Sacramento Fantasy 5 Dream Machine Contestant Wins $95,000

10.09.1999
Sacramento Fantasy 5 Dream Machine Contestant Wins $95,000

SACRAMENTO -- The California Lottery's "Big Spin® 2000" show airs Saturday October 9, 1999 in twelve television markets statewide. Contestants on this week's show won a total of $245,000.

Sacramento resident, Ben Carr was the lone Fantasy 5^TM Dream Machine contestant on this week's show. Carr took a chance, dropped all five balls and won $95,000. He plans to pay off his bills and fix up his home with his prize.

This week's show tripled the action with three spinners. Another Sacramento player, Margaret Watts, a Border Patrol Manager, bought a winning "Big Spin" Scratchers® ticket and spun the largest prize wheel in the world to win $40,000. Watts earned her way to "The Big Spin" Show by buying a Big Spin Scratchers ticket that revealed three "Spin" symbols on one ticket, winning her an automatic trip to the prize wheel.

Two other California Gold winners were hoping to strike it rich; Joann Harris, a cashier from Los Angeles won $40,000 and 77 year old Samuel Randolph from Palmdale will be enjoying retirement and sharing his $25,000 win with his wife of 50 years. Other California Gold contestants won a total of $45,000. California Gold, is Big Spin 2000's newly restyled way to get the wheel, and has proven to be a very exciting addition to the show. The game starts with 10 contestants whose Big Spin Scratchers tickets revealed three "TV Show" symbols on one ticket. When instructed, each player pushes down a "detonator" to reveal a prize ranging from $1,750 to $4,000. Two of those contestants will reveal gold nuggets and advance to the second round of play. Once there, they compete to see who can get the closest to 10 units of "gold nuggets" in their mining car without going over. The winner of this round goes to the Big Spin 2000 prize wheel, while the other contestant wins $5,000.

The California Lottery sells its products through a network of more than 18,000 outlets statewide. The Lottery provides 52 percent of its revenues to players as prizes, 34 percent to public schools, and 14 percent for administrative expenses, which includes 6.8 percent for retailer commissions. Since 1985, the Lottery has raised more than $11 billion for public schools and has provided an annual average of approximately 38 percent of the Lottery's total revenues to schools. The California Lottery's contribution equals approximately 2 percent of the state's total education budget. "Big Spin® 2000" is the longest running Lottery game show in the country, airing continuously since 1985.

NAME	CITY	AMOUNT
Ben Carr	Sacramento	$ 95,000
Margaret Watts	Sacramento	$ 40,000
Joann Harris	Los Angeles	$ 40,000
Samuel Randolph	Palmdale	$ 25,000
Other California Gold Winners		$ 45,000
		TOTAL $ 245,000

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1999 4th Quarter Press Releases: Article