$125 MILLION JACKPOT FUELS LOTTO FANTASIES.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer Ch-chinnnng! Cash registers rang like church bells across the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and all of California on Thursday as nearly everybody became lotto players dreaming of landing the largest lottery jackpot in state history: $125 million. That's more than the top tables in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. . Higher than the hottest Gold Rush years. Way more than most people dream of ever spending. Bigger than the biggest prize ever rung up in any single-state lottery. ``Honestly, I'd become evil if I had that much money,'' said Todd McCleve, 35, of Canoga Park, buying lotto tickets with his beer at Geno & Rose's Instant Replay bar Thursday afternoon. ``Too much money, it ruins people.'' For many people, it's enough to think about paying off the credit card. Or burning the mortgage. Or stepping up to the latest SUV. But 125 Big Ones, that requires some serious thought. Players who ask for a single cash payout pay·out n. 1. The act or an instance of paying out. 2. A percentage of corporate earnings that is paid as dividends to shareholders. rather than 26 annual payments would get about $62 million. ``We are the world-famous Instant Replay - we make the Big Payoffs here,'' asserted the bar's spunky spunk·y adj. spunk·i·er, spunk·i·est Informal Spirited; plucky. spunk  i·ly adv. woman bartender, who
was collecting money for a bar lotto pool Thursday but not giving out
her name. ``I will go to a nice, quiet island in Fiji, sit down and
think about what I'd do with all that money.''
Never in its 16 years of operation has the California Lottery held such a large jackpot, which has rolled over nine times. The last big lotto payout was 10 years ago, when 54 winners collected $118.8 million from 10 winning tickets, officials said. So far, California's numbers game has created 1,600 millionaires. Never mind that the odds of winning are 41 million to one - a longer shot than getting hit by lightning. In the hour before Wednesday's $90 million spin, wannabe winners bet $4.6 million. And prior to Saturday's record draw, the action is expected to get even hotter. ``It's unbelievable,'' said lotto spokesman Vincent Montane mon·tane adj. Of, growing in, or inhabiting mountain areas. [Latin mont  nus, from m . ``We are so excited. It's not just the pot - we're in
the business of providing revenue for education, we want to support the
schools.''
California schools stand to benefit to the tune of $70.8 million from the run-up to Saturday's jackpot. Across the Valley, all the talk was about winning the lottery. Nobody mentioned money for schools. ``Yesterday, I sold $3,000,'' said Nasret Mohammed, owner of Tip Mini Mart in Canoga Park. ``Usually I sell $800 or $900. Sales have shot through the roof.'' A.J. Patel of King's Delight Liquor liquor /li·quor/ (lik´er) (li´kwor) pl. liquors, liquo´res [L.] 1. a liquid, especially an aqueous solution containing a medicinal substance. 2. in Canoga Park was equally enthusiastic. ``Big time,'' said the owner of King's after a long and hopeful whistle A simple whistle is a woodwind instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. Many types exist, from small police and sports whistles (also called pea whistles), to much larger train whistles, which are steam whistles specifically designed for use on . ``It'll be crazy this Saturday. ``We have people buying 100 tickets at a time. You don't play, you don't win. It's as simple as that.'' Despite the power of cashing in for half the pot, or having it dribbled into your mailbox A simulated mailbox in the computer that holds e-mail messages. Mailboxes are stored on disk as a file of messages, a database of messages or as an individual file for each message. The standard mailboxes are usually In, Out, Trash and Junk (Spam). over 26 years, many residents said they would give a lot of it to charity. ``I'd take a limo straight to Sacramento and secure my holdings,'' said Tom Damico, 47, of West Hills. ``Then I'd pay off the pad and give everything the government wants to charity.'' Tina Green, 40, of Castaic bought $10 in SuperLotto Plus tickets from Chatsworth Liquors on Thursday. And all she could think about was turning a winning ticket into extras for her daughters. ``I would not buy a plane. Or a ranch ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada. . I would not buy a mansion MANSION. This term is synonymous with house. (q.v.) 1 Chit. Pr. 167; 2 T. R. 502; 1 Tho. Co. Litt. 215, n. 35; 9 B. & C. 681; S. C. 17 E. C. L. R. 472, and the cases there cited; Com. Dig. Justices, P 5; 3 Serg. & Rawle, 199. - I love my home. I would not buy a Rolex watch - I love my Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse Famous character of Walt Disney's animated cartoons. He was introduced in Steamboat Willie (1928), the first animated cartoon with sound. Mickey was created by Disney, who also provided his high-pitched voice, and was usually drawn by the studio's head animator, watch. I'm low maintenance,'' she said. ``I'm a single mom. I just want to support my children and give them tuition for college, (money) for weddings, cars when they're 16 - that's all. ``I would give the rest to charity.'' |
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