CSUN Student Wins $2 Million in Big Spin

A 19-year-old Cal State Northridge student won $2 million in the California Lottery’s Big Spin on Saturday.

Brett Peterson, 19, a sophomore who said he has been paying for his education, will receive $80,000 a year for the next 20 years.

He plans to invest his first chunk of money in a townhouse in Santa Clarita, but only after he purchases a new car as a gift for a father.

Peterson said he does not expect his big win to alter his life--for now.

He will continue to study math and engineering at CSUN and will remain in the Chatsworth apartment he shares with his father.

He will continue as a waiter at the Saugus Cafe, in Saugus, because he likes the work, he said.

But Peterson said he will begin to really enjoy his winnings in about five years, when he completes school and collects the interest from investments he plans to make.

Peterson won his spin with a scratch-off ticket purchased at a Chatsworth liquor store.

The winning ticket was only the fifth he had purchased, he said.