TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER The Bookworm Sez Advertisement

All it takes is one dollar.

Just a buck. A Washington. One single dead president. Four quarters, if you can find them between the sofa cushions.

For one dollar you can buy a lottery ticket, and if you win, you'll have lots of those Washingtons to spread around. You'll be living on Easy Street, able to afford everything you've ever wanted. Flashy cars. Big houses. Jewelry. Vacations.

Yes, life will change. But will it be for the better?

Paying that first dollar down is just the beginning, and you'll have to watch yourself if you hit it big. In the new book "Money for Nothing," by Edward Ugel, you'll see that you're also going to have to watch your wallet.

It all started after college. Ugel says he was a short-order cook and bartender in Portland, Ore., where five video poker machines constantly tempted him from the back of the room. Ugel says he fed his paycheck into the machines as often as possible and soon began taking his increasing problem to places on the outskirts of town, so nobody he knew would see him gambling.

He lost his girlfriend. His job turned sour. At age 26, broke and addicted to gambling, Ugel moved back to the East Coast to his parents' house.

Although he wasn't looking for any kind of job in particular then, it came as no surprise that Ugel found employment in a company that dealt with lottery winners. "The Firm," as Ugel calls it, was in the business of "helping" lucky winners who had rapidly gone through their annual annuity and needed money, fast. By offering to buy up the remaining annuities -- at a considerable discount -- The Firm gave lump-sum payments to millionaires who were broke, and made money for its investors and its employees at the same time.

A job in that kind of industry was good news for Ugel, but in the long run, bad news for the winners who were legally fleeced of their lottery money. Ugel was good at what he did and his salary was incredible, but his conscience kicked in. He left The Firm only to (reluctantly) return a few months later.

The second time around, though, there was a twist in the industry that Ugel had never gambled on seeing.

'Tis the rare person who hasn't dreamed of getting scads of cash with no strings attached, but "Money for Nothing" shows you that you should definitely be careful what you wish for when buying a lottery ticket.

Author Ugel pulls the tabs off the lottery industry and that which preys on winners, and he doesn't candy-coat what he reveals. Subtly, he also offers cautions for you to remember, in case your Washington brings you some extra luck this week.

If you've ever participated in lottery-as-retirement-plan, or if you've ever dreamed of having wads of cash to flash, pick up "Money for Nothing" on your way to the casino or ticket counter. It's a pretty safe bet that you'll want to read this book first.

"Money for Nothing" by Edward Ugel, Collins, $24.95, 238 pages.