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HBO Documentary 'Lucky' Explores the Lives of Lotto Winners
HBO Documentary ‘Lucky’ Explores the Lives of Lotto Winners
Despite the odds of winning the lottery (Approximately 1 in 195 million) many lucky lottery players have found themselves instant millionaires. All lottery players dream of that big win and wonder what it would be like to become instantly rich. A new documentary on HBO titled ‘Lucky’ takes a look at some lottery winners and their world. The documentary is the product of director Jeffrey Blitz who interviews several lo9tto winners whose world has been transformed by instant riches. Some winners were adept at handling money and others were not. One winner squandered all his winnings in a relatively short time. The 90 minute documentary explores what happens to several lottery winners.
Vietnamese immigrant Quang Dao who won one of the biggest jackpots in lottery history along with seven coworkers at a Lincoln Nebraska meat packing plant shows off the four McMansions he is building son that his children and grandchildren can be near him. After the fall of South Viet Nam in the 1970’s Quang Dao and his family escaped from the war torn country by boat and came to this country with nothing. In their custom made fireplace hearth Quang and his wife have an etched drawing of the refugee boat they escaped in. The story of the Dao family is heartwarming and the Dao family is truly grateful for their good fortune.
The dark side of lotteries is also covered. A Delaware working mother named Verna is also a gambling addict who spends $70 to $100 dollars a day buying lottery tickets in hopes of a big win. Verna picks her lottery numbers on ‘magical’ thought and various superstitious beliefs. There is also the happy story of Kristine and Steven White who lived in New Jersey and won $110 million in 2004 playing the Pennsylvania lottery. Initially the couple lived in the same house and their teenage son still worked at a fast food restaurant. The Whites used part of their winnings to offer financial aid to sick children. When director Blitz interviews the couple a year later they have moved into a private compound in Florida and Steve maintains a sports car collection.
The cautionary tale of Buddy, a former firefighter who squandered all his winnings is sobering. Buddy is now penniless and dependent on an oxygen tent and the kindness of friends. The documentary presents both sides of big lottery wins and the positive or negative experience a huge lottery payout can bring.
Switching to Internet Bingo?
Thinking of switching to internet bingo? If so, youre not alone. Experts in the online bingo industry are predicting a huge increase in the number of bingo players on the internet. Who plays bingo and why the sudden surge in the number of bingo fanatics who are choosing to play online?
The old stereotype of little old ladies sitting in a church basement chain smoking is no more. In recent years there has been a surge of younger players both on the internet and at land based halls. While male bingo players are still relatively rare (about 15%) studies have shown an increase in the number of men playing bingo on the internet. Bingo, whether online or land based, is still dominated by females. Online, women comprise 85% of players while at land based halls they account for 70% of all players.
Several factors combined are contributing to this increase in online players. Internet Bingo sites can offer much larger jackpots and a wider variety of brand name prizes than their land based counterparts. In Europe and the US smoking bans have literally emptied some land based halls and sent players to the internet. In the UK alone it is estimated that the new smoking ban could account for as much as a 63% increase in new internet bingo players. Convenience is a major factor for the switch to internet bingo. Given the fact that most bingo players are women and a majority have children, many women choose to play online because they can play and watch their children at the same time. It is obviously more convenient for a woman with children to play bingo on the internet. No baby sitter is needed and occasionally a parent will allow the children to participate in the game.
When making the switch to internet bingo what makes players choose one site over another? There are many reasons cited by experts in the industry. Most internet bingo players, like a majority of the general population, are not tech savvy and a site that is user friendly is more likely to attract players than one that is difficult to use and uses technical jargon. The attractiveness of a site, while a minor factor, can often make a player choose one site over another. As with any other business customer service and reputation are major factors attracting players and retaining them. In the past there have been some fly by night operations that gave the whole industry a bad rap. Most of these are now nonexistent.
The jackpots and prizes offered by internet bingo sites are significantly larger than those of their brick and mortar counterparts. Prizes such as expensive plasma televisions and all expense paid vacations are common on the internet but virtually unknown in land based bingo halls. The social aspect of bingo is cited as one of the main reasons players congregate in land based bingo halls. Internet bingo offers the same social interaction through the use of chat rooms. Internet Bingo has a real advantage here because the internet is global in scope and players from different cultures and countries can interact. Over half of online bingo players use the chat rooms and cite it as a major reason they play on the internet.
Internet Bingo is a steadily growing industry around the globe. With all the competition between the many sites consumers have the upper hand. Clearly internet bingo is the wave of the future.