We *are* based on Rome, so may I suggest something? Let’s try this — “Emperor Elagabalus, known for his eccentricities, also employed lotteries but with a more chaotic and unpredictable nature. He would sometimes include both valuable prizes and ridiculous or even dangerous ones in the lottery, like wasps, bees, or even death sentences.” Imagine if your scratch ticket read “Wasps” or “Death by Hanging” instead of showing a $ when you won. It’d be interesting, at least, admit it, and you would *still buy the damned tickets*, wouldn’t you?
Elagabalus pictured above, by the way (if you bring up this blog post as a single article).