Wanted: Bad News. Will Pay Cash.

They began queuing up at 8 a.m., bringing their tales of woe.

"I've worked hard my whole life. I never thought I'd be living in a homeless shelter. Or asking for help like this," said John Holland, 42, who wore a shirt and tie under a proper trench coat to stand in line at Union Station yesterday.

Holland, who lost his job as a cook months ago, was among hundreds of people waiting for cash handouts from a businessman banking on good deeds and word of mouth as his advertising gimmick.

"Bailout Bill," as he asked to be called, listened to stories of economic hardship, one after another, recording each one with a video camera. There were grandmothers without health insurance, unemployed truckers, scores of homeless folks and destitute mothers with their children.

"I'm seeing patterns now," said Bailout Bill, who refused to give his full identity. "People having a hard time finding work. There are lots of health insurance issues. But I tell you, I've felt like Santa all day."

With a squad of off-duty New York police officers watching over him, Bailout Bill, stoic in black shades and ball cap, sat in a booth, his pile of money stashed out of sight. He listened to the stories and handed out cash -- at least $50 per person. Many got $100. A woman with three children who said she is facing eviction got $350, according to Bailout Bill, who turned no one away. He said he gave away $50,000 by day's end.

Why? It's a business gamble, said Drew Tybus, the publicist for BailoutBooth.com.

The venture is a classified ad Web site with video -- Craigslist meets YouTube. The founders hope people who are struggling in the recession and need to pawn their belongings will pay to post creative video sales pitches on the site.

Yesterday, people brought their bills, eviction notices and unemployment checks as evidence of their struggles.

Antoine Dyson, 37, got his $50, then rushed back to the homeless shelter where he lives to spread the news. He returned with 75 people. Byron Mitchell, 54, who was laid off from his moving company job last year, took his $100 bailout to the Department of Motor Vehicles. "I've got eight tickets. They booted my car. It just piled up on me, and I couldn't catch up," he said.

Since its launch Feb. 3, real estate listings on the site amount to land for sale in Thailand and Transylvania. The video concept has already been done by sites such as Realpeoplerealstuff.com, so it's not novel.

Tybus said the founder sat down with his investor money and wondered whether to do what GoDaddy.com did and spend big on advertising during the Super Bowl. But instead of putting about $1 million toward a 20-second blip on TV, the Web site went with a guerrilla marketing campaign. There was a cash giveaway in New York's Times Square this month, and others are planned for Boston and Philadelphia.

"It's going to keep me in business," said Keith Shaifer, 50, who is homeless and works as a portrait sketch artist on the street. "I got $50! I'm going to get a small easel, some more paper, pencils. This is good."