Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, August 21, 1993                   TAG: 9308210186
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BONNIE WINSTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DO YOU FEEL LIKE 1 IN 7.1 MILLION?

Sales are swelling for tonight's Pick 6 drawing, with more than $600,000 in tickets sold Thursday and $5 million worth projected to be sold today.

"There's no question that more people play as the jackpot gets higher," said state lottery spokeswoman Paula Otto. "Not only do more people play, but the amount per transaction also goes up."

This is only the second jackpot this year to hit the $10 million mark, and the first since November to reach $20 million.

Lottery Department studies show that about 30 percent of adult Virginians play Lotto regularly - no matter the size of the jackpot. When the pot exceeds $10 million, the number playing grows to 36 percent. "That means roughly 250,000 people who don't generally play Lotto will be playing this weekend," Otto said.

Spending also has increased, Otto said. On Aug. 6, when the jackpot was $6.5 million, the average ticket buyer spent $1.35. On Friday, that rose to $3.35.

The top-selling retailers statewide Friday were small markets on main roads leading into North Carolina and Tennessee, the two non-lottery states bordering Virginia.

But people in Roanoke were also catching lottery fever, even though the odds of winning are one in 7.1 million.

The Uni-Mart store on Jamison Avenue Southeast was busier than usual for a Friday night, employee Liz St. Clair said.

"We've sold a lot today, but honey, it'll probably be five times busier tomorrow," she said, referring to the last-minute rush that typically precedes a big Saturday jackpot.

"It's good to see this kind of excitement when we reach a $20 million jackpot," Otto said. She said department phones have been ringing this week with inquiries from Maryland and Washington, D.C., residents wanting to know the closest Virginia lottery outlet.

"People have also asked us to fax past winning numbers; and they've wanted directions on how to get to the regional office to collect their winnings because they said they'd be too nervous when they win on Monday to write the directions down," she said.

Staff writer Leigh Allen contributed information for this story.