The State : $3-Million Lottery Spin Comes Up Empty

After a Superior Court judge ordered 11 television stations to continue their broadcast of the poorly rated California Lottery’s “Big Spin” program, 20 finalists were shut out in their bids for the $3-million-plus jackpots, but three contestants won $100,000. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge James Ford ordered stations to carry the videotaped program after lottery directors agreed to pay the $65,000 program production costs. Lottery officials had earlier pledged not to subsidize the show but reversed course after the TV stations threatened to force the program off the air. In all, the 20 finalists came away with a total of $880,000.