More than 80,000 tickets remain available for the New Mexico’s Lottery first raffle, but even if the game doesn’t sell out, winning numbers for all 106 prizes will still be drawn on New Year’s Eve.
Only 125,000 raffle tickets were available when sales began on Oct. 28. If the game sells out, the odds of winning top prizes of $125,000 would be approximately one in 31,250. To date, approximately 45,000 tickets have been sold.
“With fewer than 35 percent of tickets sold, the odds of winning a top prize are even better for players,” said Lottery CEO Tom Romero.
The New Year’s Eve Raffle is easy to play. Players simply buy their tickets. There are no play slips to complete or numbers to choose. Tickets are printed from lottery terminals in numeric order as they are sold. Raffle tickets, priced at $10 each, are available at all lottery retailers statewide. Ticket sales will automatically end at 7 p.m. on Dec 31 unless they sell out before then.
In addition to the top prizes, winning ticket numbers will be drawn for a $50,000 prize, a $25,000 prize and 100 prizes of $500 each. Winning tickets must match all numbers drawn in exact order.
After the drawing on Dec. 31, all winning ticket numbers will be available on the lottery’s website at www.nmlottery.com and at lottery headquarters in Albuquerque. Lottery retailers can also electronically scan raffle tickets to identify winning tickets.
Net revenues from the sale of all New Mexico Lottery games benefit the Legislative Lottery Scholarship program, which provides in-state tuition assistance for New Mexico residents attending public colleges and universities.
Since its inception in 1996, the lottery has raised more than $337 million for college tuition and school construction and repairs in New Mexico. In the last decade, more than 48,000 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships.
