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Pair Who Won Giant Jackpot Live Modestly

24 June 2002

CALIFORNIA -- As reported by the Mercury News: ``What do you do when you can suddenly do anything you want?

``If you're Alcario Castellano, you swim every morning in your new pool to heal your aching back, buy a sports car, start editing 20 years' worth of home videos and listen politely as hard-luck strangers, investment hustlers, long-lost relatives and old foes ask you for millions of dollars they'll never get.

``If you're Carmen Castellano, you buy a baby grand piano and collect Latino art, take your time furnishing a new home in Saratoga, set up a family philanthropy for deserving causes and continue washing the laundry yourself.

``...One year ago tomorrow, Al Castellano, former farmworker and grocery clerk in suburban San Jose, won the second-richest jackpot in California Lottery history -- $141 million. After taxes, a lump sum of about $51 million hit the Castellano bank account.

``...As for sharing the fortune, the Castellanos have followed their original plan.

``Family first. They gave each of their brothers and sisters, adult children, aunts and uncles a ``generous amount.'' They gave nothing directly to their grandchildren, nephews or nieces, hoping the parents would see to that. Nobody objected to the dollar amounts, Carmen said, except one ``obnoxious'' relative who wanted more.

``Next, they set up the Castellano Family Foundation in December with $5 million to start and a focus on Latino arts, education and leadership programs. Carmen said they've given away about $200,000 so far, mostly to causes, schools and organizations they already knew well.

``The biggest and most regretful change for them was leaving their modest, ranch-style house in Cambrian Park, a neighborhood the Mexican-American couple had helped to integrate in the early 1960s... But they were listed in the phone book. A stream of calls and unannounced visits persuaded them to move or sacrifice their privacy and safety..."

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