Best of Luck: Newlyweds Pick 7/7/07
Couples flock to alter to get married on what may be the century's luckiest day.
LOS ANGELES, July 7, 2007 — -- Kelly Rappazzo and Tony Thomas married today in Los Angeles at the Little Brown Church of the Valley. Kelly thought the date would bring luck.
Tony doesn't believe this stuff, but as Kelly said, "We were in Tahoe and there was not a machine in the casino that he did not win at. We had to leave the casino."
Tony said, "They were all sevens. Seven, seven, sevens."
It was a bumper day for weddings all over the world as couples tried to launch their new lives under the auspicious numbers 7-7-07. It's a date of the sort that comes around only every 100 years.
Actress Eva Longoria and basketball player Tony Parker married in Paris. Well, legally they married Friday but they celebrated on the seventh.
Couples married on a roller coaster in St. Louis. But it was at the Six Flags Amusement Park. Would that break the spell?
In Las Vegas, they were in a hurry to get lucky this morning, getting married in the wee hours at a drive-through window of the Little White Chapel.
Carley Roney, editor of the Knot, said she expected that as many as 80,000 or 90,000 people would get married across the country this weekend, triple the usual number.
She said, "Maybe it won't rain. Maybe people will have that little bit more fun. Also, I think it gives a boost of luckiness and good fortune behind your actual marriage."
It was a day for seven-layered cakes, seven place settings at the table, lucky sevens in the casino.
For those looking to cash in on the sevens, it was a busy day for state lotteries. Wisconsin, New York and Pennsylvania lotteries all sold out of tickets with all sevens on them.
"Like everybody else, maybe it'll be my lucky day, " said Jane Woolman, buying a lottery ticket in New York City.
Why the number seven is considered lucky is a little hazy, but this seven thing is embedded in culture everywhere.
Numerologist Julian Michael said, "In Judaism, the first seven letters talking about God. The seven in Chinese means togetherness. The seven in Japanese is the seven holy gods. The seven in Islam is the seven pillars."
So today, millions of people staked their happiness on 7-7-07. Of course, in seven years comes the seven-year itch.