ALBUQUERQUE – Alejandro Guillen, 20, of Hobbs plans to buy a house and a car with a $200,000 prize from the New Mexico Lottery.
Guillen won the top prize in the lottery’s “Treasure Series” Scratcher. There are two more $200,000 prizes unclaimed in the game.
After revealing the $200,000 prize behind the second of the ticket’s 25 symbols, Guillen showed the ticket to his wife.
Above: pictured is Alejandro Guillen, winner of the Treasure Series scratcher prize
“I said, ‘Tell me if this is real,’” he recalled for lottery officials in Albuquerque Thursday.
Since his wife thought it looked too good to be true, Guillen went back to the store where he purchased the game. The clerk who sold him the ticket confirmed it as a big winner.
“I freaked out,” Guillen said. “I was in shock.”
Guillen, who normally plays $5 Scratchers, purchased the lucky $20 ticket at Allsup’s Store No. 145 located at 3709 N. Dal Paso St. in Hobbs. Previously, the store has sold 12 large prize-winning lottery tickets ranging between $1,000 and $98,000.
Legislative Lottery College Scholarships
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. As of the Spring 2011 semester, more than 1,650 students from Lea County have received $4.3 million in Legislative Lottery Scholarships.