Go west, young man

Dave Brooks

When Andres Otalora attended the Bank of the West U.S. Open of

Surfing three weeks ago, he knew he had made the right decision to

move to the West Coast.

Maybe it was the sandy beaches rolling in head-high waves or the

sunny weather that never seems to take a break. Or maybe it was the

$10,000 he won.

That weekend, Otalora took part in an automated teller machine

contest hosted by Bank of the West that asked contestants to randomly

enter a seven-digit password into the machine for a chance to win the

cash prize. Otalora said he didn’t even look at the machine when he

randomly punched in the numbers.

But he won.

It was a bit of a chaotic celebration. Otalora is deaf and

couldn’t immediately understand bank officials when they told him the

good news. After a few moments of confusion, someone grabbed a pen,

paper and Otalora and the bank officials communicated by exchanging

handwritten notes.

On Tuesday, he and an entourage of friends attended a ceremony at

the bank where Otalora received a big check. Making their grand

entrance in a limousine provided by the bank, Otalora, two young men

and one girl seemed to step out of an ad in a surf magazine, laughing

while exchanging high fives and sign language. One of the men carried

around a video camera and documented the meeting.

Otalora looked drastically different than a displayed photo of him

in an emotional display shortly after his win. Clad in jeans and a

white cotton button-down shirt, the olive-skinned 20-something said

his prize was vindication of a motto he built his life around.

“Good things come to those who wait,” he said. “And I’ve been

waiting, and waiting and waiting.”

Otalora plans to use the money for some traveling, as well as to

help fund his budding production company -- he works as a freelance

graphic designer, photographer and actor. He also travels with a deaf

entertainment troupe called Rathskellar, which has an upcoming

performance in Anaheim.

The money went to the right person, Bank of the West Vice Chairman

Steve Glen said.

“He is obviously someone who deserves this prize and I’m glad that

we can help him out,” Glen said.