SACRAMENTO – Joel Miller works at a hospital in Fountain Valley and is also the proud father of a 10-month-old son. A son who now has a college education fund, thanks to the $25,000 prize Dad won on the Aces High segment of The Big Spin show this weekend. Miller also plans to take a family vacation. The latest episode of The Big Spin show aired Saturday, September 20. The grand total won by all contestants was $127,500. 
Two very lucky contestants returned to play the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine each had been to the show once before. First up was Bernard Mraz. The Seaside resident appeared on The Big Spin for the first time in 2005 and won $65,000. With his first prize he financed his wedding, paid some bills and started an IRA. This time around he won $60,000 and plans to save some money for his grandson and take a vacation. Next up was Son Thanh, an auto repair shop owner from San Diego. He appeared on the show for the first time in 1997 and opened his business with his first prize. This time, he won $20,000 and plans to pay bills.
Winner’s Summary
| Bernard Mraz |
Seaside |
$60,000 |
| Joel Miller |
Fountain Valley |
$25,000 |
| Son Thanh |
San Diego |
$20,000 |
| Danella Lugo |
Anaheim |
$5,000 |
| David Kegher |
San Diego |
$4,000 |
| Manuel Crumb |
Bakersfield |
$2,500 |
| Kamal Kumar |
Fresno |
$2,000 |
| Idell Dobbs |
Los Angeles |
$2,000 |
| Ernest Powers |
Riverside |
$1,750 |
| LaChrystal Clarke |
Oakland |
$1,750 |
| Bruce Birgen |
San Lorenzo |
$1,750 |
| David Heltman |
San Diego |
$1,750 |
| |
TOTAL |
$127,500 |
For high resolution photos of Bernard Mraz, Joel Miller or Son Thanh please contact (916) 324-9639 or e-mail newsroom@calottery.com.
More than 95 cents of every Lottery dollar is returned to the community in the form of contributions to education, prizes and retail commissions. The California 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 $20 billion to California schools out of total sales of nearly $55 billion. Retailers benefit too, earning $3.5 billion in compensation since 1985.