Lotto Frenzy Pushes Pot Toward $53-Million Prize

Orange County residents emptied their pockets Tuesday to buy Lotto tickets as the jackpot pushed toward $53 million, which would be California’s second-largest ever.

Some of the county’s estimated 2,200 Lotto ticket retailers reported that sales of the $1 tickets since the last drawing Saturday were five to 15 times the normal amount sold.

The stakes increased after Saturday, when no one picked the winning numbers. The chances are expected to be in the 90% range that the winning combination will be selected in today’s drawing at 7:58 p.m., said Joanne McNabb, a spokeswoman for the California State Lottery.

“When the jackpot is big and the sales are up,” she said, “it’s more likely someone will pick the number.”

Game operations were extended an extra hour until 11 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets for the drawing can be bought until 7:45 p.m. today.

About $8.2 million in tickets were sold Monday, the best ever for a Monday, McNabb said.

Lesta Williams, an employee at Villa Park Pharmacy in Villa Park, said about 10 people were waiting for the store to open Tuesday.

At Reliable Drug Center in Tustin, among the county’s best volume sellers of tickets, customers came during their lunch hours to buy up to 200 tickets each in the drawing.

“I can deal without eating for a couple of hours,” said Anthony Davis, 28, a computer programmer at Continental Land and Title in Santa Ana.

Store owner Norman Morris said 4,800 tickets were sold on Monday, 15 times the normal sales on that day. On Tuesday, as of 1:15 p.m., 4,700 had been sold, pushing toward a record for one day of 12,000 tickets, sold on Jan. 21.

“The way we’ve been going, this might beat it,” Morris said.

Davis bought 30 tickets on behalf of 15 employees who pooled their money to buy a total of 125. Davis said he also would buy 20 more tickets for his father, who lives in New Orleans.

“Where can you go in this world and possibly come away with $50 million?” he said. “This might be my lucky day.”

Davis got one extra ticket, just for himself, because the drugstore gives away a free pick for every 20 bought. On his ticket, he selected six fours, because four is the size of family he wants to have.

“I have a wife, a child and want another child,” he said. “That would be a family of four.”

Davis is not just choosy about the numbers he selects but the stores he frequents. He likes Reliable Drug, he said, because “they always come up with a few winners. It’s something about the machine.”

Not everyone was ready to buy tickets Tuesday. Olga Rhea, 72, of Tustin, was in line to cash in scratch-off cards, not to buy tickets. Instead, she planned to buy about $50 worth of tickets today.

“Always wait for the day,” she said. “I’d rather get the tickets on the day and put the whammies on the machine.”

Chances of picking the right combinations of numbers in the lottery are about 14 million to one, McNabb said. Although these are slim odds, most customers said they had as good a shot at winning as anyone.

Improving the Odds

Customers were buying dozens of tickets, hoping that the more they bought, the more likely the lucky payoff.

Some had even pegged what they would do with the winnings. Davis said he would use the money to help his parents and buy housing for 10 homeless people, even if he does not win it all.

“A million bucks can go a long way,” he said.

Dick Carr, 59, of Corona said that if he wins, he will put the money in a trust for his grandchildren and take “one hell of a nice vacation.”

Carr bought 200 tickets for the drawing, having had some limited success in past drawings. He was cashing in six tickets worth a total of $136.

“It pays off,” Carr said. “Not often enough and not big enough, but we’re going to do it tomorrow.”

Like others, Carr said he bought more than his usual 50 tickets for this drawing because of the jackpot. He usually buys more as the jackpot passes $25 million.

A Steady Habit

But Joel Keefer, 26, who is stationed at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, said he always buys five tickets each drawing, regardless of the higher jackpot.

“I’m not swayed by that,” he said. “If you’re going to hit, you’re going to hit.”

Unlike the others, Keefer said he will keep a low profile if he wins: “I would buy 20 acres of land in Pennsylvania, put a house on it and a big barbed-wire fence telling everyone to keep out.”

LOTTO FEVER: Even analytical people buy. View, Page 1.