SACRAMENTO -- California Lottery's "The Big Spin" show airs Saturday, July 7, 2001, in twelve television markets statewide. Contestants on this week's show won a total of $360,000.
Thomas Hatton of Bonita won $50,000 when he spun the largest prize wheel in the world. "I'm going to pay-off my children's student loans," said Hatton. Hatton 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.
Los Angeles resident Bernice Hill won $92,500 playing the Lottery's Camelot Riches. Camelot's Riches is one of California Lottery's newest ways to get to The Big Spin. 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, plays the game. 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. Hill plans to use her prize money to help out her family. She also said, "First of all I'm going to give some to my church and then I'm going to enjoy it."
California Gold's top winner Tamara Rojas of Fontana won $30,000 as she was cheered on by friends and family. California Gold is another way to get to the wheel on "The Big Spin"show. 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. Other California Gold contestants won a combined total of $22,500.
Fantasy 5 Dream Machine contestant Arbutus Carpenter of Hesperia won $100K. "I'm going to use the money to go on a honeymoon with my new husband." Carpenter was this week's Dream Machine player who released balls into the "pachinko style" game that landed in the $20k, $10k, $40k and finally in the $30k to total $100k. Don Walizer of Morgan Hill won $65k playing the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine. "I plan to buy my wife a new car," said Walizer. The California Lottery sells its products through a network of more than 18,000 outlets statewide. Lottery sales ending this fiscal year will total more than $2.87 billion with more than $1.07 billion to be distributed to California's schools. This is the highest sales in Lottery history and the highest contribution to California's public schools in the Lottery's 16-year history.
| NAME |
CITY |
AMOUNT |
| Arbutus Carpenter |
Hesperia |
$100,000 |
| Bernice Hill |
Los Angeles |
$92,500 |
| Don Walizer |
Morgan Hill |
$65,000 |
| Thomas Hatton |
Bonita |
$50,000 |
| Tamara Rojas |
Fontana |
$30,000 |
| Other California Gold Winners |
|
$22,500 |
| |
| |
TOTAL |
$360,000 |
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