They took their turn at the Big Spin, and came away a million-dollar couple.

Nearly everyone in Avalon knew that Annie Marshall, 37, and Billy Delbert, 43, had won a chance at the Big Spin, and people were always asking the same three questions:

Have you been to the big spin yet? When are you going? What’s the minimum you can win?

Delbert said he was going to have T-shirts printed up saying: Not yet; a couple of weeks; 10 grand.

The answers to the questions came Feb. 24 when the couple went to Sacramento and won $1 million in the California State Lottery.

Marshall, community services director for Avalon, and Delbert, manager of the Avalon Casino building, agreed to split the prize when they bought the 16 tickets. Each will receive $20,000 a year after taxes for the next 20 years.

Except for a weekend at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, Marshall and Delbert are taking their good fortune calmly. The first checks are going “straight into a secure account at the bank,” said Marshall, a widow with two children.

Because they are not married, Marshall said: “We are going to speak to an attorney. Since we are splitting the money, we want to get things straight between us so that if something happens, there won’t be any questions.”

What do the people on Catalina Island think about all of this?

“Everyone in town knew that she would win the million,” said Cindy Spring, Marshall’s longtime friend. “Because of her involvement with the community, she is extremely popular. Everyone loves her.”

According to Marshall, if Spring had not paid for their lunch on the day they bought the tickets, she and Delbert would not have had the money for the tickets.

Now the millionaire couple are back at work. Marshall does not plan to give up her job with the city. And Delbert is perfectly happy as manager of the Avalon Casino Building.

“I think I’m just going to keep it in the bank,” Delbert said. “I think I might want to retire early.”

Marshall agreed.

“We may take a trip to Mexico this spring. And, I did promise to buy my daughter a computer,” Marshall said. “But, I’m not a big spender. I’m comfortable living just the way I am.”