Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

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Lottery players dream of ways to spend half a billion in winnings

Mega Millions madness was in full effect Thursday at the Primm Valley Lotto Store near the Nevada-California border, where thousands of people lined up to purchase a ticket for a chance to win the record $540 million jackpot.

As the line stretched through the parking lot, the wait to buy tickets was upwards of four hours, giving hopeful lottery players plenty of time to plan how they would spend the jackpot.

“Even if you don’t win, it’s fun,” Las Vegas resident Dwight Caswell said. “You’ve got a day and a half to dream about what you’ll do with the money.”

Here’s how 11 people waiting in line outside the lottery store said they’d spend their millions:

    • Teddy Concepcion

      If he’s lucky enough to strike it rich, the first thing Concepcion said he planned to do was treat his 3-year-old daughter Bella, who joined him in line outside the store, to a shopping spree.

      “She’s going to Toys R Us and Disneyland as soon as we win,” Concepcion said.

      After that, the Las Vegas resident has a system devised to spread the money among his friends and family.

      “I’ve got seven brothers and one sister. Everybody gets a house and a car,” he said. “Then you’ve got 30 friends you give $1 million each to, and you’ve got five people you pay to leave you alone.”

    • Don Kittell

      Kittell, a Las Vegas-based plumber, said hitting the jackpot would mean not having to worry about work anymore.

      “I’d give my tools to my boss and he could use them however he wants,” Kittell said.

      Other plans include buying a new house — hopefully one with a bar, a weight room and a theater.

      He also dreams of buying enough land to build a dirt bike track for himself and friends to use.

    • Kenya Piper

      A doorman at the Mandarin Oriental, Piper said he’d use the money to buy a new house and move out of Las Vegas.

      Piper said he’d also use the money to take care of his family and possibly launch a clothing line.

    • Alaine Shimp

      Shimp, a Las Vegas resident, wasn’t sure where she’d start spending her $540 million if she picked the winning numbers for Friday’s lottery.

      “That’s a lot of money to think about,” she said.

      Among the possibilities: a bigger house, a new car and a trip to Germany.

      “I’d like to go to Bavaria; that sounds like fun,” she said.

    • Harry Donato

      Donato planned to buy only one ticket at the Primm lottery store Thursday, and he already knows how he’d spend his first $3 million.

      “I’m going to give each one of my three kids a million dollars so they can pay me back what they owe me,” the retired Las Vegas resident said with a laugh.

      Donato and his wife, Lynda, also dream of buying a house on the beach in Sarasota, Fla., and traveling to Budapest, Hungary.

    • Mark "Soy" Barba

      Barba, who works at the front desk at Encore, said after giving some of his winnings to charity, he’d look to move out of Las Vegas.

      “I’d buy myself my own island,” the 24-year-old said.

      The rest, he said, would be put in the bank and invested.

    • Trace Wilson

      For Wilson, $540 million would mean fast cars and his own place to race them.

      “I’d build a racetrack, probably a road course,” the 23-year-old Air Force veteran said. “It’d be for people to come out and race and have fun.”

    • Hawnie Hendroffe

      Hendroffe, an Australia native living in Las Vegas, said the jackpot would mean an opportunity to move home and start over.

      “I’d get a new house, a new car and a new man,” she said.

    • Jim Fenters

      With the $540 million jackpot, Fenters said his first act would be to hire some help to manage it.

      “I’d get a good tax accountant and a lawyer,” the retired Las Vegas resident said.

      In addition to sharing the money with friends, family and his church, Fenters said he would take a cruise around the world with his wife.

    • Billy and James Jetland

      The Jetlands, twin brothers who live in Las Vegas, said they would put the $540 million jackpot toward launching a new political party.

      The duo already have mapped out the logistics of their new party, dubbed American Citizens Vote, which would advocate for a change in the political process to give citizens a direct say through voting on which bills are passed by elected representatives.

      The $540 million would be used to hire staff and begin marketing the new party.

      “We’d buy a Super Bowl commercial,” Billy Jetland said.

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