Colombians Bet on the Big Bang Theory and Win
A car bomb may not seem like good luck, but for nearly 1,000 war-weary Colombians it turned out to be the winning ticket.
It all happened over the weekend when Marxist rebels rigged a car with dynamite--and the story flashed across the evening news, along with the car’s license plate, VEN-311.
Those who bet on 311 won about $350--three times Colombia’s monthly minimum wage.
“I saw the car bomb and filled out the ticket,” one jubilant female winner told local television.
Eduardo Assaf, a manager at J.J. Pita, a firm that owns betting houses in the eastern Norte de Santander province where the state-sponsored lottery was held, said at least one out of every five winners had bet on 311.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
