SACRAMENTO – This week on The Big Spin show four contestants won a combined total of $235,000 playing the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine and spinning the big wheel. The show aired statewide Saturday, June 2, 2007. This week a total of $257,500 was won by Big Spin contestants!
Three fortunate people played the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine this week. Dan Kartchner of Redding was first to try his luck. Kartchner, who works for the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office, ended his run with a $70,000 win! His winnings are going towards converting his house to become more wheelchair friendly for his wife of 33 years. Next up was Melvin “Mel” Bustria from Canoga Park. Bustria, who owns a restoration company, would like to take his wife and kids on a fun filled vacation with his $80,000 cash prize. “I’m also going to donate to my church,” said Bustria. Pamela Bendixen of Sunland was the final contestant to 
play the “Dream Machine” this week. She couldn’t believe it when she received the news that she was going to be on The Big Spin show. Bendixen, scheduled for back surgery days before the taping of the show, told her doctor that she needed to be up and running in eleven days so she could attend the Big Spin! Her doctor made it happen and she went home with $55,000! “I would like to go to Alaska to do some fishing and hunting,” said Bendixen.
Natalie Early from Grover Beach outplayed nine other contestants in Aces High to go to sending her to the Big Spin wheel. Early, a professional dog groomer, won $30,000! She plans to spoil her two children and her precious new grandbaby.
| Melvin Bustria |
Canoga Park |
$80,000 |
| Dan Kartchner |
Redding |
$70,000 |
| Pamela Bendixen |
Sunland |
$55,000 |
| Natalie Early |
Grover Beach |
$30,000 |
| David Benjamin |
Yuba City |
$5,000 |
| Robert Crook |
Mountain View |
$4,000 |
| Patrick Rodriguez |
Oak Hills |
$2,500 |
| Tammy Fletcher |
Sacramento |
$2,000 |
| Carlos Sandoval |
Hollywood |
$2,000 |
| Jesús Velasquez |
Hayward |
$1,750 |
| Rauben Bastagian |
Glendale |
$1,750 |
| Michael Wood |
Bay Point |
$1,750 |
| Remedios Gan |
San Dimas |
$1,750 |
| |
TOTAL |
$257,500 |
Public education in California receives at least 34 cents of every dollar players spend on Lottery products. The California Lottery contributed a record $1.28 billion to public education in 2005-06 out of historic sales of $3.58 billion, the sixth year in a row the Lottery has provided more than $1 billion in supplemental funding for education. Since the Lottery began in 1985, it has contributed more than $18 billion to California schools.