October "Big Spin® 2000" Contestants Scares Up $415,000

10.23.1999
October "Big Spin® 2000" Contestants Scares Up $415,000

SACRAMENTO -- The California Lottery's "Big Spin® 2000" show airs Saturday October 23, 1999 in twelve television markets statewide. Contestants on this week's show won a total of $415,000.

Fantasy 5™ contestants Joseph Judge, a retired stock brokerage operations specialist from Winnetka and Elizabeth Stumber, a sales representative from Los Angeles, won a combined total of $170,000 playing the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine on this week's show. Judge, who is a faithful fan of the show, plans to take a trip to Hawaii with his $95,000 prize. As for Stumber, she plans to travel and scuba dive in Australia with her $75,000 win.

Twenty California Gold contestants were searching for their share of the gold on this week's show. Felix Varela, a pool finisher from Monrovia was the top winner with $100,000. Varela plans to put the money he won away for his retirement and to pay off his house. Nu Duong, from Westminster also won big with a $50,000 win. Other California Gold contestants won a total of $45,000.

Sarah Tesser, proxy for Grace Ezra-Tesser, an assistant manager from Woodland Hills, spun the largest prize wheel in the world and won $50,000. Tesser would like to buy a new car and take a trip to Japan with her prize money.

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
Felix Varela	Monrovia	$ 100,000
Joseph Judge	Winnetka	$ 95,000
Elizabeth Stumber	Los Angeles	$ 75,000
Nu Duong	Westminster	$ 50,000
Grace Ezra-Tesser	Woodland Hills	$ 50,000
Other California Gold Winners		$ 45,000
		TOTAL $ 415,000

- # # # -

1999 4th Quarter Press Releases: Article