37° FOGGY, $80 million jackpot winner found
First-time lottery player strikes it rich
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 3:30 p.m.
A Petaluma woman stepped forward to claim an $80 million jackpot, state lottery officials said.
Lottery officials identified the woman as Elba Escamilla, and said the winning ticket was the first California lottery ticket she ever bought.
Escamilla’s quick pick ticket had all six numbers in the SuperLotto Plus drawing on Feb. 20.
“We don’t want to get carried away, because we’re humble people, but I’m taking all my family out to dinner,” she said in a written statement issued by the lottery. “I’d also like to take my family for a vacation in Hawaii.”
The lottery statement said Escamilla learned about an unclaimed prize while watching television and went to the Safeway store where the winning ticket was sold to check the numbers.
The $80 million jackpot is the largest ever won by a Sonoma County resident. Escamilla has the option of taking a lump sum of about $45 million or 26 annual payments.
— Press Democrat staff
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