#OddlyLucky: It’s Just A Matter Of Chance

World Cup Banks On Cat Sense

The World Cup 2018 has a feline touch when it comes to predictions, according to a report.

Like many soccer fans trying to predict the results of the World Cup, Achilles is busy studying the teams heading to Russia for the sport’s biggest global showdown which begins June 14. But he has one advantage: cat sense, says an AP report.

The furry white feline, who lives in St Petersburg’s Hermitage museum, is being touted as a cat psychic who will predict the winners and losers of the tournament kicking off in Russia this week.

Achilles has some big shoes – or tentacles – to fill: predecessor Paul the octopus became an international celebrity when at the 2010 World Cup he correctly forecast the outcome of Germany’s games and picked eventual winners Spain.

One of the many cats to have lived at the Hermitage, once the imperial Winter Palace, Achilles previously predicted outcomes during the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Achilles is deaf, meaning he will not be easily distracted by waiting journalists when he makes his predictions by choosing between two bowls of food, each bearing a team flag.

For his training, Achilles, dressed in a red soccer jersey, looks at a chart of the teams and game schedules, before, slightly reluctantly, moving onto an exercise wheel.

Numbers Matter To Reap In Millions Twice

Persistence and consistency pays big time as a man in France found out, according to a report.

The man, who regularly plays the lottery with the same numbers at the same place in eastern France has beaten huge odds, winning the My Million lottery twice in 18 months, says an AP report.

Le Parisien newspaper says mathematicians it queried calculated the double win at 1 chance in 16 trillion.

State lottery La Francaise des Jeux was as saying the winner, who wants to remain anonymous, won 1 million euros ($1.18 million) on May 18 after winning 1 million euros in November 2016. Whoever it was clearly felt they didn’t have enough and wanted a go at winning a second time around. Some people are just drawn to games of chance like those who enjoy playing games on a casino on phone where there are plenty of chances to win.

Money Does Not Matter Lottery Finder

A Kansas man who returned a $1 million lottery ticket to a customer who left it on a store counter says he has no regrets about giving up the prize money, says a report.

Kal Patel, whose parents own the Pit Stop convenience store in Salina, returned the ticket to a long-time customer after tracking him down in his car, the AP report revealed.

“Good deeds come back to help you, and bad deeds come back to haunt you,” he said this week. “It felt good to find it and then find them.”

The winner, who has chosen to remain anonymous, bought three tickets at a store in nearby Lincoln, but went to the Pit Stop – his neighbourhood convenience store – to check if they were winners. The clerk checked two tickets and the winner accidentally left the third on the counter, The Salina Journal reported.

When clerk Andy Patel ran the numbers and discovered it was a $1 million winner, he called Kal Patel. Kal Patel knew who the customer was based on the clerk’s description and knew the area where he lived.

“I showed them the ticket and told them they were winners,” he said. “They started shaking. They couldn’t believe it.”

Car Crash Valet Comes Out Alive

A valet in must be thanking his stars daily after an accident, reveals a report.

The hotel valet had a lucky escape – but the luxury sports car he was trying to park did not, according to an AP report.

Australian media say the valet drove the soft-top Porsche Carrera under another vehicle outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Sydney.

Emergency workers cut the driver out from the Porsche as a crowd watched. The valet was “embarrassed and a little bit shocked” but was okay.

Golfer, 93, Granted A Final Hurrah

It took decades but an ancient golfer came up aces in his last round, says a report.

The 93-year-old Ohio man wrapped up his nearly seven decades of golfing with his first hole-in-one, a rare feat for any player, says an AP report.

Ben Bender told The Zanesville Times Recorder “the Lord knew” this was his last round and gave him a hole-in-one.

Bender aced the 152-yard third hole last month at Green Valley Golf Course in Zanesville with a 5-wood.