SACRAMENTO – Lady Luck smiled upon the contestants of this week’s Big Spin Show because with a flick of the wrist and a spin of the wheel, two Californian women walked home with $145,000. The show, which aired statewide Saturday, November 4, 2006, awarded $167,500 worth of prizes in total.
Erika Martinez, a legal assistant from Los Angeles, is one such lucky winner, beating the odds twice in her trip to the largest lottery prize wheel in the world. Not only did she get a SPIN-SPIN-SPIN ticket that sent her directly to the wheel, her first spin landed in a “Triple” slot. “I’m definitely going to pay some bills and save for a house,” Ms. Martinez said happily after the second spin handed her a $120,000 windfall.
Donna Allen, of Sacramento, also took a trip to the Big Spin Wheel and went home richer. Ms. Allen outplayed nine other contestants in the Aces High game through two rounds of elimination. After winning $25,000, Ms. Allen exclaimed, “It feels fabulous!” It 
was just happenstance, she revealed, that she bought the winning Scratchers® ticket. “I was at a quilt show and needed to buy a pair of heels. I bought the ticket almost as an afterthought.” Ms. Allen plans to use the money to take her family on a trip, pay off bills and save for her grandchildren’s educations.
This week’s show also honored Nancy Tran Cantrell with a Hero in Education award for her volunteerism in Orange County schools. Ms. Cantrell, a Vietnamese immigrant, didn’t start learning English until her mid-thirties and now uses hurdles she overcame to inspire schoolchildren. On hand to present Ms. Cantrell with the award was actress Allison Arngrim, best known for her role as Nellie on Little House on the Prairie.
|
|
|
| Erika Martinez |
Los Angeles |
$120,000 |
| Donna Allen |
Sacramento |
$25,000 |
| Laura Monterroso |
Granada Hills |
$5,000 |
| April Bosworth |
Cottonwood |
$4,000 |
| Arthur Lujan |
San Pedro |
$2,500 |
| Nelson Abucay |
Waipahu, HI |
$2,000 |
| Alisha Lee |
Stockton |
$2,000 |
| Ayn Gonzales |
El Monte |
$1,750 |
| Diana Barajas |
Hollister |
$1,750 |
| Ronald Williams |
Los Angeles |
$1,750 |
| Jennifer Alford |
Long Beach |
$1,750 |
| |
TOTAL |
$167,500 |