Retail Product of the Hour: Lotto Ticket for $60 Million

Tantalized by the prospect of a $60-million jackpot--the nation’s largest this weekend--lottery aficionados flocked to area liquor marts, delicatessens and convenience stores Saturday in search of easy money.

For much of the morning and throughout the afternoon, retailers reported brisk ticket sales as residents across the Southland sought to get their bets in before the evening’s big drawing.

“Oh, yes, they keep us very busy with these tickets,” said Bryan Rahman, a clerk at the Circle K on Aliso Creek Road in Aliso Viejo. “It was busy first thing in the morning.”

Sales throughout the state hit more than 1 million tickets an hour from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, surpassing a peak the day before of 690,000 tickets per hour, according to California Lottery spokeswoman Catherine Doyle Johnston.

About the only thing that could dampen a gambler’s spirit Saturday was a malfunctioning lottery machine.

At the 7-Eleven Food Store on West Ball Road in Anaheim, a problem with telephone lines wrought havoc on the day’s ticket sales.

“The machine’s been down all morning,” lamented clerk Frances Wire. “We’ve had a lot of people come in for tickets and they just leave pretty disgusted.”