Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Fat chance of landing the jackpot

Roger Moroney
Hawkes Bay Today·
27 Apr, 2013 11:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

I say this with no intended disrespect to Dannevirke, but it is not the sort of pleasant and modest little Norse hamlet where one would expect to see a Lamborghini Gallardo pull up outside the supermarket.

Or an Audi Q7 for that matter, although they are a more accessible model of car than the Italian stallion.

The Lamborghini is a stand-out car but in reality not really designed with the road from Dannevirke to Ormondville in mind.

But upon that stretch one may well soon be spotted - and maybe regularly.

Although I suspect not.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Lamborghini Gallardo was one of the glamorous material prizes in the $14 million Big Wednesday draw which went Dannevirke's way a few days ago.

Someone local (although you can't rule out a passing traveller) picked up this remarkable bounty, and from the very moment the tossed coin on screen landed heads side up, their life changed forever.

Money, a lot of it, does tend to change things.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It also tends to spark a strange rush on tickets for the next million-dollar opportunity, with the sales outlet responsible for selling the big winner inevitably reporting increased sales as a result.

But of course, like the very numbers which emerge to create a winning ticket, it all comes down to nothing more than pure luck.

Just because a certain number has come out more than any other does not mean it is going to come out this weekend.

Given there is no science or pattern to a number exiting a barrel, the simple luck of the draw equation means it is entirely possible that number will never come out again.

Or it could come out eight times in a row.

Random luck.

But try telling that to the person I once watched hand over $140 for what appeared to be every conceivable chance of picking up what had become a record Powerball prize.

The big prize failed to go off, and I could only wonder (a wonder tinged with mild horror) if they went out and splurged big again the following week.

The odds of being the sole winner of a multi-million dollar prize currently runs around the one in 3.8 million mark.

But oh, the big spenders will insist - "if you're not in you can't win".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

True, but winning does not come with any guarantees and a lot of money goes AWOL from hard-pressed family budgets every week, as excessive gambling kicks in, and that is sad.

Forget the alleged odds - bottom line is a $6 ticket has as much chance as $140 worth of tickets, because it is a game of sheer and simple luck.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Mount Maunganui landslide: Recovery of six missing could take weeks

26 Jan 06:27 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Ever-reliable Robson helps Hawke’s Bay to title, but may miss Hawke Cup clash

26 Jan 04:02 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Hastings Cornwall Park theft: Stolen turtles slowly make their way home

26 Jan 04:00 AM

Sponsored

Discover Australia with AAT Kings’ easy-going guided holidays 

15 Jan 12:33 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Mount Maunganui landslide: Recovery of six missing could take weeks
Hawkes Bay Today

Mount Maunganui landslide: Recovery of six missing could take weeks

Police say the recovery could last many days and possibly extend to weeks.

26 Jan 06:27 AM
Ever-reliable Robson helps Hawke’s Bay to title, but may miss Hawke Cup clash
Hawkes Bay Today

Ever-reliable Robson helps Hawke’s Bay to title, but may miss Hawke Cup clash

26 Jan 04:02 AM
Hastings Cornwall Park  theft: Stolen turtles slowly make their way home
Hawkes Bay Today

Hastings Cornwall Park theft: Stolen turtles slowly make their way home

26 Jan 04:00 AM


Discover Australia with AAT Kings’ easy-going guided holidays 
Sponsored

Discover Australia with AAT Kings’ easy-going guided holidays 

15 Jan 12:33 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP