SACRAMENTO - The California Lottery's TV game show, "Make Me a Millionaire," awarded $81,500 in cash and prizes to 12 lucky contestants this week.
Jimmie Thaten, a business owner from Santa Barbara, won $40,000 on the California Cool segment. Thaten owns a masonry and concrete business and plans to invest a portion of his prize into his business. He also wants to take a little time off this summer to take a trip. “I want to go hunting but knowing my wife she’ll want to go on some cruise,” he said.
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.