2002 3rd Quarter Press Releases: Article

SACRAMENTO — California Lottery's "The Big Spin®" show airs Saturday, July 6, 2002, in twelve television markets statewide. Contestants on this week's show win a total of $225,000.

Robert Avila

The contestant that wins a chance to spin the prize wheel from the California Gold elimination round is Robert Avila, an operator from San Jose, who wins $75,000. "I would like to use this money to buy a house," said Avila who purchased his ticket at Quick Stop Market in San Jose. The second runner-up from this California Gold round is Francene McCurry, a registered nurse from Santa Rosa, 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.

Larry Mack

The Fantasy 5 contestant appearing on this week's show is Larry Mack, a cashier from Fillmore. Mack wins $60,000 and he explained his plans for this money, "I plan to buy a car and use it some for my retirement. Mack bought his winning ticket at Bob Brown Chevron in Fillmore. 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.

David Jones

The Spin-Spin-Spin contestant on this week's show is David Jones, a technician from Lake Forest who wins $50,000. Jones explained, "I plan to use the money to pay off my house." Jones purchased his ticket at Sav-On/Osco Drugs in El Toro.

Carlos Hernandez, a sheet metal worker from Salinas, is the contestant this week on Camelot's Riches and he wins $17,500. Hernandez purchased his winning ticket at Alvin Square Liquors in Salinas. Hernandez plans to spend his prize on buying a home and helping his family. Camelot's Riches is one of the California Lottery's newest ways to get to "The Big Spin." The game is played by pulling on King Arthur's sword, "Excalibur," which starts a set of two different colored balls racing down the ramps to the finish line. The contestant's prize is decided 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.

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, 34.7 percent to public schools and 13.3 percent for administrative expenses, which includes 6.8 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 Spinâ" is the longest running Lottery game show in the country, airing continuously since 1985.