Pat Montooth wants to know if you feel lucky.

If there was ever evidence that hope is an innate part of the human condition, it is the grocery store lottery line. Sure the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 146,107,962, but somebody has to be that one person, right? So each day, the eternally hopeful, take their places in cue at lottery counters all around the state with numbers and dollar bills in hand, waiting for the day that will be their day.

On the other side of the counter at the South Fayette Shop n’ Save is Pat Montooth, one of the store’s customer service representatives, who along with Donna Toupence oversees the lottery operation. She talked with us recently about being on the other side of lottery hopes.

What kinds of people play the Pennsylvania lottery?
All kinds. I would say more men than women, and more older folks than younger. We get a lot of young people, but if you really had to break it down, I’d say more people 50 and over.

Are any of the people who work the lottery window considered lucky by the regulars?
Sometimes. Some of our customers will only want to buy tickets from a certain person. Not too many, but it does happen.

What’s the most annoying part of working the lottery window?
Some people rattle off the numbers so fast, or they’ll say them in a way
that you can’t understand, and you’ll have to say, “Wait a minute!” Or they’ll start rattling off a long series of numbers before they say if it’s the night or day drawing, and that’s the first thing you have to punch in, so they will have to start all over.

How much have you seen people spend on the lottery?
There was one woman who was spending $400 or $500 a morning. And she used to win a good amount. But then all of a sudden her luck seemed to change and then she was spending hardly anything. We do have some guys who come in and spend a couple hundred on the drawings. Not every day, though.

What’s the biggest winner you’ve seen here?
On the instant games there was a $10,000 ticket sold. On the others, maybe $5,000. We haven’t been lucky enough yet to sell a really
big one.

It’s customary to tip a casino dealer who provides a winning hand. Does that hold true at the lottery window?
Once in a while.

Do people prefer the televised drawings or the instant tickets?
More of the televised drawings.

So do you play the lottery?
Very rarely because I don’t have luck! [laughs].

It must get tempting though, being back there all day.
Well, sometimes if I mess up a customer’s ticket I’ll just buy it myself, but beyond that, not too often.

What would you do if you won a big jackpot?
If I won a big jackpot, I don’t know what I’d do. I probably pass out or something! •