Valley Lottery Pool Winners Soak Up Big Change

It’s not every day you show up at work and find out you won the lottery. But that’s what happened to Henry Ramirez on Thursday morning.

“Walking into the office, people were screaming, ‘You won, you won,’ ” said Ramirez, 29, a customer representative at the Valley One-Stop at Van Nuys, an employment training agency.

“I didn’t even know what was going on. I didn’t believe them until I checked the numbers myself.”

But seeing the numbers--14, 21, 30, 35, 39 and 46-- Ramirez realized he was one of the winners of a $61-million jackpot.

There were two winning jackpot tickets Wednesday night--one purchased in Commerce at 7 Day Liquor on 2482 S. Atlantic Blvd. and another bought in Van Nuys at the Jons Market at 6655 Van Nuys Blvd.

Ramirez was one of 17 people who pooled money to buy lottery tickets--including the lucky one from Jons Market.

Each of the winners in Ramirez’s pool will get about $609,000 after taxes.

As of Thursday afternoon, the holder of the second lucky ticket had not yet stepped forward.

But Chi To, 24, who helps run 7 Day Liquor in Commerce, said his family will probably use the estimated $155,000 they receive as the retailer who sold a winning ticket to “pay the bills.”

Jons Market will also receive $155,000.

In the Valley, the pool of 17 who held the ticket work for at least three companies--the Valley One-Stop, Noble Community Medical Associates in Van Nuys and Jons Market, where the ticket was purchased.

Eleven of the 17 went to claim their winnings at the state lottery office in Van Nuys on Thursday. Each participant had bought $5 in tickets, although two women split the cost of five tickets.

Maria Valencia and Martha Gonzalez, who both work at Noble Community Medical Associates, will split a share.

Valencia, 29, said she was in bed ready to go to sleep Wednesday night when her boss called with the news.

“No, you’re playing with me. You’re too calm,” Valencia, of Granada Hills, recalled saying.

Valencia, a receptionist at the medical office, wasn’t the only one who couldn’t believe she had won.

Olinda Estrada, 28, said she called two 7-Elevens for the winning numbers. “I had a funny feeling in my stomach,” she said.

Estrada, a medical assistant, said she wasn’t convinced until she went to a third store and saw the numbers for herself. “I was stunned--my boyfriend was the one yelling and screaming,” said Estrada, of Van Nuys.

“We have a lot of bills to pay,” she added. “This will help a lot.”

Teresa Gil intends to buy a new car and travel through Mexico.

“I’ve been praying to God that I can retire one day and take care of my mom,” said Gil, a project coordinator and one of three winners from Valley One-Stop. Gil said her 85-year-old mother has a heart condition and is diabetic.

Tina Jolly of Van Nuys said she plans to donate 10% of her winnings, about $60,000, to a church in Texas, where she grew up.

“I was raised that you always put God first in your life,” said Jolly, 40, a One-Stop employment counselor.

Jolly arrived to claim her portion of the winnings with her 20-year-old daughter Amie and Amie’s fiance, David Cruz. “Now he wants to marry me and not my daughter,” she joked.

Staff writer Joe Mozingo contributed to this story.