As Pot Rises, Lotto Fantasy Has Field Day
Bruno Levanas knows what he wants to do if he wins the Lotto jackpot tonight: “I’d probably buy a big boat, take a vacation and start making babies. I want at least two kids. But if I win $30 million, I’ll probably have a whole platoon of them.”
Wild fantasies of mink coats, lavish hillside castles and exotic worldwide travel drove people all over Orange County to buy Lotto tickets Friday, as the jackpot was expected to hit $30 million.
The prize became the ninth-largest in California after no one picked all six winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing, state lottery officials said. The jackpot has grown through three drawings.
Levanas, 32, who bought $5 worth of Lotto numbers at the El Gaucho market in Santa Ana, said that if he wins he will start celebrating with a neighborhood barbecue Sunday. On Monday, said Levanas, who usually dons a mechanic’s uniform for his job at South Coast Plaza, “I’d go to work with shorts on, tennis shoes, a six-pack and a bottle of champagne.”
Mike Zimmerle, 27, of Santa Ana, would want more than an office party. “My fantasy would be to rent a hotel floor: ‘Just give me Floor 16.’ I’d invite all my friends for a party, and we’d tear it up. It would be catered, and I’d do everything I’ve never done before,” he said.
After the soiree, Zimmerle said he would buy a new car, pay off the money owed on his parents’ home and invest in low-risk growth stocks and bonds.
Kris Thordarson, 29, a construction contractor in Santa Ana, said he would quickly trade in his BMW sedan for an Aston Martin Volante and buy a house on Newport Bay with its own boat slip and a “big power boat--no sails. You have to be able to hold a drink in one hand and the throttle in the other.”
But his biggest plans do not include such personal luxuries. He said he would start his own construction firm and rise to the top in the real estate and development business.
“Donald Trump would watch out,” he vowed, his $5 worth of freshly purchased Lotto picks in hand.
Ticket sales did not reach the frenzied rampage of purchasing Friday that led to Feb. 21, when $68.5 million became the largest jackpot ever in California, lottery officials said.
When there is a jackpot of $30 million, “we almost double what we normally do,” said Charlie Rich, regional manager overseeing Orange, San Diego and Riverside counties. “Things really escalate as the jackpot grows.”
At the El Gaucho liquor store, sales were brisk. Owner Tina Soria said the store had sold 1,500 numbers in five hours.
Lottery officials expect an onslaught of buying today and plan to open ticket sales for the weekend drawing an hour early this morning, at 5 a.m.
“We know our players find big jackpots exciting,” said Chon Gutierrez, executive director of the California Lottery.