SACRAMENTO – This week on The Big Spin show four contestants won a combined total of $200,000. The show aired statewide Saturday, June 16, 2007. This week a total of $262,500 was won by Big Spin contestants!
Loretta Gierahn, a retiree from Simi Valley was one of three to play the “Fantasy 5 Dream Machine.” Gierahn, who just celebrated her 43rd wedding anniversary, has big plans for her $70,000 windfall! “I would like to invest in my retirement and take my husband on a cruise to Alaska.” Jeffrey Blackford, a senior lab manager of Santa Ana, has sent in Fantasy 5 coupons many times, but when he received the call that his name had been chosen, he 
couldn’t believe it. After taking home $65,000, Blackford plans to travel, “I’m going to visit my sister and her husband in Missouri and vacation with my wife in Hawaii.” Vijay Pendse, a mortgage broker from San Jose, was the third contestant to play Fantasy 5. Pendse says he needs to consult with his family before he decides how he will spend his $65,000 win. “We’ll most likely do some home improvements,” said Pendse.
Nicole Berry of Los Angeles outplayed nine other contestants on Aces High, sending her straight to the Big Spin wheel. After winning $40,000, Berry, a self proclaimed baker, declared she would like to open her own cookie business. “I also wish to do some traveling to reunite with old friends,” said Berry.
| Loretta Gierahn |
Simi Valley |
$70,000 |
| Jeffrey Blackford |
Santa Ana |
$65,000 |
| Vijay Pendse |
San Jose |
$65,000 |
| Nicole Berry |
Los Angeles |
$40,000 |
| Robert Green |
Newhall |
$5,000 |
| Rodolfo Canalita |
Stanton |
$4,000 |
| Lam Giang Ha |
Irvine |
$2,500 |
| Sylvia Saumier |
Woodland |
$2,000 |
| Christa Solovieff |
Corona |
$2,000 |
| Ruth Tapia |
Live Oak |
$1,750 |
| Stephen Smith |
Garden Grove |
$1,750 |
| Jose Gonzalez |
Norwalk |
$1,750 |
| Felicidad Esclamado |
Anaheim |
$1,750 |
| |
TOTAL |
$262,500 |
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.