Saturday’s Jackpot is Game’s Second-Largest
ALBUQUERQUE – The rush to buy tickets for Saturday’s Powerball drawing has pushed the game’s jackpot to $325 million, its second-highest ever. Originally, Saturday’s jackpot was $310 million.
New Mexico Lottery CEO Tom Romero asked players not to be tempted to overspend.
“We want our players to have fun but, more importantly, we want them to remember to play responsibly,” Romero said.
The jackpot run-up began Dec. 28. The prize has rolled 13 times to reach $325 million. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 175 million.
The game’s record jackpot is $365 million. It was won in Nebraska in February 2006.
Fun Facts
- Five Powerball jackpots have been won in New Mexico;
- New Mexico’s record Powerball jackpot of $206.9 million was won by nine friends from Roswell in September 2008;
- While Powerball players in New Mexico have purchased $610 million in tickets, they have won the larger sum of $650 million in prizes;
- Larry and Cynthia Martinez of Blanco, New Mexico won a $1 million Powerball prize last month;
- New Mexico Lottery prizes from drawing games and Scratchers total $1.03 billion;
- 34 people have become millionaires playing New Mexico Lottery games.
Legislative Lottery Scholarships
All profits from the sale of New Mexico Lottery games fund an in-state college tuition assistance program. Since 1996, the New Mexico Lottery has raised $506.5 million for education and more than 75,300 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships. More information about Legislative Lottery Scholarships is available at www.nmlottery.com.