You Can Make Some People Happy Some of the Time . . .

There were the expected reactions to winning $50,000 in the state lottery. Then there was 27-year-old Abed Jabaieh of Simi Valley.

He said his $50,000 windfall has made his life miserable. “I hate it,” he said.

Daniel Cruz, the San Fernando Valley area’s other winner in Monday’s lottery spinoff, had the expected reaction. The 37-year-old Panorama City man, a self-described “ordinary guy,” said he plans to “have a real nice Christmas.”

But Jabaieh, a liquor store owner, had his heart set on capturing the $2-million grand prize and $50,000 did little to mollify him, he said. In fact, Jabaieh, who estimated he spent $400 to $500 on lottery tickets in the past month, said he wishes he had never started playing the game.

Drowning His Sorrows

After spinning the wheel at the televised spinoff Monday, Jabaieh, dressed in a black tuxedo with a burgundy tie and cummerbund, went straight back to work at the liquor store until 11 p.m.

He then stayed out with friends past 4 a.m., trying to drown his sorrow, he said.

He advised his friends against playing the lottery, he said, because their hopes probably will be shattered, too.

Jabaieh dismissed his winnings in a scornful tone Tuesday afternoon as he waited on customers at his store. “What are you going to do with $50,000?” he asked. “All my plans depended on winning the $2 million.”

Not so with Cruz.

Cruz said he tried not to even think that he might win $2 million. Instead, he contented himself with the knowledge that he would take at least $10,000 home to his wife and three children, the minimum amount that could be won by the 20 people selected to spin the Las Vegas-style roulette wheel. The spinoffs will be held each Monday.

‘Deathly Nervous’

“I didn’t want to get disappointed,” Cruz said Tuesday as he sat in the office of the Sun Valley aircraft-products company where he has worked 14 years and is now quality-control director.

That philosophy came in handy Monday as Cruz, who said he was “deathly nervous,” spun the wheel and watched the ball land for a split second in a $2-million slot. But it bounced out and settled into one of the slots marked $50,000.

Cruz said he wants to pamper his wife, Linda, buy his son Danny, 11, a home computer and take the entire family on vacation to Florida.

Cruz celebrated Monday night by throwing a pizza and champagne party for 25 friends. “I’m an ordinary guy,” he said.

Despite their different reactions to their similar fortunes, both Cruz and Jabaieh showed up for work as usual on Tuesday.

Each expressed relief that the pressure was over.

But Jabaieh, who felt sure he would win the $2 million, said he had a lot of explaining to do to friends and relatives. With his expected grand prize, Jabaieh said, he had planned to offer free food for two days at a restaurant he manages for his brother, Bob. That plan has fizzled, he said.

Jabaieh had also promised his brother a new Mercedes.

“Maybe I’ll still buy him a car,” he said. “But a cheap car. Up to $15,000.”