English Original
Sam, an unemployed piano tuner, had only won two things in his life. The first was an Afghan blanket at a church raffle when he was 25. The second was much bigger: $120,000 from a state lottery called the Big Cube.
To win, a contestant must first guess which number a spinning cube will land on (1X, 10X, 50X, 100X, 500X, or 1000X). If correct, they must then guess which of two random variables will be greater.
Sam correctly guessed 1000X. Then, he had to choose between: the number of cars running a stop sign in six hours, or the number of times a teenager would change TV channels in three hours. It was a tough choice.
Finally, Sam flipped a coin. It landed on heads, so he picked the teenager. He was right. The stop sign was run 76 times, but the teen changed channels 120 times. Sam had won 1000 times 120, or $120,000.
Overjoyed, Sam left the studio. While crossing the street and talking excitedly on his phone, he was hit by a sports car.
Sam spent a month in the hospital with a bill of $110,000. The driver's insurance company sued him for $9,000 in repair costs. He also still owed federal taxes on his winnings.
Sam no longer plays the lottery. He says it's better to be unlucky.
中文翻译
萨姆，一位失业的钢琴调音师，一生只赢过两样东西。第一样是25岁时在教堂抽彩售货中赢得的一条阿富汗毛毯。第二样则大得多：他从一个名为“大立方体”的州彩票中赢得了12万美元。
要获胜，参赛者必须先猜中转动的立方体会停在哪个数字上（1倍、10倍、50倍、100倍、500倍或1000倍）。如果猜对了，他们还必须猜中两个随机变量中哪一个会更大。
萨姆正确猜中了1000倍。接着，他必须在以下两者间做出选择：六小时内在一个十字路口闯红灯的汽车数量，或者一个青少年在三小时内切换电视频道的次数。这是个艰难的选择。
最后，萨姆抛了一枚硬币。结果是正面，所以他选择了那个青少年。他选对了。闯红灯的汽车只有76辆，但那个青少年换了120次频道。萨姆赢得了1000乘以120，即12万美元。
欣喜若狂的萨姆离开了演播室。过马路时，他正兴奋地打着电话，被一辆跑车撞倒了。
萨姆在医院住了一个月，账单高达11万美元。车主的保险公司还起诉他，要求赔偿9000美元的维修费。此外，他仍需为奖金缴纳联邦税。
萨姆不再购买彩票了。他说，最好是不幸的。