Lottery Winner : Not Smoking Now, He Feels Like a Million
Norman Karn quit smoking eight months ago to improve his health. The 62-year-old Chatsworth man said he never expected that the decision would improve his financial situation.
But that is exactly what happened. Karn said the lottery ticket that led to his winning $1 million in the California Lottery’s Big Spin on Saturday was one of many tickets he and his wife bought with money that he used to spend on cigarettes.
Karn had to make two spins of the game wheel, which is divided into 100 slots, before he won. The first spin, which would have brought him $50,000, was disqualified because the wheel did not make the required three full revolutions.
‘Not a Bad Retirement’
He said of his reaction after the second spin: “Are there words for that, for winning $1 million?”
He will receive a $40,000 check, the first of 20 annual installments, in about a week. The Internal Revenue Service withholds $200,000, 20% of the prize.
Even with the tax bite, “that’s not a bad retirement,” Karn said. He quickly added that he plans to keep working for several more years. “I get a very lucrative salary,” he said.
Karn is a construction superintendent for Grupee Development Co. of Woodland Hills and lives with his wife, Gloria, in a new condominium complex the company is building on Topanga Canyon Boulevard at the Simi Valley Freeway.
Fishing Trip
Some of the prize money will go to friends, Karn said. “There is some misfortune I’m going to help.”
He said he will take an annual fishing trip to Alaska and travel to Brownsville, Tex., where he wants to retire.
None of the 12 people who spun the wheel Saturday won the grand prize, which therefore rose another $65,000, to $8.33 million.
Two North Hollywood residents, Cathy Gill and Luis Perez, were among the day’s six $50,000 winners. There were four $100,000 winners and one $10,000 winner.
