New Mexico Lottery Player Wins More Than $2 Million

3/8/2013 - ALBUQUERQUE – Good fortune struck not once, not twice, but five times in one night for an Albuquerque Powerball® player.

John Baker put five wagers on a single Powerball ticket for the March 6 drawing and won more than $2 million in prizes. He claimed the prizes today in person at New Mexico Lottery headquarters in Albuquerque. Baker played numbers he selected.

Ticket Illustration with Winning Numbers Circled

“I made them up out of my head at the store,” he said.

Baker added that he chooses Powerball numbers using a personal formula he memorized from when he used to play Keno. Then he plays the numbers across multiple wagers.

The new millionaire discovered his good fortune this morning when he checked his ticket against numbers published in a newspaper.

“I knew how much I had won right down to the cent,” he said.

On two wagers, Baker played the white ball numbers of 6, 10, 23, 41 and 45, but selected 4 as the red Powerball for one wager and 6 for another wager.

When the winning white ball numbers came in as 6, 10, 23, 41 and 45, the two wagers won $1 million each. The odds of winning a single $1 million Powerball prize are approximately 1 in 5 million.

The remaining three wagers won $100 each by matching four of the winning white balls.

In total, Baker won $2,000,300.

Although Baker declined to disclose his age, he said his birthday is next week.

“This is the best birthday present ever,” he said. “I’m going to spend some of it and save some of it.”

Baker did not include the number 1 on his ticket. When 1 was drawn as the winning red Powerball Wednesday, it cost him the night’s jackpot of $123 million.

Baker purchased his very lucky ticket at 7-Eleven located at 1801 San Pedro Dr. NE in Albuquerque. Previously, the store has sold 11 large prize-winning lottery tickets paying between $1,000 and $10,000. For selling a winning $1 million Powerball ticket, the store is eligible for a $2,500 bonus.

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 $553.2 million for education and more than 82,600 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships. More information about Legislative Lottery Scholarships is available at www.nmlottery.com.

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