‘Everybody can hope’

The biggest lottery jackpot ever has Shawano-area players dreaming just as big. Ticket sales soared at local outlets Friday as residents dug into their pockets and rolled the dice on the history-making $800 million Powerball jackpot. “You’ve got to take a chance,” said Linda Haapala, who bought three tickets at John’s One Stop store north of town on state Highway 47. Asked how she would spend her winnings, Haapala said she had not really made any specific plans. “Live better,” she said. Other players, however, have very definite ideas about spending their fortune if they strike it rich in Saturday night’s colossal Powerball drawing. Fritz Krell, who bought tickets at The Store east of downtown, said he would pay off his debts and all his friends’ debts before setting out on a trip around the world. Krell bought two tickets — one for himself and one for his wife — and headed home to wait and hope. “Everybody can hope,” he said. Area ticket outlets reported surging sales as word got around about the stratospheric stakes involved in Saturday’s drawing. Employees at The Store said they had sold about 550 Powerball tickets by noon Friday — nearly four times the number they typically sell all day long. Said Mike Strah, an employee at John’s One Stop: “It’s busier than hell.” Karen Cluka picked up one ticket as a giveaway for a party she planned to attend. Asked how she would feel if she gave away a winning ticket, Cluka said she was having second thoughts. She could stand to pay some bills and set aside some money for her grandchildren, she said. “I don’t ever win anything,” she added. “I don’t know what luck feels like.” At The Store, Ivan Bruette was definitely keeping both of his tickets, and he knew exactly how he would spend the winnings. He would create a foundation and donate money to combat homelessness and other problems on the Menominee Indian reservation. Bruette joked that the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot were steeper than the chances of being struck by lightning. “I figure I haven’t been struck,” he said with a laugh. “So I’m due to be struck.”