ALBUQUERQUE – While cleaning out his wallet Saturday, a Rio Rancho man found a New Mexico Lottery ticket worth $85,000 tucked among scraps of paper, receipts and his driver’s license.
Billy Deen Jr. matched the winning numbers of 20, 23, 28, 30 and 31 on a quick-pick ticket from the June 13 drawing in the Roadrunner Cash™ game.
Above: Billy Deen, winner of $85,000 Roadrunner Cash prize
Deen said he didn’t know how much the ticket was worth until his wife went to a store and asked for a report that showed all the prizes won in the June 13 drawing, including a jackpot of $85,000. She brought the report home and laid it on the couch.
“She said, ‘That’s how much you won,’” Deen recalled for lottery officials late Monday.
Deen also said he has no idea how he’s going to spend his five-figure windfall.
“My wife has a few ideas running through her head,” Deen said, “but we need to slow down and let this sink in.”
Deen bought his lucky ticket at Smith’s located at 1000 Rio Rancho Drive SE in Rio Rancho. Previously, the store has sold 18 large prize-winning lottery tickets paying between $1,000 and $25,000.
For selling the jackpot-winning ticket, Smith’s is eligible for a $1,000 lottery bonus.
Also on Monday, four winners came to lottery headquarters to claim prizes in person.
- Carlsbad resident Andrew Jones claimed a $200,000 Scratcher™ prize;
- Santa Fe resident Molly Osmera claimed $50,000 Scratcher™ prize;
- Albuquerque resident Anna Herzog claimed a $30,000 Scratcher™ prize;
- Moriarty resident Ronald Reese claimed a $3,273 jackpot from the “Red Hot jackpot Bingo” Quicksters® game.
Legislative Lottery Scholarships
Since 1996, the New Mexico Lottery has raised $613.4 million for education and more than 90,000 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships.
More information about Legislative Lottery Scholarships is available at www.nmlottery.com.