May 15, 2009 12:04 am US/Pacific
NorCal Lottery Winner Spreads Wealth In Hometown
MURPHYS (CBS 5) ―
In an economy like this, many people dream about winning the lottery and about how it would change their lives. But not everyone wants to live life on easy street. Just ask one man living in the small town of Murphys in Calaveras County. He's a lotto winner, but it has been his community that has really struck it rich.
On most nights you'll find 57-year-old Dennis Sanfilippo working behind the Nugget Bar in Murphys. You would never know the music loving, pony tailed guy serving drinks is one of the richest men in Northern California.
"If you would have gave me a wish, I wouldn't have wished for that much," he said.
But wishes became reality on March 7, 1992 when the 40-year-old roofer walked into a Shell gas station in Milpitas and walked out with a lottery ticket worth $15 million, or so he thought.
"So I went to Sacramento to cash my ticket in and I went so proudly to the front desk and went 'I won $15 million, right?' And they went, 'Oh no, you didn't,'" he recalled. "My heart dropped when they said, 'Oh no, you didn't. You won $30 million.'"
For most people, winning the jackpot at age 40 would mean an early retirement, kicking back and living the good life, but not for Sanfilippo.
Sanfilippo credits his father with teaching him a strong work ethic and the value of a dollar, so he put that money to work. He now owns 50 ranches and properties, and has accumulated a net worth of more than $100 million.
He bought some toys from his winnings, including an amphibious car and a chopper from the film "Easy Rider." And when he's not bartending and buying ranches, Sanfilippo is making money with his music. A garage band rat for most of his life, he's been rubbing elbows lately with the likes of Tim McGraw and Vince Gill, creating some of the best Country music on the charts through his own label, Big 7 Records.
"First year, we won male vocalist of the year with Tim Murphy," said Dickie Franko, Vice President of Big 7 Records. "Second year, we won label of the year."
Sanfilippo's latest project is to reopen the Poker Flats resort at Lake Tulloch to showcase live music and put local people back to work.
"Money hasn't changed him one bit," Franko said. "He still drives a tractor; he still burns his own brush in burn season."
His successful businesses have become a one-man stimulus package for Calaveras County: bartenders, managers, musicians all benefiting from that winning ticket.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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