Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 18, 1991 TAG: 9104180567
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SACRAMENTO, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
Lottery officials said the winning lotto tickets were purchased in Red Bluff, Santa Cruz, Hawthorne, Stockton, Lancaster, Culver City, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Fontana and Victorville.
Each ticket is worth $11.7 million, to be paid in installments over 20 years, lottery officials said.
The winning numbers picked Wednesday were 1, 7, 16, 19, 26 and 53. The odds of selecting the right numbers were put at 1 in 23 million. Getting struck by lightning was 12 times more likely than having the six main numbers, according to the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.
A group of 31 people from a bowling alley who pooled their money on 310 tickets claimed they had one of the winning tickets. There was no immediate confirmation of the claim.
The 31 employees and patrons of the Lariat Bowl in Red Bluff, 130 miles north of Sacramento, each contributed $10 toward tickets.
Participant Frank Briltz, 75, said he broke out in a cold sweat and goose bumps when he heard the news.
"I feel great, but I'm scared," he said. "I know so many poor people and I've been a poor man. I'm afraid that people will be bouncing on me for money."
Bob and Patty Funk each put in $10 to join the pool at the bowling alley, where she's a cook.
"Hey, I'm retired and this is going to come in at the right time," said Funk, 63. "We're going to enjoy it. This only happens once in a lifetime."
The jackpot is the richest ever in the United States, topping Pennsylvania's 1989 prize of $115.58 million, in which 14 winning tickets were drawn. But it was not a world record. Spain's lottery reached $1 billion.
California's largest previous jackpot, $68.5 million, was divided among four winning tickets in February 1990.
The largest prize in U.S. history for a single ticket was $55 million in the Florida lottery in 1988.
by CNB