2 Friends Win Second Big Prize in CA Lottery

Two Bay Area women who play the lottery together will share January’s $7 million SuperLotto Plus prize, lottery officials said today. The two women won the January 10 SuperLotto Plus drawing. They played the same numbers but bought their tickets from separate retailers. The numbers are a combination of their family member’s birthdates and anniversaries, according to lottery officials.

Cynthia Villanueva bought her ticket in Richmond, close to her home. Erlinda Ravelo bought her ticket in Milpitas, where she buys tickets regularly. This is the second big win for the women. The two won a prize in the Mega Millions game in 2011. They played the same numbers then and won $466,000 each.

The women said they have three sets of numbers they play. They won the Mega Millions game with the first set of numbers. They won the SuperLotto Plus with the second set of numbers. Lottery officials said all the two have left to do now is win Powerball with the third set of numbers. The two took a vacation together with the Mega Millions winnings. This time they will take a trip to Portugal, pay off their houses, help their children and donate to a charity.

The Arco Ampm at 15531 San Pablo Ave. in Richmond sold the winning ticket to Villanueva and the 7-Eleven at 1838 Milmont Drive in Milpitas sold the winning ticket to Ravelo. The winning numbers were 1, 5, 30, 16, and 24. The Mega number is 7. Each retailer will receive a $17,500 bonus for selling a winning ticket.

By Bay City News

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