Extracted from The Straits TimesToto dreams are made of these: a house, a wife... GRANNY Tan Kim Poh, 86, spent time in a Toto queue yesterday - for her son's sake.
The samfoo-clad widow chased her dream of hitting the $10 million Toto Hongbao Draw jackpot with a $10 bet, and knew exactly what she would do with the winnings if she was lucky.
Speaking in Hokkien, she said: 'I will buy a house and car for my children, give some to charity and help out my son.' Her son is a coffeeshop worker who was retrenched recently.
Several others who had fallen on hard times were among the many people who joined queues across the island yesterday to take a shot at the big prize.
The draw will take place at 6.30 pm today.
Several people The Straits Times spoke to yesterday were hoping that a win would be a quick fix to their job and financial woes because of the bad economic times.
'If I win, I will retire,' said Mr Yap Siang Sing, 40, a former storekeeper who has been searching in vain for a job since being retrenched six months ago.
Singaporeans were not the only ones in the queue. Foreign workers, expatriates and punters from Malaysia who learnt of the draw - the largest this year - joined in too.
Electrician Kong Sui Hoong, who is in his 40s, went all the way from his home in Johor Bahru to a Toto outlet in Bishan to place a $15 bet.
He hopes Lady Luck will help him pay for his two children's studies overseas, especially since he has suffered a pay cut last year. Making ends meet on his monthly pay of $1,600 is tough, he concedes.
Then there were those who wanted to win for loftier reasons.
A chemical engineer from China, Mr Cheng Jun, 25, put down more than $50. 'If I win, I will find myself a wife.'
