Lottery rakes it in as hopefuls chase dream

Saturday, March 03, 2007 posted 04:51 AM EST

Lottery dreamers spent a blistering $10,000 a minute in Massachusetts yesterday for a shot at the $275 million Mega Millions jackpot.

“We’re doing phenomenal,” said Lottery spokeswoman Beth Bresnahan.

The winning numbers drawn last night were: 14-21-33-35-51, Megaball 43. It was unknown at press time whether any lotto players picked the lucky numbers.

Residents lined up all over the state to roll the dice. Customers at Schubert’s on the corner of West Broadway and Dorchester Streets in South Boston warned they have the Midas touch.

Josh Cline of Southie picked up 40 tickets, using his lucky system.

“I play quick picks and then I play the same numbers every week, which is a combination of mine and my girlfriend’s lucky numbers,” Cline said. “Every time something good happens those numbers are there.”

Even Schubert’s employees, such as Amanda Sweeney, are looking to join in on the frenzy.

“I usually play with my tips instead of my own money,” she said. “When I come back into work I’ll run my numbers.”

If nobody wins this multistate drawing, Tuesday’s jackpot will hit a Mega Millions record of $340 million.

If you won the jackpot last night, you have two choices:

Take home a lump-sum payment of $163 million.

Divide the cash up into 26 payments of $10.5 million per year. (Don’t forget, you’ll be charged about $3 million in state and federal taxes.)

Not a bad payday.

The jackpot has now rolled 14 times without a winner. The odds of winning are approximately 1 in 176 million. Mega Millions tickets are sold in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, New York and eight other states.

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