ALBUQUERQUE – Darryl Carter of Albuquerque can confirm: it only takes one ticket to win. Yesterday, he claimed a $350,000 prize. He purchased one Roadrunner Cash™ ticket for the October 22, 2018 draw.
As the Mega Millions® jackpot was reaching near-record levels, Darryl decided to purchase a ticket from his favorite lottery retailer, Circle K on Lomas near Grove Street in Albuquerque. He won $10 with that ticket in the October 19 Mega Millions draw. So, Darryl cashed his winnings, purchased one Roadrunner Cash ticket, and kept the remaining winnings.
Early Wednesday morning, Darryl visited the New Mexico Lottery website to check his ticket. He initially thought he had won $25,000 on Roadrunner Cash and was extremely excited. Then, he re-checked his ticket and realized that he had won $350,000. He immediately shouted out to his wife and woke his kids to share the news.
Darryl often noticed the Lottery office in his travels and several times he mentioned to his wife, “Maybe one of these days I’ll drive there to take in a winning ticket.” That day finally arrived. Darryl plans to spend some of his winnings on his family, pay off bills and save the rest.
It’s a lucky week in New Mexico. Tuesday’s Mega Millions draw produced a $1 million winning ticket that was sold in the Taos area. The winner has not yet come forward.
Meanwhile, Powerball® has grown to an estimated $750 million, the 4th highest jackpot in U.S. lottery history and the 3rd largest in Powerball game history.
How to Play Powerball
Powerball is played in 47 lotteries. To play, players choose five numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number from 1 to 26. Players can also ask for a “Quick Pick,” a set of numbers chosen randomly by the lottery’s gaming system. Each wager costs $2.
In addition to the jackpot, there are eight prize levels from $4 to $1 million. The game’s Power Play® option multiplies non-jackpot prizes and will double the $1 million prize to $2 million automatically. Power Play costs an additional $1 per play per drawing.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are approximately 1 in 292 million. The overall odds of winning a Powerball prize are approximately 1 in 25.
Players have until 8:00 p.m. MT Saturday night to buy tickets for the next Powerball drawing.
How to Play Roadrunner Cash
Roadrunner Cash is played only in New Mexico.
To play, players choose five numbers from 1 to 37. Players can also ask for a “Quick Pick,” a set of numbers chosen randomly by the lottery’s gaming system. Each wager costs $1.
In addition to the jackpot, there are three prize levels from $1 to $200.
The odds of winning a Roadrunner Cash jackpot are approximately 1 in 436,000. The overall odds of winning a Roadrunner Cash prize are approximately 1 in 8.
Drawings are 7 days a week at approximately 9:30 p.m. MT.
Legislative Lottery Scholarships
The New Mexico Lottery has raised $788 million for education in New Mexico. More than 116,000 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships. More information about Legislative Lottery Scholarships is available at www.nmlottery.com.