Recipient of lottery number 3000 looks on the bright side

While most people would have been disappointed if they received the lowest possible number in Columbia’s housing lottery, this year’s recipient was all smiles.

Christian Munoz, CC ’14, realized he had just won a bet.

“I don’t think I felt like most people would have felt. I felt like I sort of achieved something because I won five bucks,” Munoz said.

Munoz was with friends when the lottery numbers for Columbia’s housing selection were posted. Before checking his own lottery number, Munoz sent another friend a text.

“I’ll get 3,000, watch,” Munoz sent.

While he originally only told one person about his number, word spread fast, so he ultimately did what any Columbia student would do—post it on Facebook.

“I have the worst luck with lotteries, but the best luck with bets, so it was pretty much surefire,” he said, adding that he has never won anything based on chance.

Munoz currently lives in the smallest single in his suite in Hartley, but the size of his room next year isn’t his biggest worry, explaining that any double or triple would be his worst-case scenario.

“I used to always complain about my room being tiny, but I’ll take anything over any double,” he said.

Finding himself in the middle of midterms, he said he hadn’t given his number much thought before or after numbers were posted. Now that he’s had more time to think about it, however, he’s taken the most optimistic route of thinking about transferring rooms early next semester.

“One of my biggest concerns is that I really, really, really, want a single,” Munoz said. Being able to transfer next year alleviated the stress of wherever he originally gets placed in a bit, he said, adding that if possible, he’d like to transfer into Broadway, Harmony, or Watt.

Despite his optimism, Munoz said that he hopes his lottery number won’t be as bad next year—and he probably won’t be making any more bets.

“I’m just defying the odds, but not for the better,” he said.

But what happened to the five dollars?

“I didn’t get them yet,” Munoz said, explaining that the friend he made the bet with isn’t on campus, so he probably won’t get the money until after the school year ends. He does have spending plans already, though, in hopes of brightening up his future room.

“Maybe I could buy a light bulb if the room is that terrible,” he said.

karla.jimenez@columbiaspectator.com