SACRAMENTO -- California Lottery's "The Big Spin®" show airs Saturday, June 9, 2001, in twelve television markets statewide. Contestants on this week's show won a total of $340,000.
Bonnie Howell, a cosmologist from San Diego, plans to pay off bills and share the $92,500 prize she won playing Camelot's Riches with her family. Camelot's Riches is one of California Lottery's newest ways to get to The Big Spin. The game is played by the contestant pulling on King Arthur's sword, "Excalibur," which starts a set of two different colored balls racing down ramps to the finish line. The contestant's prize is determined by which color ball crosses the finish line first. Three rounds are played and the final prize is totaled after the three rounds have ended.
Fantasy 5TM contestants won a combined total of $150,000. Rafael Zarragoitia of Santa Monica won $90,000 and said, "I want to share my prize money with my friend." Zarragoitia's friend bought Fantasy 5 coupons and gave them to Zarragoitia who, in turn, mailed them in. One of the Fantasy 5 coupons he was given was drawn which entitled him to play the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine where he won $90,000. Burlingame resident Otis Toliver asked his wife to proxy for him at the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine. "He thinks I'm his good luck charm and he wants me to play for him," said Carol, his wife.
Toliver's wife played the Dream Machine and won $60,000. "Now we have to go home and decide what to do with the money," Carol said. California Gold contestant Isiah Howard of Desert Shores won $50,000 and was this week's top California Gold winner. "I never had the opportunity to enjoy myself so winning this money will give me the chance to do so," said Howard. Other California Gold contestants won a combined total of $22,500. California Gold is another way to get to the wheel on "The 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.
Divyabala McWan of Duarte won $25,000 spinning the largest prize wheel in the world on The Big Spin show. "This will help in our plans for my wife to retire next year," said Duarte. McWan bought a "Big Spin" Scratchers® ticket which revealed three "SPIN" symbols on one ticket, that ticket entitled him to a direct trip to the prize wheel.
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. "The Big Spin®" is the longest running Lottery game show in the country, airing continuously since 1985.
| NAME |
CITY |
AMOUNT |
| Bonnie Howell |
San Diego |
$ 92,500 |
| Rafael Zarrgoitia |
Santa Monica |
$ 90,000 |
| Otis Toliver |
Burlingame |
$ 60,000 |
| Isiah Howard |
Desert Shores |
$ 50,000 |
| Divyabala McWan |
Duarte |
$ 25,000 |
| Other California Gold Winners |
|
$ 22,500 |
| |
TOTAL $340,000 |
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