03.17.2008
Couple Claim Latest California Lottery $1 Million Prize
SACRAMENTO – On a day equated with good luck, St. Patrick’s Day, a couple from Southern California claimed a million-dollar prize from the California Lottery.
Don and Glenda Buol won the ninth million-dollar prize from the popular Scratchers game, California Millionaire. There are 11 more million-dollar prizes in the California Millionaire game yet to be uncovered.
The Buols bought their winning ticket at Stallion Market in Sun Valley, near Burbank. “We looked at it 20 times and couldn’t believe it,” said Don Buol when speaking with Lottery officials today. Glenda, Don’s wife of 50 years this June added, “We’ve gone two days without sleep.” The Buols bought their ticket Friday afternoon and waited all weekend for the Van Nuys Lottery office to open this morning. After receiving confirmation that the ticket was a million-dollar winner, Don expressed his astonishment by saying, “It won’t sink in until we have it in hand.”
Don Buol bought his first instant Scratchers tickets 22 years ago when the California Lottery began. He bought several, passing them out at a dinner with friends to celebrate Glenda’s birthday. One ticket, given to the waitress, turned out to be worth $100. The Buols have played Lottery games occasionally since, wagering a dollar here and a dollar there. They’ve won a couple of small prizes, but nothing like this.
“We’re very happy for the Buols,” said Joan Borucki, director of the California Lottery. “The excitement surrounding their win will be replayed 11 more times for people who scratch a California Millionaire ticket in the coming weeks and months.”
The Scratchers game, California Millionaire, will award a total of 15 instant million-dollar prizes and five second-chance draws for $1 million prizes. Tickets for California Millionaire cost $5 each.
More than 95 cents of every Lottery dollar is returned to the community in the form of contributions to education, prizes and retail commissions. The California 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 $20 billion to California schools out of total sales of nearly $55 billion. Retailers benefit too, earning $3.5 billion in compensation since 1985.