Lottery Jackpot : Grocery Clerk Harvests Cool $6.3 Million
Carrying a cloverleaf good-luck charm in his pocket, a 24-year-old supermarket produce clerk from Thousand Oaks gave a yank on the California Lottery wheel of fortune Saturday and won $6.3 million, the largest jackpot ever awarded in the lottery.
Backstage, new millionaire Eric Daily then lent the green rhinestone-encrusted charm to another lottery finalist, Samuel Heath, a 25-year-old door manufacturer from Paradise, who picked up $1 million in his turn at the wheel.
Asked by “Big Spin” host Geoff Edwards if he plans to return to stacking apples and pears, Daily emphatically and without hesitation replied, “Noooooo.”
Later, Daily told reporters he notified his boss at Vons Westlake Village store two weeks ago, “If I win it big I’m not coming back.”
He said he plans to buy a car and a house, give some money to his parents, take a trip--probably to Tahiti or Bora Bora--and look into investments “so Uncle Sam doesn’t take a chunk” of his new wealth.
First, though, he said, “I just want to go home and relax. I’ve been nervous for the last two weeks.”
Daily and Heath were the two biggest winners in Saturday’s lottery spin, which saw more than $8 million awarded to 20 finalists.
Saturday’s program started out with a record grand prize of $6.25 million, which jumped by $65,000 each time a spinner did not hit one of the three designated gold-colored spots on the lottery wheel.
When the first finalist, Monique Walkin, 55, of Yuba City, spun the wheel, the white rubber ball landed in the $50,000 slot just next to a grand prize spot. The jackpot then increased to $6.315 million, and Daily grabbed the wheel with his left hand and gave it a spin.
Drops Into Golden Slot
When the ball dropped into the golden slot, Daily whooped and jumped with glee, and his family rushed on stage. Behind them, the cheers of the rest of the audience--largely relatives of finalists who had hoped to win the grand prize--quickly died into frowns of disappointment.
Daily said later he was “thinking positively” when he spun the wheel and “used a little visualization” to help the rubber ball find the golden slot.
After his win, the jackpot dropped to $3 million and was increased by $65,000 each time a spinner missed the golden slot. Next week’s lottery spin-off will start with a $4.17 million jackpot.
Daily will be paid his winnings in 20 annual installments of $315,750, from which $63,150 will be deducted for taxes, netting him $252,600 a year, lottery officials said.
Mother ‘Prayed a Lot’
Daily’s mother, Colette Simpson of Camarillo, said the three-leaf clover good luck charm was actually a brooch which came from a friend who wanted Daily to take it on the show. For her part, Simpson said, “I prayed a whole lot last night but I didn’t expect this. . . .
“I hope he’s going to enjoy it and invest it in a good manner, so he’ll be rich the rest of his life. I want it to last forever,” she said.
Daily’s father, Phil Daily of Camarillo, a partner in a real estate firm, said he would advise his son to “kick back, take it easy and not take any advice from anyone for six months.”
Young Daily, who is single, said that after the novelty of his riches wears off, he plans to get a real estate license, which will help him manage his investments.
At the Vons market in Westlake Village, news of Daily’s win was announced over the store’s loudspeaker system.
‘Nobody Believed It’
At first, “nobody believed it,” said front end manager Julie Reichenbach. “We were all in a state of shock.”
Reichenbach said Daily purchased the winning ticket and nine losing tickets from her using a $10 Vons gift certificate he had been given as a Christmas bonus.
Ken Corkill, the produce manager, said Daily “was worried he would have too many girlfriends calling him up” if he won a lot of money. “I told him that would be the least of his worries.”
Box boy Joe Kaljian, 17, said Daily joked about buying himself a new Mercedes-Benz convertible to replace his beat-up 1982 Camaro if he won enough money.
“He told me he’d give me his car if he won more than $3 million,” Kaljian said. “He told me that right after he won his $100 ticket. I don’t know whether I’ll hold him to it.”
Kaljian said Daily also talked about “setting his parents up in a nice place” if he became wealthy.
The Phone Calls Start
“He got calls from people he hadn’t heard from in a couple of years when they started announcing that he was going to spin,” Kaljian said.
Lisa Barron, who is engaged to Daily’s roommate, described Daily as a “sweetheart kind of guy” who enjoys going out with his friends in his spare time and golfing.
“Maybe he’ll buy himself a golf course or something,” she said, laughing. “I just knew he would win.”
Appearing with Daily at a press conference in Sacramento, Heath said the borrowed good luck charm gave him “a lot more confidence.” Clad in worn jeans and a beige sweater for the televised lottery spin, Heath explained that he wore the same clothes he had on when he bought the winning lottery ticket.
Other Winners
Other winners in Saturday’s “Big Spin” included Lawrence Rehders, 41, of Orange; Wilma Weston, 54, of Cupertino, and Angelina Ochoa, 44, of Canoga Park, each of whom received $100,000. In addition to Walkin, the $50,000 winners were Ramon Alvarez, 42, of Los Angeles; Jeanne Wallace, 40, of Petaluma; Charlie Black, 52, of Palm Springs; Aldolfo Ramirez, 31, of Compton; Ala Ateeq, 25, of El Cajon; Wan-Wie Wang, 74, of Sunnyvale, and Bonnie Hares, 47, of El Segundo.
Winning $10,000 were Lawrence Maxick, 49, of Ventura; Bessie Merrell, 76, of Burbank; Kathy McCray, 33, of San Diego; Bonnie Peterson, 42, of Santa Ana; Merle Lewis, 56, of Hermosa Beach; Ricky Neece, 28, of Anaheim, and Angel Serrano, 44, of Cerritos.
Contributing to this article was Times staff writer Janet Rae-Dupree in Westlake Village.