Daily News from New York, New York • 426

lUMMB UDD)(D)lty OS sSOTlESfllfllSL aoiriiHOSflHS saw nu if ii By DAVE GOLOINER and SARA KUGLER VA have been invested in a single payment A couple of months ago, it cost about $12 million in cash to pay off a $25 million jackpot But with interests rates at historic lows, it now costs $14 million. To make up the difference, Hayes said, the state had two choices: increase ticket sales or decrease the jackpots. Because ticket sales have remained steady the past couple of years, the state decided to slash the prizes. If no one hits the $3 million Lotto jackpot drawn on Wednesday or the $4 million prize on Saturday, the pot for the second drawing will climb to $8 million instead of $10 million. If there's no winner after the second drawing, the pot for the third drawing will rise to $12 million instead of the previous $15 million.

By the fourth drawing, the jackpot will be worth $17 million not the old $20 million. The mega-jackpots that used to kick in after a few win-nerless weeks are also smaller. Officials say it's less likely players will see $40 million or $50 million prizes as often. Ticket sellers said they're already feeling the effects of the prize shrinkage. "The sales are down because people think that when jackpots are higher, you have a greater chance of winning," said Nicole Gordon, 24, manager of Card Kingdom in Penn Station.

With Corky Siemaszko Dairy News Writers Would-be millionaires are getting less dream for their buck from the New York State Lottery. The jackpots for the popular twice-a-week numbers game have dropped by up to $3 million in recent weeks and could plunge even more. Lotto players with a "dollar and a dream" can point the finger at an unlikely culprit: rock-bottom long-term interest rates that make it much more expensive for the state to pay eye-popping cash prizes. "This is in no way or shape a form of us messing with our players' money," lottery spokesman Rob Hayes said. "This is just the economics of today.

When the interest rates eventually go up a little again, the jackpot will go up." Lotto honchos fret that smaller prizes could lead to anemic ticket sales and lower revenues will make it even harder to fund the huge windfalls. "It's almost kind of ironic," Hayes said. Falling interest rates are "good for so many people, but that means we're not able to generate high-level jackpots as quickly." Here's why: When a winner hits the Lotto jackpot, the state invests money in government bonds to make sure it has enough money to pay the winner month after month, for 26 years. A player who selects a cash option gets the amount that would CHOCOLATE is choice of millions, and Margot Stlverstein, 7 (left), and Carla Green are fascinated by Yvon Bertholet's skill as master molder, which he displays at first New York Chocolate Show. xt Disney's lovable bugs bring home the bacon TASTE TREAT delights Ariella Chase, 2, at Puck Building show yesterday.

Chocolate lingerie amazes visitor (below) and who could resist a whiff of choc-scented dress or sample (page opposite). ii sequel to a widely acclaimed 1995 film that racked up $67 million in ticket sales plus an Oscar nomination. This time, "Babe" finished fifth, with $6.4 million in sales from Friday to yesterday, and $8.5 million for five days. The 1995 "Babe" did $8.7 million in its first three days. Jerry Springer's "Ringmaster" delivered exactly what Springer fans expect They apparently just didn't feel compelled to see it on a big screen: It finished an anemic ninth.

Here's the top 10 and three-day totals, as estimated by studios: 1. "A Bug's Life" ($33.6 million). 2. "The Rugrats Movie" ($21.1 million). 3.

"Enemy of the State" ($18 million). 4. "The Waterboy" ($14 million). 5. "Babe: Pig in the City" ($6.4 mil lion).

6. "Meet Joe Black" ($5.8 million). By DAVID HINCKLEY Dairy News Staff Writer The bugs ruled. The pig tanked. And Jerry Springer can plan an episode on "Successful TV Hosts That Apparently No One Wants to See in the Movies." "A Bug's Life," Disney's computer-animated comedy about the world of the multi-legged, broke the Thanksgiving weekend record at the movie box office, ringing up $46.5 million Wednesday to yesterday, and $33.6 million Friday to yesterday.

This nudges the bugs ahead of another pack of lovable heroes, the "101 Dalmatians," which earned $45.1 million during the five-day weekend in 1996. Thanksgiving weekend has emerged in recent years as the showcase time for family-friendly movies, and "The Ru-grats Movie" stayed a strong second this weekend, with $21.1 million. "Rugrats" has racked up $58 million in 10 days of release. The weekend stunner, though, was the public yawn over "Babe: Pig in the City," a fe47 frt 1 IS A 'I is V. 'kit it si 7.

"I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" ($4.6 million). 8. "Home Fries" ($3.7 million). 9. "Ringmaster" ($3.6 million).

10. "Elizabeth" ($3.4 million)..