Mary gambles her relationship with Rose and Pearl when she belittles their passion for the lottery, but the odds of losing their friendship increase when Sandra spies Mary playing a hunch and buying her own ticket.
Rose receives an offer to buy her building from a real estate magnate whose plan to renovate means tearing down 227.
A teenage girl tells school reporters that a driver came on to her right before the bus got into an accident. She may not be telling the truth. Jonathan tries to teach the news writers the correct way to report a story.
Belker goes undercover to investigate a scam using bums to collect injury insurance benefits; Coffey tries to relate to a Vietnam vet suffering from traumatic stress; and Daniels orders Furillo to cut off Fuchs from the Maizel homicide investigation.
Belker forgets his mother's birthday; Hill and Renko look into urban cattle rustling; LaRue and Washington apply for jobs in the Bahamas; and Furillo sits on a board of rights for a fellow captain accused of neglecting his duties.
