SACRAMENTO – It isn’t often that a person’s life changes in front of a full studio audience. But that’s exactly what happened to Josefina Sineriz, 61, of Bakersfield who became the first millionaire in the short history of “Make Me a Millionaire,” winning $2.8 million.
Sineriz said she plans to spend some of her winnings on the needs of her family. Her brother was one example. “I’m going to build my brother a home in the Philippines because a hundred dollars goes a long way there,” said Sineriz. She also plans to pay for any medical care stemming from her husband’s emphysema and to help others. “Why not share it?” she said.
Her road to riches began when the retired Army employee got a coupon when purchasing $5 in Fantasy 5 tickets. She mailed it in and was randomly drawn to appear on the 10th episode of the Lottery’s new TV game show. Playing a perfect game by selecting the right number 11 consecutive times, Sineriz spelled out her future “M-I-L-L-I-O-N-A-I-R-E,” and was the first contestant to hit the progressive jackpot, which had grown to $2.8 million.
To learn more about our winner, check out our video on www.calottery.com starting Sunday.
Sineriz will receive her prize in 20 annual installments. In addition to the $2.8 million prize, two contestants won cars.
Here is a list of some of this week’s top winners, including Sineriz:
| Josefina Sineriz |
Make Me a Millionaire |
Bakersfield |
$2,800,000 |
| Kimberly Dean |
Lucky Penny |
Covina |
NEW CAR |
| Hazel Culpepper |
Lucky Penny |
Inglewood |
NEW CAR |
|
For more information about the new show, visit www.calottery.com. For high resolution photos, 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 nearly $21 billion to California schools out of total sales of more than $56 billion. Retailers benefit too, earning $3.6 billion in compensation since 1985. www.calottery.com