NORTH AUGUSTA — The clock ticks toward 6:45 p.m., and the hard-core lottery players hunch over play slips, hastily coloring boxes like high schoolers in the last minutes of an SAT exam.

Some stare at the sky as if divine inspiration will provide the winning number. Others review their selections one more time as they move toward the cash register. A few resort to “blue sheets,” tip sheets for picking numbers that are printed on blue paper.

David McCain of Augusta, Ga., picks five numbers every January and plays them the whole year in both South Carolina and Georgia. His strategy is similar to those of most regular players — pick birth dates and auto tag numbers.

He speaks in lottery lingo.

“879 fell for the midday Saturday in Georgia,” McCain said about the Georgia Lottery’s April 30 Cash 3 drawing. “That was my niece’s tag number. I don’t play her number.”

But other methods exist, too.

Lee Higgs of Augusta, Ga. usually asks for “quads” for his S.C. Pick 4 game. His ticket for last Tuesday night read like this:

“0000

“1111

“2222

“3333

“4444.”

On a recent Tuesday evening, Higgs joined the lottery faithful at Greg’s Gas Plus on West Martintown Road in North Augusta. The store sits at the end of a bridge connecting Georgia and South Carolina. Every evening about 6, the lottery players roll in.

Many of these hard-core players try to beat the odds on both sides of the state line. Mostly, they prefer the Georgia games, believing the Peach State pays out more often and preferring some minor details in Georgia’s game rules.

Higgs lives in Georgia but works in South Carolina. He stops at Gas Plus almost every day on his way home from work.

Along with a handful of Pick 4 and Pick 3 tickets, Higgs bought four $5 scratch-off tickets and walked out the door. Within minutes, he was back with two winning cards. Rather than taking the cash, Higgs exchanged the winning tickets for more $5 scratch-off games.

“I’m trying to increase my chances,” he said.

This time, Higgs scratched the silvery coating off the numbers with his thumbnail as he stood near the checkout line.

No winner.

Higgs left, saying, “I’ve got my ration for the day. I’ve got my tank of gas and my lottery tickets.”

Meanwhile, more players stopped in.

Jack Leverett Jr., the cashier running the lottery computer, knows regular customers by name. He banters with them, making jokes about preachers or wives catching them playing the numbers.

Leverett said the store gets busy every day around 6 p.m. as people rush to buy tickets for the 7 p.m. drawings. Once he shuts off the sales at 6:45 p.m., the lottery line disappears except for two or three who hang around until the winning numbers are reported in the store.

The Powerball jackpot last week approached $72 million, an amount that will attract players from Georgia, which offers Lotto South and Mega Millions.

“At about $70 million, we start seeing more people come over,” Leverett said.

As Leverett scanned play slips into the computer and tore scratch-offs from the rolls, players hovered around the Pepsi machine and hot dog cooker to make selections.

Then, Higgs returned.

He thought about some more numbers; he liked 6667 for the Pick 4 game. And he wanted more $5 scratch-offs.

Finally, he won another $5 prize on the scratch-offs and yelled, “Give me some money and let me see what it feels like to be a winner!”

Heads popped up around the store as Higgs assured them, “I still have to cut the grass and fix the plumbing.”

Then, he strode out the door.

“I’ve got my win for today.”

Reach Phillips at (803) 771-8307 or nophillips@thestate.com.