Friday, September 7, 2007

Should Congressmen Gamble?

What the hell is Jim Sensenbrenner doing playing the lottery?

The Republican from Menomonee Falls won $1,000 Aug. 30 playing a Wisconsin lottery game, and that followed another $1,000 prize he won last spring in the state lottery.

That's pocket change compared with the $250,000 jackpot he won on a $2 ticket in the District of Columbia lottery in 1997.

The dude is already rich, yet he clearly enjoys gambling ... curious, no?

MORE: ABC News ... CBS News ... The MJS has this charming anecdote:

His 1997 win came after he purchased a ticket at a Capitol Hill liquor store where he had gone to buy Wisconsin beer for his office Christmas party.

Oooh, it was Wisconsin beer! That justifies everything!

Does that mean the purchase (including the lotto tickets) was written off as an office expense? Were tax-payers funding, not only a boozy shindig on Capitol Hill, but also gambling?

I actually love that narrative coming from a Congressman: I didn't mean to get lucky gambling, I was just on beer run!

MORE STILL: OK, I clearly must've missed this in the first few articles, but from the Politico:

This time, Sensenbrenner won the “Super 2nd Chance” from the Wisconsin lottery where people mail at least $5 in losing tickets to try for a $1,000 prize.

So it's not like the first time when he went to the liquor store to pick up some Wisconsin beer to get his staff all shitfaced for the holidays, but he actually hoards his losing lottery tickets and resubmits them to the Wisconsin Lottery just in case he might win on the second go around!

He's either the stingiest gambler in the history of gaming or the man actually has the ability to squeeze blood from a penny.

Now for the big question: Will Sensenbrenner get to have his picture posted on the Winners board at the Wisconsin Lottery web site?

We can only hope.

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