In a surprising revelation this week, Wayne Rooney came forward to admit that he plays the lottery every week and dreams of winning the jackpot. This sparked amusement all over the internet, comparing his salary so the chance of winning a jackpot that would not be much money in comparison. He is estimated to have a personal fortune of around £80m and on a contract worth £300,000 per week which only includes his contract for playing football and does not include any sponsorship deals or endorsement contracts extra to his playing for the club.
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He is not the only highest profile player to claim to regularly buy tickets. In the past, Simon Cowell, Paris Hilton and Liz Hurley have all said to have played respective national lotteries though most said they would keep it anonymous should they win the big prize. Those who expect to see Wayne Rooney walking into a local branch of Tesco’s to buy his ticket will be bitterly disappointed though. He says he asks friends to buy his tickets when he is in the mood for a flutter.
Why would anybody with so much money want to play the lottery though? You might be surprises to learn that it is not a new thing. Traditionally, though it may be a dying fashion, footballers have had an intense passion for horse racing and some have been known to blow lots of money on the Grand National and other high profile races. Gambling is not always about the winning, but the taking part. The thrill of a win can give someone a good feeling, even if the value of the prize is only enough for a Chinese takeaway for a family of four.