SACRAMENTO –Mary Ann Rivera, an office administrator at a world-wide retailer in San Francisco, came forward today to claim the $9 Million SuperLOTTO Plus jackpot. This draw took place on Wednesday, September 26, 2007. This Vallejo resident is the 23rd millionaire crowned by the California Lottery in 2007!
Mrs. Rivera’s tech-savvy son checked the numbers on his computer and showed her the winning numbers, which matched her. “My family started jumping around and screaming, but I thought they were playing a trick on me and that my son somehow changed the numbers to make them match mine,” explained Mrs. Rivera. When asked what they did next, after she realized she may in fact have the winning ticket, she explained, “We decided to go pick up a pizza, but I wanted to stop by the gas station to check the ticket. After the cashier scanned it, he shook my hand and told me that I had won big. I was in shock and could not believe it! ”
Rivera confesses that she is a bit superstitious, and that last week she had a few odd experiences having to do with a couple of prayers. She adds that the only lucky experiences in her life have been winning $1,000 at a church raffle. Mrs. Rivera is not someone who plays the Lottery regularly and says she only plays a couple dollars once or twice a month, further proving that it only take a dollar to win. When asked what she would do with her money, she explained, “I may get a new car, pay for my son’s college education and invest the rest.”
The ticket was sold at Chemco, which is located at 1900 Springs Road in Vallejo. This retailer will receive a bonus of $45,000 for selling the winning ticket.
The California State Lottery contributes at least 34 cents of every dollar that players spend on Lottery products to public education and returns more than 50 percent of sales to players in the form of prizes. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $19 billion to California school out of total sales of more than $52 billion. Retailers win too, earning $3.3 billion in compensation since 1985.