One hot ticket

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- They take the earnest promises and fantastic dreams in

stride -- and the hundreds of dollar bills with smiles.

“Everyone always says they’ll give us a portion or send us on a trip”

said Jacob Adam, who owns A&M; Liquor on West 19th Street, one of nearly a

dozen stores there selling chances to win Wednesday night’s $87-million

California Lotto jackpot. “Still not a dollar.”

As always, the chances of striking it big are one in 41 million. But

with tonight’s Lotto jackpot being the fourth-largest in California

history, hundreds of would-be millionaires crammed the city’s liquor

stores, mini-marts and supermarkets Wednesday.

“It’s an idiot tax,” said Ed Kim, 31, one of four attorneys from an

Irvine law firm who were standing in a 15-minute line to buy tickets at

Baycrest Wine and Spirits on East 17th Street.

But, like tens of thousands of other Californians, he had big plans to

win the big one.

“I’d take the whole office to lunch,” he said.

“Lunch?” said colleague Rich Babcock, 37, who stood behind Kim,

wearing a matching madras shirt. “I’d expect dinner and Hawaii, pal!”

A sign outside Baycrest boasted that the store had, over the years,

made three of its customers millionaires.

“We’re due now,” said Brian Nye, 25, co-owner of the store. “It’s been

about four years. And we win big every three.”

The secret of the store’s relatively good record, Nye said, has been

its ability to sell lots of tickets.

By 1:45 p.m., Nye had sold 12,000 $1 tickets. He expected the

after-work crowd to grab an additional 13,000.

“We have people driving here from as far as Dana Point,” he said.

“People come to you when you have a big winner.”

And California has its own attraction for ticket buyers.

“I’ve never waited in line to get a ticket before,” said Lucy

Chesleigh, 81, in town from Phoenix to visit her daughter. “But our

lottery in Arizona never gets this high.”

Necolas Yiannos, the owner of a grocery store on West 19th Street,

said he sold almost twice as many tickets Monday than on the average day.

“Everyone wants to be rich,” he said. “Even the homeless. They come in

carrying change they scrounged up and give it all up for a dollar dream.”