Russian lottery was a staple of my childhood. My parents would buy them all the time, and we'd often give them to each other as gifts during holidays. But we never won anything big. I'm a bit of a risk-taker, so I used to buy them myself for a while, but then I got tired of throwing my money away on lottery organizers. Ever since, I thought I was just unlucky, that everyone else wins except me.
xa0
The story of my win
I was at the checkout counter in a store called 'Krasnoe i beloe' recently, and my eyes landed on the Russian lottery tickets hanging on the shelf. I decided to buy some and give them to my husband for Valentine's Day, which was coming up.
xa0
xa0I hadn't bought lottery tickets in ages, and I thought they were always printed with specific dates and drawings. I remembered the designs on the tickets, which changed depending on the occasion.
xa0
xa0But it turns out that many places now sell undated tickets. You just buy a standard ticket, and it doesn't even have a drawing number or date. It just has a pack number and some codes.
xa0
xa0Only when you're checking out do the staff members scan the ticket and add the drawing number. They also attach a notice with the ticket details, including the drawing number, ticket number, and barcode. And if you're lucky enough to win, they'll even print the winning code on it.
xa0
They printed out the payment receipt, attached it to a random ticket, and I paid for groceries with my card. But the lottery was a separate operation. The cashier told me right away that I didn't need to come to their store to collect the winnings, gave me an address of another store. That's a weird approach.
xa0
But to be honest, I wasn't even thinking about the winnings. I didn't expect to win, and I had actually forgotten to give my husband the tickets.xa0
My friend texts me: 'Hey, are you checking the tickets?'
I respond: 'Uh, I bought the tickets!'
Yeah, I remembered them on February 23rd in the morning, when it was already the 9th hour. By the way, the lottery airs on NTV on Sundays from 8-20. And my husband was fast asleep, not waiting or guessing what he'd get as a gift for his new coat - lottery tickets for 'Russian Lotto'.
I'm not going to wake him up. I decided to check them myself. Lucky for me, the rules haven't changed. And they're even printed on the ticket. The idea is simple: first, you need to match 5 numbers in one row, then fill in one of two fields, and finally, two more fields. I think everyone knows this. 'Russian Lotto' has been around for generations.
xa0
I grabbed a pen, lay back in bed, and turned on the live stream online. By the way, I didn't miss anything. I started crossing out numbers, but it got boring really fast. It was a holiday edition, with congratulations, guests, and I was sleepy, plus I needed to go make a salad for the holiday. I crossed out a bunch of numbers.
xa0
My friend texts me: 'Only the 49 and 73 balls didn't drop.'
xa0
It turns out she'd already checked online. So, the result was known in advance. Great, a fair lottery. They record it beforehand, then release it to the public. After her message, my already slim chance of winning vanished.
Okay, I looked at the remaining two numbers. They were in one of the three tickets. So, two tickets won! But how many?
I downloaded the 'Stoloto' app. It said you could check the tickets between 10 and 20. My friend sent me a table with the order of the drawn numbers. But I didn't have time to sit and figure it out. I decided to wait. I came back to the lotteries around 11 am. Went to the app. And there were several ways to check. I chose the simplest one - by the kyu code. And, yay! I won 150 rubles.
xa0
I check the second ticket. Again, 'YAY!' Again, 150 rubles. I found it funny. I'd covered the cost of two tickets, but lost the third. To be honest, I wasn't really disappointed. I never expected to win, considering my luck. I'd spent a decent amount of money on it in the past, and there were plenty of examples around me - family, friends, neighbors. Nobody bragged about big wins. Only one acquaintance won around 500,000 rubles about 8-10 years ago, bought a nice car (now, even our automotive industry can't afford those prices).
I collected my winnings
I found it cool that I won something at all. So, I'm not completely unlucky. And then I remember the shop assistant said to go to a different location to collect my winnings. It's a holiday, it's snowing outside, and it's windy. I'm not going to venture out for 300 rubles, open the garage, and warm up my car. I'd spend that much on gas.
I went back to the 'Stoloto' app. Looked, and it turns out you can collect your winnings that way. Scanned the code again. And that's it. The winnings dropped into my app balance.
xa0
I have to admit, I didn't plan on buying those 300 tickets. I decided to buy more. The payment went through instantly. I chose the next holiday draw - in celebration of International Women's Day.
xa0
But I just couldn't stop. I remembered I still had 'Thank You' points from Sberbank. I bought lottery tickets with them a few years ago, and I blew it all. And again, I couldn't resist. I went to the bank's app, and I had 1,000 points. I bought four more tickets with them. Again, for the International Women's Day draw.
By the way, they deduct 250 points for one ticket, even though they're equivalent to a ruble. It's not entirely fair. But I didn't mind spending my points more than actual money. The process is simple - we exchange points for promo codes, and then enter them in a special field when buying tickets.
xa0
Registering a ticket takes a couple of seconds. And that's it, you're back in the game. Or rather, back in the trap. A bright window pops up with the draw date, how many days are left, and an offer to increase your chances. That is, to buy more tickets. I was literally holding myself back from giving in to this adventure. After all, I had already bought three tickets, but not for myself, and now I had six more for the next draw, and I even wanted to buy a colorful envelope for International Women's Day, I saw it in KB.
xa0
The universe helped me out. My husband woke up, went to the bathroom, and I snapped out of it.
I'm screaming at him: 'I won the lottery, twice!'
My friend just yelled from the bathroom: 'Did I win a million?'
xa0
I finally snapped out of it. I paid 450 rubles, won 300, spent another 1000 thanks, and even spent the 300 ruble win. I close the app, head to make a festive salad. I even spent less on that.
xa0
My final thoughts
Out of three tickets, I won two. So, 'Russian Lotto' didn't scam me. Every other ticket wins, but it's just a matter of luck. After the results were announced, my mood lifted. I was starting to think I was the unluckiest person ever. I've played so many times, but never won anything substantial. Not even small amounts passed me by. Now, I've started to believe in my luck.
xa0
I was also really pleased with how easy it was to check my tickets through the app and how simple it was to collect my winnings. I guess that's only for small wins. I didn't even try to withdraw the big wins. I read in other reviews that there are a lot of issues with withdrawals.
xa0
I absolutely hated watching the lottery on TV. As a kid, it was fun. The whole family would wait for the balls, cross out the numbers. Nowadays, it's boring, tedious, and I only watched half of the broadcast. Then, I crossed out some numbers on a table my friend had thrown away. Now, sitting and watching the show, congratulating the guests, and listening to the hosts' chatter has no appeal. Maybe it's a great pastime for pensioners and kids. Not for me.
xa0
💸💸💸💸💸
xa0
I still recommend Russian Lotto. Winning two tickets lifted my mood and made me believe in my luck. Approach buying tickets lightly, don't count on big wins, and most importantly, try to stop in time. I was about to spend half my salary. Luckily, my husband woke up and walked down the hallway. Now, I'm waiting for the St. Patrick's Day broadcast. Hopefully, I won't spend anything else. And, of course, I'll head back to work for the money.
After using this product for a week, I'm still impressed with how it's held up. The buttons still feel solid, and the battery life is still going strong. I've been using it for a variety of tasks, from casual browsing to streaming my favorite shows, and it's handled everything with ease. I've even dropped it a few times, but the build quality has withstood the test. I've been really happy with the value for money, considering the features and performance you get. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a reliable device.