25 FAIR Plan Workers Celebrate $6-Million Lotto Win in Valley

After she took the phone call Saturday night, Elvie Evangelista couldn’t sleep.

“I was hyperventilating,” Evangelista, 41, of Arleta, recalled Tuesday. “I thought I was going to collapse.”

Instead, Evangelista spent the night informing friends that she was among 25 California FAIR Plan employees who split a winning $6-million state lottery ticket drawn Saturday.

The co-workers wore California Lottery caps and large grins at a news conference Tuesday at a Van Nuys hotel. They chose to take the money in a single cash payment of $2,820,900, which means each member of the group will receive nearly $82,000 after federal income taxes are paid.

The group had one of 10 winning tickets from Saturday’s $60-million SuperLotto prize drawing, said Ulysses Carter, district manager for the lottery.

Another winning ticket was claimed by an Eagle Rock man, and the others have yet to be identified, Carter said. Winners will get their checks in about a month, he said.

Based in Los Angeles, the California FAIR Plan provides property insurance for people who have difficulty buying it elsewhere.

The 25 workers each contributed $5 to purchase a $150 block of tickets Thursday. They said they buy blocks of tickets whenever the jackpot is worth more than $16 million.

Workers said their winnings were insufficient to allow them to retire early, although several said they were enough to pay bills.

“At the moment, I have no plans for the money,” said Bernice Cain, 60, of Sylmar. “I think my husband probably has more plans for it than I do.”