Imagine sitting in front of the television, pulling your lottery ticket out of your pocket and eagerly awaiting the announcement of the night’s lottery drawing.

It is a scene I’m sure was repeated in thousands, maybe millions, of households this past week as the Powerball jackpot surpassed the $250 million mark.

Then, imagine sitting there, as one number, a second number, and all of those following match up perfectly with the winning numbers reported.

I think I might would have passed out in shock, or screamed in excitement, or who knows, because I don’t buy lottery tickets.

One man in South Carolina became the “lucky one” this week. He is now the winner of $260 million, while millions of other lottery ticket purchasers in 30 states are jealous and wished the cash would have gone to them.

There have been other winners — of amounts like $10,000 or $30,000, which is a substantial amount to win, in my opinion, as well.

Heck, if I had to pay half of $10,000 back in taxes, then I could still pay off my credit card bill, with hardly anything left over for “play” money.

But then, I don’t buy lottery tickets.

It’s not because I have some moral objection to playing the lottery or gambling. I have bought raffle tickets from people at times, but I’ve never won a thing. After a while, you get kind of down when you keep putting money out for things and never win. Of course, raffle tickets are a little different than lottery tickets or casinos, because you know the money is going to a nonprofit organization or to help someone pay their medical bills, etc.

I’m not sure why I’ve never bought a lottery ticket. I guess it’s because I’m not exactly sure how playing goes and what I need to do, and I feel stupid asking someone at the counter with other people around waiting to pay for gas or food or a ticket of their own.

I have been to Harrah’s Casino in Cherokee. I went shortly after the casino opened when I was at college in the nearby mountains.

A few friends and I loaded up in the car, with a little cash, and drove the 45-minute trip to Harrah’s.

Unlike some, I didn’t have much money I could afford to lose, being in college and all. So I took in $5. That’s right, just $5.

I decided to first play the slot machines, because those are easy and no one has to explain the rules to you. I won about $20 or $30 in quarters on the machines, which included trying out the video poker or blackjack video machines, I can’t remember which ones I played. (It’s been a while since college.)

But then, in the effort to earn even more money, the $20 or $30 I won all went back into the machines, and I walked out of the casino short the money I won as well as the $5 I took in.

It could have been worse, much worse, because those machines take credit cards, which means someone could sit there for hours racking up a credit card bill or spending out cash from their account using a debit card, and leaving them broke.

It’s dangerous, because gambling can be just as addictive as nicotine, drugs, alcohol and shopping for some.

I was lucky. I’ve always been more of a shopper than a gambler. I like knowing I’m getting something tangible for my money spent, not just sending it off to people who are already extremely rich in the form of a slot machine or poker table.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t try my luck again some time, but I’m not likely to sit there for hours on end losing money.

I like to win. Don’t you?

Wendy Byerly Wood is the associate editor of The Mount Airy News. She can be reached at wbyerly-wood@mtairynews.com.