SUPERLOTTO FEVER BUILDS AS POT GROWS.Byline: Jason Kandel and Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer 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. stores and minimarts braced brace n. 1. A device that holds or fastens two or more parts together or in place; a clamp. 2. A device, such as a supporting beam in a building or a connecting wire or rope, that steadies or holds something else erect. for long lines In communications, circuits that are capable of handling transmissions over long distances. of customers dreaming of riches, as tonight's SuperLotto jackpot was expected to hit $120 million, the third highest in state history. ``We're ready. It's a big one,'' said Fred Santoro, the general manager of Mercado For the hispanic surname "Mercado", please see de Mercado. Mercado first originated in Spain. In English it means 'market'. Is the last name of the 'Great' Fifa Soccer player Eswold. Del Valle, a Pacoima ``lucky retailer'' that earned its title by selling two winning tickets - $4.1 million in 1988 and $4 million in 1999. ``You gotta got·ta Informal Contraction of got to: I gotta go home. buy at least a dollar.'' Santoro said that with a giant jackpot, lottery lottery, scheme for distributing prizes by lot or other method of chance selection to persons who have paid for the opportunity to win. The term is not applicable when lots are drawn without payment by the interested parties to determine some matter, e.g. hopefuls begin to line up nearly three hours before the ticket sales close at 7:45 p.m. Hoping to win about $60 million in cash or the full jackpot in annual payments, many lottery players already were out buying Friday from the 19,000 retailers across the state that sell SuperLotto Plus tickets. Between noon and 1 p.m. Friday, 1.6 million people an hour purchased tickets. Between 1 and 2 p.m., 1.5 million people shelled out cash to take a chance on winning big. One of them was Palmdale resident Amilcar Naef, who waited at a 7-Eleven to buy a $5 Lotto ticket for himself and a friend. If he wins, the 27-year-old plans to buy a house and possibly retire from his job as an engineer with the city of Palmdale. ``I have to buy it now because (if I) hit the jackpot, it'll be good,'' said Naef. The store's supervisor, Irfan Shaikh, said they had already sold more than 700 tickets by 10:30 Friday morning. The store hasn't had a winner yet, but he remains hopeful. ``Maybe this time somebody will win,'' said Shaikh. The lottery table at Circle J convenience store in Granada Hills was empty Friday morning, but lines have stretched out the front door by the end of workdays, said Palloinder Singh, an employee. The store normally sells 800 to 900 tickets daily but expects to sell 2,000 to 2,500 today, Singh said. Many are impulse impulse, in mechanics: see momentum. Impulse (mechanics) The integral of a force over an interval of time. For a force F , the impulse J over the interval from t0 to t1 buyers, he said. ``Anyone who comes for beer sees the line for Lotto tickets and says, 'Oh, I've gotta play Lotto too,''' Singh said. Liquor stores and minimarkets have produced the biggest jackpot-winning tickets. These sites are considered the best places to get a shot. Lottery officials were thrilled thrill v. thrilled, thrill·ing, thrills v.tr. 1. To cause to feel a sudden intense sensation; excite greatly. 2. To give great pleasure to; delight. See Synonyms at enrapture. at the skyrocketing sales - and the prospect of another big jackpot since the mammoth mammoth, name for several large prehistoric elephants of the extinct genus Mammuthus, which ranged over Eurasia and North America in the Pleistocene epoch. $193 million win in February and the $141 million jackpot in June 2001. ``This is the largest jackpot we've had since March, and it's climbing,'' said Cathy Doyle-Johnston, spokeswoman for the California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). Lottery. ``I think there's some excitement generated around this, because it has been several months since we've had a jackpot this big.'' ``It's fun when we have winners, it's also fun when it rolls and it gets this big. Either way we're happy,'' she added. She could not say how big the jackpot could be expected to grow if there's no winner tonight and the pot rolls over until Wednesday's drawing. A single jackpot winner of $120 million would receive 26 annual payments with the first payment equaling approximately $3 million, before taxes, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Lottery officials. The estimated cash value would equal roughly half of the jackpot, $60 million. The retailer selling the winning ticket would receive half of 1 percent of the jackpot. The odds of winning are always the same - one in 41 million, officials said. The largest jackpot in the state lottery's history was on Feb. 16, when it hit $193 million and was won by three ticket holders. Prior to that, the biggest jackpot had been on June 23, 2001, when it reached $141 million and was won by a single winning ticket. Winning tickets for the $193 million jackpot were sold from two 7-Elevens and an Albertsons grocery store, officials said. The single winning ticket for the $141 million prize was sold at a liquor store. The draw takes place at 7:58 p.m. tonight. Tickets can be purchased until 7:45 p.m. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Jesus Ruiz, left, sells Lotto tickets Friday to Ramiro Zaragoza at Mercado del Valle in Pacoima. Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer |
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