2002 1st Quarter Press Releases: Article

SACRAMENTO -- California Lottery's "The Big Spin®" show airs Saturday, March 2, 2002, in twelve television markets statewide. Contestants on this week's show win a total of $215,000.

Assemblymember Marco Firebaugh presented Kathleen Hannum with the California Lottery's Exceptional Educator Award.

Assemblymember Firebaugh explains, "Often going beyond the call of duty by reaching out and mentoring students and teachers, Kathleen's dedication to the academic success of students has truly made a difference."

Currently at Tweedy Elementary, Ms. Hannum is the resource teacher for the intervention language arts program which focuses on improving the reading skills of struggling 4th & 5th grade students by at least two grade levels. She also designed and implemented an intervention program in which she carefully trains teacher assistants in tutoring small groups, to ensure all students at Tweedy Elementary get the extra help they need.

Assemblymember Firebaugh continued, "Kathleen, because of your devotion to students in the L.A. Unified School District, it is my privilege to proclaim you an Exceptional Educator. You have been focused on the special needs of students for more than 22 years. What has been your most rewarding experience?" Ms. Hannum replied, "One that comes to mind occurred about a year ago. I was at a conference and I met a woman who turned out to be a 4th grade student of mine who had become a teacher herself. She said it was because of me that she had become a teacher and her goal was to be as good a teacher to her students as I was to her."

California Gold contestants win a total of $140,000 on this week's show. The first contestant that wins a chance to spin the prize wheel from the California Gold elimination round is Raymond Schellenberg, a resident of Alpine, who wins $75,000. "I'll probably use this money as a down payment on a house," said Schellenberg. The second runner-up from this California Gold round is Esperanza Perez, a resident of Brawley, who wins $5,000.

The second contestant to play the California Gold game was Elogio Arredondo, a retiree from Fresno who wins $20,000. Arredondo will spend his prize on his 2 children and 9 grandchildren. The second runner-up from this California Gold round is Mona O'Neal, a resident of Victorville, who wins $5,000.

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.

The Fantasy 5 contestant appearing on this week's show is John Atwood, an apartment manager from Fullerton. Atwood wins $75,000 and his plans for this money is to, "Retire!" Dream Machine players have up to five chances to launch one ball at a time into one of the five bins in the pinball-type game, each bin representing a cash amount. Prizes are cumulative, but only one ball may land in each bin to claim the prize amount. Players appearing on this segment qualify by mailing an entry form to the Lottery when $5 of Fantasy 5 games are purchased on one playslip.

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 $13 billion for public schools. The 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.