lottery. Friday… the Powerball. He spent as much as he could on the tickets without breaking the bank. His job was over minimum wage, but working the register at the local Walmart wasn’t cutting it anymore, and Toby hoped the lottery would be his way out.

~~~

There was a brisk wind outside as Toby walked home from work one Wednesday afternoon. The roads were calm as usual. Toby lived just outside of Whitefish, Montana, a town of less than 10,000 people. Empty streets were a common sight.

Toby walked down a couple blocks and approached the gas station where he normally bought his tickets. Today was state lottery day. Toby played every week, but to no avail. It felt as if the system was rigged against him.

“Ahh, Toby! The usual?” the clerk called as Toby entered the store.

“Yeah,” Toby replied, rifling through his wallet. Most of the cash he carried was dedicated to the lottery. He pulled out a couple bills and handed them over to the clerk.

“Feeling lucky today?”

“No luckier than normal, but hey, you never know! I just don’t like to get my hopes up. Just another Wednesday. I’ve lost plenty of those…” Toby sighed.

“Well good luck to you,” the clerk replied. “I’ve never won myself. After a while I gave up on them things. Silly tickets.” He rang up the bill and took Toby’s money.

Toby walked out of the station with his new ticket. It had “MONTANA STATE LOTTERY” printed on the top. Montana. Of all places. Why did he have to live in Montana? “The Land of Nothingness,” as he liked to call it.

The walk home was short. Despite the state’s size, the towns were clustered close together, which made walking home easy for Toby. It also meant that he didn’t need a car, which was convenient because all he did to support himself was work the register. Sometimes he thought he should stop buying lottery tickets and save his money for something that really mattered in life, like a nice house or a car. Yet Toby continued to spend on the tickets. He was so sure that it would pay off eventually.

~~~

It was Friday, August 10, 2018. Toby’s shift ended for the day at 6:00 P.M. It was 5:57 P.M. Those last few minutes at the end of the week were excruciating. Working the register was monotonous to the nth degree. The last few customers always seemed to have the largest orders. By the time the last few customers filtered out of his line, Toby was beyond ready for his shift to end. It was nearly 6:45 P.M. before Toby was actually able to leave the store. As soon as he could, Toby rushed down the street to get to the station.

“There you are, Toby. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up! Your ticket’s been waiting for you.”

“I got here as soon as I could.” Toby caught his breath. “I didn’t want to miss a day, you know? Never know when you’re going to get lucky…”

~~~

The old door creaked open as Toby entered his apartment. The place was tiny, beat up, already 50 years old, and its sole redeeming quality was that the rent was cheap.

Toby set down his ticket on the counter and pulled out a frozen meal from the freezer. Ever since he started living alone, Toby had started eating worse. Ramen just couldn’t compete with his mother’s cooking. He yearned for the fresh ingredients and complex flavors she used to cooked with, but had always been too embarrassed to tell her that. There were too many things he had lost over the years. Toby hadn’t talked with his mother in years. As Toby grew older and became more independent, he talked with her less and less. He never went to visit, never brought her gifts, and never even celebrated the holidays with her. Regret began to build up within him.

~~~

Toby woke up the next morning with high hopes. It was Powerball day. The jackpot was sitting at $348 million. The drawing wasn’t until 11:00 P.M. The hours passed by slower than ever. Toby watched the commercials on TV during the last few hours leading up to the event. A man was on the television advertising a new bass guitar.

Bass guitar. Bass guitar.

Toby got up and walked into the kitchen where he kept his lottery list. Ever since he started playing the lottery, Toby had been writing down the things he would buy if he won.

When I win the Lottery

Mansion!

Ferrari

Swimming pool

Pool table

German Shepherd

Toby added a bass guitar to the list. “Why not?” he thought.

Bass guitar

Toby returned to the TV set and reviewed his numbers as the host introduced the program and began to announce the winning numbers.

“31,” match, “24” another match, “19,” Toby’s heart pounded, “14,” his eyes widened, “27.” Toby couldn’t believe his eyes. “22.” The Powerball. It was a complete match.

~~~

His private limousine was waiting for him as Toby walked out of the Rolex store. The door clicked open silently as he approached the vehicle. Once inside, he relaxed on the reclining seat and admired his new watch. The brilliant diamonds glinted in the light. The limousine rounded a corner and turned into the gated estate.

The sun was setting over Los Angeles as Toby entered his new home. His German Shepard greeted him at the door, jumping up on his and licking him.

“Hey, Apollo! Hey boy! Do you want some dinner? You do? C’mon let’s go get some food.”

~~~

The house was only two stories tall, but outfitted with the finest luxuries. When he won, Toby went out and spent. And spent. And spent.

The house was his first purchase. Having that entire big house to himself made him feel like the happiest man alive. His old apartment was dim, dull, and dusty. The door creaked, the floors wobbled, and the lights burnt out every other week. Nothing like his $8.2 million Los Angeles mansion. Yet, an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame washed over him each time he stared up at the high ceilings. Growing up in a poor family, Toby had always dreamed of living in a fancy house and eating expensive foods. Now that he had all those things, his life had become a puzzle. What did he want? A vacation? From what? He didn’t have to work for the rest of his life, and Los Angeles was beautiful by the ocean. A new car? He had already bought the Ferrari he wanted.

Toby was alone in his riches. It was only a month after he won, and Toby’s mood was already declining. He still had a ton of money left over, and no one to share it with but his dog.

~~~

Briiiiiing! Briiiiing! Toby checked the caller ID on his phone. North Valley Hospital. Curious, Toby answered the phone.

“Hello, is this Toby Gillmore?”

“Yes,” Toby replied, concerned.

“Toby, it is with my deepest regret to inform you that your mother has fallen terribly ill. She was diagnosed with leukemia this morning. We think she can fight through it, but unfortunately the recovery might be quite lengthy, and she’s very lonely.”

Toby knew what he had to do.

He called his private pilot first thing after he got off the phone with the nurse. Toby grabbed his bags, dashed to his car, and sped off towards the airport where his jet was waiting for him. He arrived at the hospital early in the morning the next day.

Toby walked through the halls of the hospital anxiously. He had seen the haggard condition of some of the other patients. It was hard for him to think that his mother might be terminally ill. The nurses told Toby what it would take to pay the bill. “Her illness is not fatal, but the antidote will cost tens of thousands… maybe a hundred depending on her rate of recovery…” the nurse had told him. Like pocket change. The bills were paid in an instant.

When Toby first heard the news about his mother, his stomach had done a somersault. While he had been living in the lap of luxury, his dear mother was suffering in a far off state. And not just her. There were hundreds of people in that hospital. And not just them. There were over 50 hospitals in Montana alone. Over 5,000 in the U.S. Nearly 20,000 in the world. Millions of patients being treated annually.

An incredible wave of guilt washed over Toby. Was it fate that he won the lottery? So that he could help his mother? So he could help the world?

Toby’s mother’s recovery had sparked a fire in Toby. Seeing his mother so sick had made him realize how fragile life is. Toby had decided to start a non-profit, and had pledged the majority of his lottery winnings to helping the poor fight disease. But it didn’t stop there.

Toby used to obsess over material things — his mansion, his Ferrari — and while he still enjoyed them, it wasn’t what made him truly happy. In a way, winning the lottery helped Toby discover his true passion: Helping the less fortunate.