SACRAMENTO - The California Lottery's TV game show, "Make Me a Millionaire," awarded $161,000 in cash and prizes to 12 lucky contestants this week.
Benjamin Gonzalez, a home safety inspector from San Diego, won $70,000 on the Millionaire game segment. Gonzalez plans on taking his wife on her dream vacation. “My wife 
has always wanted to visit France and Spain – now we can do both!” he said. However, his wife isn’t the only lucky lady in Benjamin’s life, Gonzalez also plans on giving a portion of his prize to his mother.
Two other contestants – Anchana Kasemsuwan of Upland and Daniel Almarinez of Pinole – also walked away winners. Kasemsuwan won $30,000 on the California Cool segment and plans on taking her six year old son to Disneyworld. Almarinez won a new car, the Limited Edition California Jetta made by Volkswagen. The car is worth $30,000.
This week’s winners:
| Benjamin Gonzalez |
Millionaire |
San Diego |
$70,000 |
| Anchana Kasemsuwan |
California Cool |
Upland |
$30,000 |
| Daniel Almarinez |
Lucky Penny |
Pinole |
Volkswagen Jetta |
The California Lottery believes in creating a better, more sustainable environment for future generations. That is why all cars given away on “Make Me a Millionaire” are fuel efficient and use clean innovative technologies. All new car winners on this week’s episode won a Limited Edition California Jetta.
For more information about “Make Me a Millionaire,” 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.