Whereas most lottery winners opt for early retirement - perhaps spent on a tropical island or filled with partying - those currently taking part in an Italian contest are hoping to win quite the opposite: a steady job. The unusual draw was launched last week by the supermarket chain Tigros, based in the northern Italian city of Varese. Its 10 "lucky" winners will be offered a job, guaranteed for a year, at one of the company's stores.
With such a humble prize, it might seem like the entrants are being a little shortchanged, but Italy has had a long struggle with unemployment, particularly among its youth, and its jobless figures have risen substantially amid the economic crisis. For the month of September, anyone who spends at least ?30 (Dh157) on groceries will receive a scratch-and-win ticket, with the possibility of winning thousands of prizes. If a customer fails to win a toaster, key ring or other prize, he or she will be entered into the job lottery.
The renewable contract up for grabs comes with a monthly wage of up to ?1,200 - the apron and hairnet are presumably thrown in for free. It is open to all Italian residents over the age of 18 and an estimated 700,000 cards will be distributed during the initiative. The winning tickets are to be drawn in October. Despite this contest's less-than-glamorous payout, Italian lotteries are actually known for being some of the world's most lucrative.
In the state-run Superenalotto last month, a contestant walked away with ?146.9 million - more than enough to start one's own grocery chain. Although the Superenalotto's payout is among the highest in the world, the odds of hitting the jackpot are among the lowest, at just 622,614,630 to one. The Tigros competition is designed "to meet the demands of the people of Varese who have been hit by the economic crisis", said Stefano Tarantini, a spokesman for the supermarket chain, in an interview with an Italian newspaper.
"It is an exciting and original idea, created to give to our customers a special prize. The prize-winning competition has just begun. We have already distributed more than 15,000 tickets and our customers have responded to the initiative enthusiastically," he said. Despite his exuberance, the local branch of the Italian trade union CGIL criticised the job lottery as a "publicity stunt" and added that it "exploits the crisis". Instead, the organisation urged Tigros to offer more permanent contracts, rather than temporary one-year roles.
Although the lottery may mark the beginning of a bright future in retail for 10 couch-bound Italians, the idea is not without its pitfalls. One must hope that at least some of the winners will have found work between entering the contest and the day of the draw. If this turns out to be the case, the company may be the first in history to witness a lottery winner refusing to accept their prize.