LOTTERY ATTRACTS LONG LINES AT PURPLE CRACKLE

Southeast Missouri State University math professor Chengjie Xiong knew he faced long odds in his bid to win the $350 million Big Game lottery.

Still, that didn't stop him and department colleagues from spending a few bucks for lottery tickets.

Xiong said he did it for fun. "Of course, I would love to win," he said prior to Tuesday's drawing.

But he admits, it isn't likely to happen. The odds that a $1 ticket will have all six winning numbers are one in more than 76 million.

Xiong said that would be equivalent to a person correctly guessing the flip of a coin 26 times in a row.

"The chances are very slim," said Xiong. "The game itself is never going to be a loser."

A person who wins the seven-state lottery would receive about $173 million before taxes; $117.7 million after taxes if he or she chooses the lump-sum pay out.

If the winner chooses an annual payout, he or she would get $13.4 million for 26 years before taxes; $9.1 million a year after taxes.

The figures are based on estimated federal taxes of 28 percent and state taxes of 4 percent.

The Purple Crackle nightclub in East Cape Girardeau, Ill., experienced long lines Tuesday as would-be millionaires showed up to buy lottery tickets.

The lines were long Monday too. One man from Mississippi spent $1,260 on lottery tickets Monday. Another spent $630 on a chance for a fortune.

"Most people are spending $20," said Carolyn Hironimus, a nightclub employee.

Gerry Frey, a 47-year-old import car mechanic from Cape Girardeau, never bought lottery tickets before Tuesday.

"I just got back from Jamaica and I'm broke," said Frey.

He said curiosity and the hope of winning brought him to the nightclub.

Frey stood with others in a line that stretched outside the building. He said he didn't mind standing in line. "They say you spend 10 years of your life in line. So, I am just catching up."

Southeast Missouri State student Pacquita Leach stood patiently in line to buy lottery tickets for herself and several others in the university's student support services department. Leach is a student worker in the department.

"My boss sent me," she said.

Marty Hansen, a mass communication professor at Southeast, was prepared to stand out in the rain, if necessary, to buy lottery tickets. Hansen brought an umbrella.

Hansen said he planned to spend less than $30 on the lottery. He said that was a small price to pay for entertainment.

Lottery mania didn't hit Cape Girardeau financial planner Gerry Keene, who said many lottery winners ultimately go bankrupt.

"They think they are set for life. The reality is they are not," he said.

But Keene said a lottery winner who spends his or her money wisely can live well. At 5 percent interest, a winner of the Big Game lottery could earn $670,000 a year off his or her winnings.

"Of course, the government would take half of that a year in taxes," he said. That would still leave over $300,000 a year in spending money.