Dreams of travel and early retirement as $80m Lucky Tuesday jackpot looms

Long queues formed at betting stations across Hong Kong on Monday as hopeful punters tried their luck for the Mark Six Lucky Tuesday Snowball draw, which carries a potential HK$80 million top prize to be drawn tomorrow night.

At a popular betting station on Stanley Street in Central, many office workers were seen taking advantage of their lunch break to buy tickets.

One office worker, To, said he would quit his job immediately if he won the jackpot.

“I'd stop working and just travel the world,” he said after purchasing a mix of computer-generated and self-picked tickets.

Others said they would share their winnings with family members.

A retiree, who described the Stanley Street outlet as the city’s “luckiest” betting station, said he hoped to pass the prize money to his children if fortune came his way.

Another punter, Leung, spent about HK$200 on tickets but remained skeptical of his chances.

“If it were that easy to win, there would be no poor people,” he said, adding that he had no specific plans for the prize money because he never expected to win.

William, a long-time Hong Kong resident from the Philippines, said he made a special trip to the Central betting station after hearing it was considered a lucky location.

He said that if he won the HK$80 million jackpot, his biggest wish would be to take his family on a trip around the world.