2003 2nd Quarter Press Releases

SACRAMENTO -- California Lottery's "The Big Spin®" show airs every Saturday in 12 television markets statewide. A total of $485,000 was won by contestants who appeared on Saturday’s, June 21, 2003 show.

There were two contestants that tried to win a chance to spin the big wheel on this week’s show. The first contestant that won a chance to spin the prize wheel from the California Gold elimination round was Noe Orozco, a computer supervisor from Palmdale who won $300,000! Orozco said, "I’m going use this money for my children’s education." Orozco bought his lucky ticket at Albertson’s in South Gate. The second runner-up from this California Gold round was Mike Saucedo, a warehouse manager from Garden Grove who won $5,000.

Raymond Klundt

The second contestant that made it to the big wheel from the California Gold game was Raymond Klundt, a retiree from Placentia, who won $75,000. When asked about his plans on spending his winnings, Klundt replied, "I plan to spend it on my grandkids." Klundt purchased his lucky ticket at Von’s Grocery in Placentia. The second runner-up from this California Gold round was Jose Tiscareno, from Pomona, who won $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 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 Dream Machine" contestant appearing on this week’s show was Robert Patterson, a retiree from Fresno who won $65,000. Patterson said, "I plan to buy a car and take a trip to Canada with this money." Patterson purchased his ticket at Vallee Food Store in Fresno. The "Fantasy 5 Dream Machine" players have up to five chances to launch a ball into one of the five bins in the pinball-type game. Each bin represents 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 retail locations statewide. The Lottery provides 51.9 percent of its revenues to players as prizes, 34.9 percent to public schools and 13.2 percent for administrative expenses, which includes 6.8 percent for retailer commissions. Since 1985, the Lottery has raised more than $14 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.