ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Kenneth Lufkin Jr. buys a Powerball ticket Tuesday from Joe Lang at Nina’s Market on Essex Street in Lynn
By LEAH DEARBORN
LYNN— With Wednesday’s Powerball drawing jackpot set at an estimated $359 million, it’s no wonder the customers at Nina’s Market on Essex Street were in good cheer.
“I would give 90 percent to charity. I’d like to donate a lot locally,” Kenneth V. Lufkin, Jr., a healthcare manager, said Tuesday about what he would do with the money if he won. “I think it’s a good way to take a gamble.”
Lufkin, who works on the same street as Nina’s, said he plays Powerball with the Mass. State Lottery about once per week, especially when the jackpot prize is high.
When questioned about how a monetary windfall would change his holiday season this year, Lufkin said he would bring all of his family together and take a vacation.
“We wouldn’t even have to buy each other presents,” he said.
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Steve Hayes of Swampscott also took a charitable approach about what he would do if he won the jackpot. Hayes said that he has 10 brothers and sisters in the area who would be some of the first people to know if he struck it rich.
Other customers, like Al Therrien of Peabody, said they don’t play the lottery often. Therrien said he already purchased a ticket for this week in his hometown and that he only plays when his wife tells him to.
“She’s the boss,” he said with a laugh.
It’s probably wise not to take a lottery loss too seriously. Christian Teja, spokesman for Mass. Lottery, said the last jackpot was awarded on Dec. 11, 2013.
Teja said that 425,000 tickets were sold as of Tuesday afternoon, however, and that it’s still possible for the Wednesday jackpot amount to increase.
Last Saturday’s Powerball resulted in 1.8 million ticket sales, Teja said, with nearly 1 million sold on the day of the draw.
Nina’s employees Joe Lang and Sam Youssef both said the number of customers playing Powerball tends to go up with the size of the jackpot.
Lang recounted one woman who came in last Friday and bought 25 tickets. He said another customer was part of an office group that pooled a total of $500 to spend on the lottery.
“I don’t think the time of year matters,” said Lang. “If the jackpot is high, they’re going to play.”