2001 2nd Quarter Press Releases: Article

SACRAMENTO -- California Lottery's "Big Spin®" show airs Saturday, May 19, 2001, in twelve television markets statewide. Contestants on this week's show won a combined total of $140,000, including two winners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Many months ago, Jaime Bueno's mother bought a winning "Big Spin" Scratchers® ticket. She put it away for safekeeping but forgot where she had put it. Just recently, Bueno's father was going through tax paperwork and found the lost winning ticket. They gave the ticket to their son Jaime who won $50,000 spinning the prize wheel. Bueno, a Fullerton resident, plans to use the money to continue his education. He also said, "I want to give some of it back to my parents." The Bueno's "Big Spin" Scratchers®, which revealed three "SPIN" symbols on one ticket, entitled them to a direct trip to the prize wheel.

Jules Antoine of Los Angeles works for a foundation that helps the homeless. "The more you give, the more you get back in return," he said. Antoine was this week's top California Gold contestant. After winning $50,000 at the prize wheel Antoine said, "I want to buy my wife a new car with the prize money." Other California Gold contestants won a combined total of $22,500. California Gold is another way to get to the wheel on "Big Spin". The game starts with 10 contestants whose Big Spin Scratchers® tickets each 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" prize wheel, while the other contestant wins $5,000.

"Twice As Grand" contestant, Noe Carranza of Los Angeles, will progress to the final round of play for a chance to win $2,000 a week for 20 years; winning a total grand prize of over $2 million. Carranza was so excited when he scratched off his ticket and realized he would be a contestant on the show, that he locked his keys in the car. "It took 45 minutes to get back into my car, but it was worth it," he said. On this week's show, six contestants will compete in the first preliminary round of the game moving simulated racecars along a racetrack. Of the six, one contestant, Carranza, moves on to the final round of play. "All of my children are competitive swimmers and I'm going to use part of my prize money to help support their efforts," he said. Other "Twice As Grand" contestants won a combined total of $17,500 with possible prizes ranging from $2,500 to $25,000.

The California Lottery sells its products through a network of more than 18,000 outlets statewide. The Lottery provides 52.7 percent of its revenues to players as prizes, 34.1 percent to public schools and 13.2 percent for administrative expenses, which includes 6.9 percent for retailer commissions. Since 1985, the Lottery has raised more than $12 billion for public schools. The California Lottery's contribution equals approximately 2 percent of the state's total education budget. "Big Spin®" is the longest running Lottery game show in the country, airing continuously since 1985.