"Big Spin® 2000" Contestants Win More Than $470,000

04.08.2000
"Big Spin® 2000" Contestants Win More Than $470,000

SACRAMENTO -- California Lottery's "Big Spin® 2000" show airs Saturday, April 8, 2000 in twelve television markets statewide. Contestants on this week's show won a total of $472,500.

The READ California's Kids Advisory Council - known as the California Page Flippers received California Lottery's "Hero in Education" award. The California Page Flippers consist of 15 fourth through sixth-graders, representing cities throughout California, who encourage other children to read outside of the classroom and parents to read with their children by offering encouragement and ideas to making reading fun. Child actor John Daly presented the California Page Flippers with California Lottery's "Hero in Education" award. Daly, who plays Sam Weir on Freaks and Geeks, believes in the importance of reading and is also an honor student.

San Francisco construction worker, Reginald Royal bought a winning California Gold Scratchers® ticket that won him a trip to the Big Spin® 2000 show. Once at the show, Royal spun the wheel and got a "triple". That triple entitled Royal to 3 times the amount of his next spin of the wheel. His next spin was for $50,000, which gave Royal a total prize of $150,000. Royal plans to buy a new home with his prize money.

Harold Odness of Sun City was this week's top Fantasy^TM 5 winner. Odness, a retired auto transport driver, won $95,000. Odness plans to donate some of his prize money to the church and use some of it to take a vacation visiting family.

Fantasy 5 winner Nicholas Alpino of Laguna Hills won $75,000. "I want to help my son with his educational goals," said Alpino. Alpino, a tour agent, would also like to travel with his wife.

Dennis Freeman of Los Gatos won $70,000 at his turn up at the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine. Freeman, a Sr. mapper, plans to take his wife on an Alaskan cruise.

Ontario resident Paulina Baez got 3 "Spin" symbols on her "Big Spin 2000" Scratchers ticket. That ticket got Baez a direct trip to the show where she won $60,000 spinning the largest prize wheel in the world. Baez said she is a big volleyball fan and plans to use her prize money to buy a new volleyball and net and to put a down payment on a house.

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. 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
Reginald Royal	San Francisco	$150,000
Harold Odness	Sun City	$95,000
Nicholas Alpino	Laguna Hills	$75,000
Dennis Freeman	Los Gatos	$70,000
Paulina Baez	Ontario	$60,000
Other California Gold Winners		$22,500
		TOTAL $472,500

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2000 2nd Quarter Press Releases: Article