As head of the Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Judd Gregg works with big numbers all the time. Yesterday, he got to add a big number to his own budget.

How big? $853,492.

"That's the gross number, of course," Gregg said of his prize. "After taxes, it's closer to $500,000."

Gregg was one of 49 people across the country to win money by matching five of six number's in yesterday's record Powerball drawing.

Even so, Gregg's haul was nothing to sneeze at - not even for a man of his considerable personal wealth.

According to reports filed earlier this year, Gregg's assets already totaled between $1.5 million and $6.2 million before his lottery win. His income last year fell somewhere between $278,000 and $1.2 million. (The figures are fuzzy because senators don't have to report exact financial holdings, just ranges.)

Gregg, a Republican from Rye, snagged his lucky ticket Wednesday morning, at a gas station in Washington, D.C. He bought four tickets, $20 total, and let the Powerball machine pick his numbers. He doesn't often play the lottery, he said, but the jackpot was too impressive to ignore.

"The sign said '350 million,' or something," Gregg said.

It was $340 million, actually. One grand prize-winning ticket was sold in Oregon, but as of last night, nobody had claimed the prize.

Gregg summoned reporters to discuss his winnings on a conference call yesterday afternoon. He chuckled when asked about the irony of a self-described "budget hawk" hitting the jackpot.

"I guess it means I'm good with numbers," he said. He laughed a bit more, then said: "I think every American believes in good fortune and a little luck. And I'm no different than everybody else."

Gregg didn't let that good fortune keep him from putting in a full day's work yesterday. For instance, he found time to vote against a bill that would have helped poor families pay their home heating costs this winter. (Gregg was the only New England senator to vote against the proposal.)

A day earlier, Gregg voted against raising the minimum wage by $1.10, to $6.25 an hour. That wage hasn't increased since 1997.

Gregg wasted no time claiming his share of the Powerball prize, picking up his oversized check from the lottery commission and depositing it in his bank account.

Gregg was vague about how he and his wife Kathy would spend their winnings. "Obviously, we have taxes," he noted.

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