"Why don't you give me two dollars in that new game." 

Bunny Riddle of Sacramento was among the steady stream of customers who stopped at Luchini's Liquor and Deli on Florin Road to play the new game. (cross fade into nat sound and hold under)
After cashing in regular lottery tickets, Riddle parlayed her winnings into MEGA MILLIONS tickets. She was undaunted by her chances of winning.

"Well, I don't know the odds, but it sounds like it's going to be pretty high, but that's all right. What's two dollars."

With a handful of tickets, Raymond Basquez beamed with optimistic.

"My palm's itching, so I'm going to win something."

As he was selling tickets to a growing line of patrons, manager Ken Lo said the possibility of winning as much as 300 million dollars is generating new customers.

"Oh yeah it was really steady today. Everybody wants to try it. Everybody's really excited about it. A lot more new faces."

Lottery officials expect the MEGA MILLIONS game to generate about 300 to 500 million dollars a year, one-third of which is earmarked for education in California.