NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Welcome to the Dolan's Unscripted new Web column - In case you missed it! This is an excerpt from the May 14, 2005 show.

Ken Dolan: Americans spend more money on gambling than they spend on movies, sports and amusement parks combined, Daria. Today we're going to take a closer look at the good, the bad and ugly sides of laying down a bet.

Daria Dolan: A little common sense goes a long way when playing the lottery.

Ken: The old saying, you can't win if you don't play. A dollar and a dream. Well dream on. For all but the luckiest few, a couple of "what if" moments is all your buck buys you. In fact, you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than hitting the jackpot.

But that doesn't stop us from playing! Half of all Americans say they bought a state lottery ticket in the last year, according to a Gallup poll, making it the most popular form of gambling.

Forty states and the District of Columbia run lotteries. In 2003, lottery sales totaled $45 billion.

Where does the money go? It's up to state officials to decide. Profits often go to fund a wide range of causes, including education, environment, programs for seniors, healthcare and sports facilities.

Lotteries are not a new idea. Caesar ran the first public lottery to raise funds for repair work in Rome and George Washington used a lottery to fund construction of a road.

Well, if you do play, always check your numbers. An estimated 12 percent of lottery prizes actually go unclaimed, according to the multi-state lottery association.

If you want a shot at the big pot, there a few simple things you should keep in mind.

Daria: Please, do not bet the rent check on this. Your odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are one in more than 120 million no matter how many people play.

Ken: Pick less common numbers. You can give yourself a slight edge -- really slight -- by playing numbers that aren't frequently played by others. It won't increase your chances of winning the pot of gold but it does increase the chance you won't have to share it.

Daria: Photocopy your ticket. Always keep the original and the copy in separate places. You may want to write your name and ticket owner on your ticket just in case a dispute crops up.

Ken: Avoid stale games. Scratch games keep going even after someone has taken home the big prize. You may not want to buy a ticket if there isn't a big pay off left to be won.

Daria: Finally, do not buy junior a ticket. You might think a scratch ticket makes a cute gift for the little one, but minors aren't legally allowed to play. A million dollar ticket could become invalid if someone under 18 shows up to claim the prize.

Now we had to share one lottery story from this week. A March 30th Powerball drawing produced 110 matches for 506 winning numbers, and lottery officials, of course immediately suspected fraud.

Ken: Who was the culprit?

Daria: It was a fortune cookie factory in Long Island Queens.

Ken: Apparently the numbers had been printed on the bottom of the fortunes of the fortune cookies from the factory. The winning tickets are worth between $100,000 and $500,000, depending on the bet. Good luck in trying to sort out the cookie mess!

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