Bucking the Odds : Illinois Broker Buys 30,000 Chances in a Bid to Win $100-Million Lotto Jackpot
At a little liquor store near Nohl Ranch Road and Serrano Avenue, Lotto fever was much in evidence Monday when an Illinois businessman ordered $30,000 worth of tickets--believed to be the largest single lottery purchase ever in the county.
Phil Gillespie of the U.S. Lottery Group based in Monticello, Ill., bought the 30,000 chances for thousands of his clients nationwide. He said he makes similar buys whenever lotteries have enormous draws such as California’s $100-million jackpot to be drawn Wednesday.
“My phones have been ringing off the hook,” Gillespie said. “My clients really want to get into (this lottery). . . . With this big draw, California has finally jumped in with the big boys.”
The last time Gillespie’s lottery ticket brokerage has been this active, he said, was last January during New York’s big lottery payoff.
Leonard Hundley, manager of Anaheim Hills Liqueur, said his lottery machines were working at full speed all day spitting out the 30,000 tickets. A lottery official reached late Monday night said he believed that it was the largest single order ever in Orange County and possibly the state.
Asked if any of the tickets were for him, Gillespie said, “Very few. . . . I’ve been in the business a lot of years and seen a lot of lottery tickets every week. It only takes one ticket to win, but you got to play in moderation.”
From players in Illinois to construction workers in Santa Ana, a lot shared the same dream: Being able to walk in to work and tell the boss to take a hike.
Orange County residents will converge today on more than 2,000 local Lotto ticket outlets in hopes of cashing in on the biggest lottery jackpot in California history--just shy of the $115-million record set by Pennsylvania in 1989.
Since California’s Lotto began in 1986, 32 people have won $1 million or more in Orange County. Most recently, a Tustin woman garnered $19.6 million with a lucky pick.
Hoping to join the ranks of these instant millionaires, county residents plunked down thousands of dollars Monday in pools among family members and co-workers. Others decided to take their chances alone. By 3 p.m. Monday, lottery officials said, more than $11.8 million in tickets had been sold statewide since the pot rolled over--about six times the total sales for a normal Monday.
Who cared if the odds of winning were 1 in 23 million?
The predicted $100-million California prize, which lottery officials say would be the third largest ever in the entire country, is developing a legend of its own in the Lotto world.
“I was in Las Vegas over the weekend and all the talk around the table wasn’t about the games but about the California Lottery,” said Jon Sims, who manages a liquor store in Corona del Mar. “People said they were going to head this way to get some tickets.”
However, ticket outlets were having trouble just keeping pace with the locals. More than a few customers were slightly embarrassed by their Lotto purchases.
A stockbroker from Corona del Mar, who said he hoped to use his winnings to buy a yacht and send his children to prep school, understandably declined to give a reporter his name.
“Oh no, I’m always telling my clients to stick with blue chips,” he explained. “They would laugh at me if they knew I was spending money on this stuff.”
Elsewhere in the county, Dave Johnson, a 26-year-old police officer, walked into a Garden Grove convenience store, put $80 on the counter and asked for $70 worth of tickets.
A group of seven family members, including his mother, a few sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews, had kicked in $10 each for the pool.
“If I win, I’ll retire and live the good life,” Johnson said with a laugh.
In Santa Ana, Joe Reynoso, 71, a retired firefighter, bought 10 tickets Monday and plans to buy another 40 before the 7:45 p.m. deadline Wednesday.
“I personally hope at least 10 people win because it’s ridiculous for one person to win all this money,” he said. “What am I going to do at my age with $100 million?”
That’s one concern that Miguel Perez would not have. Perez, a construction worker from Santa Ana, has a wife and five children, ages 2 to 18.
“I’d buy a house because I’ve been paying rent for the last 20 years,” Perez said. “And I’d go back to Mexico for a visit. I haven’t been in 13 years because I just don’t have the money.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Joseph Lambert, a Corona del Mar ophthalmologist, also had the right idea.
If he won, Lambert said, he would quit his practice, travel the world and take more time to enjoy life.
“I might do some work, but only those things I enjoy,” he said.
