One heck of a grand prize

I'm not much into scratch-off games. The Powerball either, although I waste a few dollars every time the money gets outrageous.

I like gambling, occasionally, but when I first came to Mankato, I learned a lot about gambling and why not to.

I sold pull tabs, which at the time had a 6 percent chance of payout. I'm not sure if those odds are the same, but I'm sure it is close. Those are horrible odds when you consider if you buy 100 tickets, you may only walk away with six $1 winners, provided you landed in that 6 percent range.

But scratch-off games likely do have better odds. I could look those up for all of you, but I think you get where I'm going with this. I like to add skill to the things I compete in. I like to think. That's why I like games like Texas Hold 'em, or why I'm drawn to fishing.

So when Rapala and the Minnesota State Lottery teamed up for Fishin' for Fortune, I really didn't have an interest in playing. But many did, and many lost. Yet five of those first-time losers landed bigger payouts when they actually followed through and sent in their losing tickets for second-chance winnings.

Last Tuesday, June 23, five people from across Minnesota got a chance to compete in a shopping spree at the Rapala wharehouse in Eagan. Two of those winners walked away with $5,000 in Rapala gear.

Unreal. Just think of all the tackles and accessories a person could stock up on if they won. Basically, to win, the contestants had to fill up their carts with Rapala products, and the closest one to $1,000 won the five grand in merchandise.

The grand-prize winners were Gene Provost of Alexandria and Glenn Henrikson of Moorhead. Three other finalists each won a $500 Visa gift card.

Well, I might not like the odds here either, considering the five finalists were picked out of a draw of more than 10,000 losing tickets, but I definitely like the prizes they walked away with.