Lotto Legions

No yachts. No palatial estates. Instead, many of those scooping up Super Lotto tickets Tuesday said they would be sharing their wealth with family, church and the homeless.

All over the county, the $80-million jackpot was drawing both regular bettors and those once-in-awhile gamblers excited by the prospect of taking home such an astronomical sum. And they were all willing to speculate on what they would do with their winnings.

“If I won, I’d give my first 10% to the tithes” at his church, said Ray Allen of Oxnard after buying a couple of Quick Picks.

After that, he would help the homeless.

Bridgett Acosta of Port Hueneme said she would “pay for my mother’s house and all my sisters--I’d pay off all their debts. Every single credit card.” Acosta’s church also would receive a windfall, she said.

“I’d give to muscular dystrophy, charities, churches and poor people,” said Bill Richey of Irvine, who was in Ventura County on business Tuesday.

In Camarillo, Craig Shapland of Agoura Hills, on his lunch hour with his boss, stopped by Cheers Market and Liquor and consulted the numbers printed on a piece of paper from a fortune cookie. He guffawed when asked what he would do with his winnings.

“I’ve got three kids in college. So, right there. . . . I’ve got a car that needs replacing. I’d like to bring my parents from Arizona too.”

His boss leaned in, saying, “And of course you’d keep your job, wouldn’t you, Craig?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Shapland answered. “I love my job.”

Jim Foster of Oxnard, who was buying five tickets, figured that winning would make for a stress-free existence. “I’d travel the rest of my life and I wouldn’t let anything upset me. And I’d always help somebody along the way.”

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Across the county, a line of people waited for tickets throughout the lunch hour at Sav-On Drugs in Thousand Oaks.

The biggest buzz among the would-be millionaires was whether to pick a cash prize--which would cut the winnings about in half--or take all $80 million in payments over 26 years.

“I’m 70 years old, so I don’t plan on being here another 20 years,” said Beverly Nugent of Westlake Village. She went for the cash.

Elaine Snyder of Thousand Oaks also picked the cash option.

“I figure I can spend half . . .,” Snyder said. “I’d buy a house in every foreign country that I’ve visited and liked.”

Many people were buying dozens of tickets for their office pools--and some extras for themselves.

Wendy Martin of Camarillo bought $90 worth of tickets for 17 co-workers at Heritage Insurance in Agoura Hills. She purchased five more for herself.

Martin said she plays the lottery every week and has won small amounts a few times.

“Not enough to recover my investment, though,” she said.

Bonnie Witkin of Simi Valley was buying tickets for co-workers at United Pacific Mortgage in Westlake Village. She purchased 18 tickets for them and five for herself.

“I play only when the jackpot is a big one,” Witkin said. “I’d spread the winnings throughout my family, and of course I’d quit my job. Wouldn’t you?”

Theresa Lee of Westlake Village is a regular lottery player.

“I just take a chance. Why not spend $2 to get the fortune?” Lee said. “I always buy but never remember to check. I won’t forget this week.”

There were also first-timers lured by Lotto fever.

“I never play, even when the numbers are big. But I heard so much hype I couldn’t resist,” said Sandy of Thousand Oaks, who wanted to remain anonymous--in case she wins.

Opinions were all over the map Tuesday on the choice of a lump sum versus the installment plan.

Eddie Rios, a retired Oxnard College custodian, sorted out the 60 tickets he had just bought in a pool along with his 10 brothers and sisters.

“Oh, I took cash value,” Rios said. “We’re all up there in age. If we win, we could invest it now.”

Jinx Gates of Oxnard, who was buying her tickets at Allan’s Wine and Spirits in Port Hueneme, agreed.

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“Cash,” she said. “We’re too old to go 26 years.” Gates said her first expenditure would be for travel: “My husband and I would go on a 50th anniversary world cruise.”

But David Soriano of Ventura was taking the long-term view. “I’d want payments,” Soriano said. “I’d prefer to have an estate.”

The line was 30 deep at Allan’s Wine and Spirits on Tuesday morning, possibly because the shop has sold five lottery tickets paying off at $1 million or more. Allan’s is one of only two stores in the state that have sold that many.

Despite the streak, statistician Ali Akbari of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks said there is no such thing as a “lucky” store.

“From a purely statistical point of view, it doesn’t matter at all where you buy your tickets,” Akbari said. “It’s Lady Luck. The ‘probable’ is independent from past events.”

Ed Julius of Cal Lutheran’s School of Business agreed.

“There will always have to be some stores that sell more winning tickets than others, just because there has to be,” he said.

In other words, when deciding where to buy those Lotto tickets, all bets are off.