Vissu Reddy of Florence has never bought a lottery ticket but, sold a lot of them, though.

Reddy is the owner of Sunhouse Petroleum and his store is a member of the lottery’s Million Dollar Sales Club. He has sold $1.2 million in lottery tickets in the most recent fiscal year, which ranks him for the 18th place in state.

Store owners rake in a 7-percent commission on their sales, with not much overhead, so even if no one else is a lottery winner, the store wins. The lottery, he said, is the heart of his business. US lottery

Reddy attributes his lottery sales success to his store’s location and a deserved reputation as a “lucky” lottery site. In 2007 alone, Reddy’s store sold three $10,000 instant winner tickets in less than 25 days and sold a $50,000 instant ticket.

In quiet Quinby, Desai said the Sam’s Mart lottery success story has more to do with customer service than good fortune.

Desai said he and his staff know what to do when it comes to the lottery and keep up with its ever-changing array of games and contests. They’re happy to answer questions, and cash big paydays on the spot. Many stores limits to on-site payouts, requiring bigger winners to travel to the lottery’s office in Columbia to collect their winnings.

Playing the lottery, Kenneth said during a recent early afternoon stop at Sam’s, is all about the atmosphere and convenience. Kenneth typically spends $40 to $50 a week playing the lottery, but said it’s more like a hobby for him since he only plays when all his other expenses have been handled, and for him the game to be addicting.

“It’s not like I can’t ride by the store and not get a ticket,” Kenneth said.

Minutes after Kenneth wandered in to Sam’s, Leon Crump walked into the store to cash his winning $20 instant ticket. He’s a frequent visitor, but not a frequent lottery player. He said he plays maybe once a month.

And even though Crump may not be a frequent player, he does have a strong opinion about lottery policies.

“I do think the prizes should be spread out more,” he said. “Instead of giving $50 million to one person why not give $1 million to 50 people?”

Then, there is bus driver Michael Elleby who stops at Sam’s Mart between his morning and afternoon routes to get a cup of coffee, chew the fat with Desai and playing the lottery – “responsibly,” Desai said. Lottery results

Maurice Scott, another Sunhouse regular, is interested in the big money games like Power Ball or Mega Millions. He doesn’t usually get into those games, however, until the jackpot grows.

“It seems like the people that don’t play much always win,” Scott said. “The odds make me not want to play that much and when I do it’s only a $1.”

If the odds are bad, the payouts are pretty good. The current jackpot for the two multi-state games available in South Carolina are both more than $100 million. Jackpot drawings are set for today and Saturday.

And so, the lottery still is a game that is hard to resist, and yet, fortunately, helps many more people than we sometimes even think.