Dear Mark: I am 74 years old and a long time keno player. My favorite ticket is a fifteen spot. I play that many numbers because it represents the birthdays of all 15 of my grandchildren. Not that I think they are unlucky, but I have never won anything over $100. My husband believes the chances are over one in a million that I ever will. Noting my age, and on a scale of one through 10, what do you think my chances are of ever hitting this ticket? Doris K.

Huh, a scale of one to 10? Is there any possibility, Doris, that you will let me use a negative number -- a wee, teensy, microscopic, dust mote of a number?

I would be conscience-stricken, Doris, if I didn’t tell you that your chances are at the very bottom of the wishing well, in that to date, no one has ever hit a solid 15, a solid 14 spot, a solid 13 nor even, to the best of my knowledge, a 12 out of 12.

So what are the odds of your hitting a solid 15 spot? It’s a doozy, Doris. Try 428 billion to one. So, if you get started now, playing at a buck a pop, six tickets an hour, 24/7, you’ll need to add 8,143,074 years to your young 74-year initial flurry of life. There’s always blackjack, of course.

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