I was going to comment on Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address, which was last night, but there is an event tonight that is of greater importance to most Americans: the Powerball lottery draw. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get to Obama’s speech, or maybe I’ll just write off his eight years in office as a bad dream.

Even here in Canada there is a buzz about the Powerball, since so many of us live close to the border and can just slip over to buy a ticket. And with a $1.3 billion jackpot, a lot of people have been doing just that.

It’s nice to dream about what you could do with that much money, but of course, as the winner will find out, it doesn’t really work that way. In Canada lottery winnings are tax-free. In the US the taxman gets to the money before you do. Still, the winner, if the winning number is drawn tonight will still receive about eight hundred million once the taxes are taken off. That is a number that pretty much defies conceptualization for most of us. Even Donald Trump would find some significance in it. (Sorry, I had to get a Trump reference in, it’s been a few weeks and people expect it. And having mentioned Obama I need to give a Republican equal time. Not that Trump is really a Republican – I suspect he would have difficulty articulating a coherent political philosophy.)

I should warn you, if I don’t post here tomorrow it may be because I am en-route to the lottery headquarters to collect my winnings. Yes, I know it’s unlikely, but I can do the math, and it turns out it is not impossible for me to win the Powerball.

According to the news reports here, the odds on a single winner are one in 292 million. It’s a longshot to be sure, but sometimes longshots pay off. For me the odds are even greater, but still I think winning is possible, even if I don’t have a ticket (and won’t be buying one). You probably don’t believe me, but I can explain.

We don’t know the winning ticket number yet, but just suppose the person who bought it is visiting Ottawa right now? That puts me close to winning the lottery, from a geographic perspective, without spending a dime.

After that, all that would be required would be for the ticket holder to lose the ticket on the street and for me to pick it out of the slush. Unlikely, yes; so unlikely I suspect you couldn’t calculate the odds. But you have to admit it isn’t completely impossible; it could happen.

So if I’m not here tomorrow you can draw your own conclusions. If I am here I may be talking about Obama and the cure for cancer. Or maybe not. It is an ambitious goal though.