SACRAMENTO – This week on The Big Spin show four contestants won a total of $160,000. The show aired statewide Saturday, September 22, 2007.
On the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine three lucky players together won $110,000! Sirkka Roikola, a retiree from South San Francisco, walked away with a $75,000 windfall. Roikola travels to Finland every four years to visit family. “Such perfect timing, I’m getting ready to travel to Finland this year,” explained Roikola. Mercedes Gomez, a grandmother from El Dorado Hills, asked her husband Nicholas Gomez to be her proxy on The Big Spin show. He gladly accepted and won $25,000 for his wife! “I’m 
sure she can’t wait for my phone call to know how much she has won,” said Gomez. They would like to buy a new car with their winnings. Lory Flor, a dog breeder from San Diego, couldn’t believe that she was actually going to be on the show. She won a cash prize of $10,000 which she plans to use to take her fiancé to Alaska.
Jacque Edmonson, a nurse from Lancaster, outplayed nine other contestants in Aces High to get to The Big Spin wheel. “It feels like my head is full of air. I’m so excited I can’t think right now,” expressed Edmonson. After spinning the wheel Edmonson went home with $50,000! She plans to help out her family and would also like to save for retirement.
| Sirkka Roikola |
South San Francisco |
$75,000 |
| Jacque Edmonson |
Lancaster |
$50,000 |
| Mercedes Gomez |
El Dorado Hills |
$25,000 |
| Lory Flor |
San Diego |
$10,000 |
| Gildardo Ornelas |
Livermore |
$5,000 |
| Lori McCormick |
Fremont |
$4,000 |
| Gerardo Hernandez, Sr. |
Long Beach |
$2,500 |
| Erika Cornejo |
Chula Vista |
$2,000 |
| Carlos Andrade |
Compton |
$2,000 |
| Brian Howell |
Los Angeles |
$1,750 |
| David Steininger |
Glendora |
$1,750 |
| Maria Haro |
North Hills |
$1,750 |
| Lillie Parrish |
Oakland |
$1,750 |
| |
TOTAL |
$ 182,500 |
The California State Lottery contributes at least 34 cents of every dollar that players spend on Lottery products to public education and returns more than 50 percent of sales to players in the form of prizes. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $19 billion to California schools out of total sales of more than $52 billion. Retailers win too, earning $3.3 billion in compensation since 1985.