Saturday, January 29, 2011

A Profitable Lay-Over

Next time you're stuck at an airport with your flight cancelled, the snow falling and no hope of getting away, don't complain. Go buy a lottery ticket.

Patricia Daly Eisel, formerly of Tullamore but lately of Long Island, was stranded at the airport when the storms hit over the holidays. With little to do to occupy her time, she bought $8 worth of lottery tickets. She had no hope of making millions at her job as a waitress, and what could it hurt to take a flyer?

Her plans were well and truly spoiled by the storm. But there were those tickets in her handbag, and as long as she wasn't going to Ireland, she went ahead and checked the winning numbers. You never know, do you? The mother of three is now $7.9 million the richer, after taxes.

Flush with cash, she booked a new flight to Tullamore and you couldn't blame her if she chose to fly first class. It made for a most pleasant surprise for her extended family.

Being Irish, the first thing she plans to do is buy a house with a big yard. For a people with a long history of losing their homes to the bailiffs and their land to an occupying foreign force, there's thought to be no better investment than land. After all, they're not making any more of it.

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