Teacher Wins $1-Million Big Spin

An elementary school teacher who lives in a Fullerton apartment house is thinking about buying a home of her own after winning $1 million in the Big Spin on Saturday.

“I want to have a small house so that I can have cats and dogs and do my own thing,” said Char Leonard, 54. “It will be nice to retire and have a better life.”

After taxes, Leonard will receive $40,000 a year for the next 20 years from the two winning Three-for-the-Money scratchers she purchased at a Thrifty drugstore and Ralphs supermarket in Fullerton.

“Winning is always in your mind and in your heart,” she said. “It’s something you’re always hoping for.”

Leonard, a sixth-grade teacher at Del Amo School in Carson for 29 years, said that she plays the California Lottery at least once a week because some of the proceeds from the game go to support public schools.

“It’s for the children. Those funds really help out,” Leonard said. “I voted for the lottery and have been playing ever since.”

Leonard found out that her name had been drawn for the spin last Sunday and said her friends, fellow teachers and students helped her get through the anxious week.

Teachers at Del Amo School threw Leonard a party Thursday and her class gave her a big round of applause and wished her luck before she left for Sacramento.

“Everyone has been so nice. . . . I was dumbstruck,” she said.

Leonard, who has lived in Fullerton for 10 years, said she is not sure exactly what she wants to do but plans to continue teaching for at least another year. She is also uncertain where she wants to buy a house but admitted a place near the beach would be nice.

“Someone asked me if I thought this would change my life, and I said, ‘I hope so.’ ” she said. “I want to run out that door and shout and scream, ‘I’m free!’ ”

Another Orange County resident, William Dang of Garden Grove, played the Big Spin Saturday, winning $80,000.