FROM THE ARCHIVES: Bay Area woman's lottery press conference may be best ever

The looming $700 million Powerball jackpot brings to mind how a serendipitous luck of a draw can change lives, instantly.

Which begs the question: How many times have we watched interviews with befuddled lottery winners sitting in front of bigger-than-life, cardboard checks before they disappear behind their money curtains?

As a reporter, I have attended enough of those press conferences to lose count.

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There is only one I remember.

In 2002, Cindy Blair, a grandmother from Brisbane, Calif., split a $122 million Super Lotto Plus jackpot with three other winners. She opted to split her $30.5 million into 26 annual payments of $763,000.

While driving to that press conference almost exactly 15 years ago, I remember asking photographer Jose Morquecho, "Just once, can we get a lottery winner who cuts loose? Maybe even one who has been drinking? Someone funny, who just says, 'Ha ha! I won the lottery!'"

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Ms. Blair fulfilled all of those wishes - and more. She made such a deliciously funny appearance that instead of doing a traditional story, we simply cut clips of her comments back-to-back-to-back-to-back.

For my money, here is the best lottery winner press conference of all time.

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