I’m interested if any readers feel ‘in the know’ concerning the running of the Thai Lottery. Not at the top levels of Government, which has been the subject of investigation, but more that affecting the ordinary Thai. The Lottery is, of course, the twice-monthly event which has many Thai crazily running about e.g asking monks for lucky numbers, rubbing trees, relying on dreams and speaking to oddly shaped bananas and coconuts, actions which in the western world would suggest lots of candidates for mental institutions! Such is the interest, infatuation in apparent ‘chance’ and the hope a big win would improve their situation. I don’t blame them for that. The above is not, I hope, criticism, rather than a puzzled observation.
I guess what I’m asking is whether it IS entirely fair and all down to chance? The actual official draw used to be televised, no longer I believe, but even then there were suspicions of rigging. Was it televised LIVE? I would not have felt it likely that the draw is actually held on the afternoons of the 1st and 16th each month, because printed result sheets of all the winning numbers appear VERY quickly. Also, on the internet. That said, football result papers in England used to(still?) appear less than an hour after games finished.
Perhaps it would be naive in this, unfortunately, corruption-ridden country to believe that the draw is entirely above board’? But, as per other examples, maybe the Thai just accept the fact. It’s difficult not to think that many are not making an unofficial ‘packet’, maybe not from official tickets, but from the underground lottery, which uses numbers from the draw. Quite an opportunity - to know the winning numbers in advance of actual announcement of the draw, both for direct gain and to pass this information on to a network of agents willing to pay for the privilege. Many DO appear to know the winning numbers. My ‘ex’ was able to ‘phone somewhere to obtain what proved a winning number and she made a fair bit of money. Ok, maybe just luck or a one week con, because I’m not sure it worked a second time.
Personally, I haven’t asked a monk or coconut for that matter and my dreams keep giving me the same number.
TW has just informed me lady in Laphun? has won many millions. So, if genuine good luck, fantastically well done to her.
Anytime you spend money on discretionary entertainment or pleasure, the money is gone. Whether it's on a few beers, 
sex, a nice meal, a plane ticket back to wherever you came from, gas for your car to drive around sightseeing, or any one of a myriad of ways people can spend their discretionary income. The problem arises when it becomes addictive and the money you spend is not discretionary, but money you can ill afford to lose. And any of the items I mentioned above can be addictive, some more so than others. 
