UPDATE: Darn it, too good to be true. Sam Mellinger has tweeted the winning ticket and it appears as though the numbers were a “quick pick,” meaning they were automatically generated (note the “QP” after the number). Oh well. I guess it always was strange to think that a fan liked Mark Gubicza more than Brett Saberhagen.

10:30 AM: Not gonna lie. I bought a lottery ticket before that $580 million drawing the other day. This despite the fact that I am fully aware of the folly of doing so and the odds against winning. My reasoning is, at least when the jackpots get huge, that a few minutes of lottery fantasies are worth a buck or two. I’m not planning my life around winning a lottery and I don’t buy tickets that often, but it can be fun.

My problem, though, is that I don’t go all-in. I am aware of the randomness of it all, so I don’t pick my own numbers, I don’t believe any certain numbers have magic of significance to them and I don’t believe that any amount of superstition will help me win. In light of this, however, I probably should re-think that approach:

One of the two Power Ball winners is from Dearborn, Missouri, about 30 minutes North of the Kansas City Metro area. The winning numbers? 5 (George Brett), 16 (Bo Jackson), 22 (Dennis Leonard), 23 (Mark Gubicza), 29 (Dan Quisenberry), and the power ball of 6 (Willie Wilson).

After taxes and discounting for present value the winner likely does not have enough money to buy the Royals himself. But I bet he’ll find a way to spend his millions more effectively than David Glass spends his.