Powerball tickets were selling at a furious pace in the Big Apple on Tuesday as the chance at $1.5 billion had housekeepers dreaming of their own maids, homeless people dreaming of a roof over the heads — and jailbirds dreaming of better lawyers.
“I bought tickets all over,” said Maria Brown, a 54-year-old housekeeper from East Flatbush, who dreams of having a maid of her own if she wins.
“I would have a housekeeper, but I would be the cool owner of the house, like ‘The Jeffersons,’ ” she said, adding that she has “no groceries this week” because of her lotto spending.
Even the city’s professional athletes wanted a piece of the action, which comes out to $577 million after taxes for city residents.
“My wife has bought like 100 bucks worth of tickets,” said Brooklyn Nets forward Thaddeus Young. “It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t give myself a chance, so I said to my wife, ‘Go pick up some.’ ”
Inmates at the Manhattan Detention Complex, also known as The Tombs, also have lottery fever, jail sources told The Post.
“Hundreds of inmates are heard by officers all day telling their multiple girlfriends to buy them tickets so they can afford to get high-priced attorneys,” the source said. “One officer even heard an inmate say during a visit, ‘Stop buying me damn underwear and socks and buy me a goddamn lotto ticket so you can pay my f—ing bail!”
Lottery officials said inmates would be allowed to rake in the cash only if they get a friend or family member to purchase a ticket and play for them.
The chance of a nine-figure payout was also too much for the city’s homeless population to resist. “We’re trying to get rich,” said Maria Ortiz, 52, who stays at the New York City Rescue Mission in Manhattan.
“My daughter bought [two tickets], and I asked her to hold on to them for me,” she said. “I’m trying to get money to buy a place.”
Wesley Olerz, a 60-year-old who has been staying at The Bowery Mission on the Lower East Side, said he plans to use the money for medical bills and to turn his life around if he wins.
“I want to change my life,” he said. “I want to take care of myself.”
Additional reporting by Fred Kerber and Vinita Singla