Sacramento – This week’s taping of the California Lottery’s The Big Spin® is a “Best of” show revisiting some of the most memorable moments of 2006.
“The Best of the Big Spin” highlights winners like John Baldwin from Sutter who won $1 million in June after spinning the Big Spin wheel. Also in June, Ramon Valencia from La Puente outplayed nine other contestants before getting his chance to spin the wheel giving him a $1 million win.
Remember Margie Harris from Los Angeles? How could anyone forget, she was on the show three separate times! In June she played Aces High winning $5,000, in July she played Spin-Spin-Spin with a $150,000 win, in December she visited the show for the third time winning $1,750.
Some other contestants who made the show exciting were Maurice Wiley from Los Angeles. He played the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine in April and won $100,000. What makes him so exciting is that he was on the show in 1989 and won $1 million! He used his winnings to improve schools in the city of Inglewood. He then returned in 199X to be honored as a Hero in Education! Joan Adams from Seaside was a ball of energy that made everyone smile. She was also a Fantasy 5 Dream Machine player that won $80,000. If she wasn’t dancing she was hugging everyone at the show!
How about those triple plays? Many contestants got a chance at the Big Spin wheel but only a few got to spin the wheel twice, tripling their prize! Stacy Stamm from Huntington Beach won $120,000, Jeanette Narvaez from San Jose won $180,000 and Aaron Johnson from Chino Hills who won $3 million!
The show also features several “Heroes in Education” from across the state. The California Lottery’s “Heroes in Education” program recognizes outstanding volunteers in the community. Through their dedication and efforts, California’s students receive enrichment opportunities that may not have been available without these volunteers. The “Heroes in Education” program exemplifies that support for California’s 
schools comes in many different and innovative ways and the award is presented by a community leader and/or a celebrity.
The Lottery provides 52.5 percent of its revenues to players as prizes, 34 percent to public schools and 14 percent for administrative expenses, which includes 6.8 percent for retailer commissions. This calendar year the California Lottery has given $1 billion to California public schools.
In 2006 The Big Spin has given away $17,757,500 in prizes, and that’s why it’s the biggest money game show on earth!