Albuquerque Dad Wins $217,000 New Mexico Lottery Prize; Will Teach His Children to Make Investments

10/22/2010

ALBUQUERQUE – Chris Henderson of Albuquerque won $217,000 playing the New Mexico Lottery’s Roadrunner Cash game.

Henderson’s ticket – a blend of his favorite numbers and numbers generated by the lottery’s gaming system – matched the winning numbers of 6, 15, 22, 25 and 34 in the game’s Oct. 20 drawing. Henderson discovered he had a jackpot-winning ticket after a lottery retailer checked it for prizes.

Winner Chris Henderson of $217k prize

Above: Pictured is Chris Henderson, the winner of the $217k  New Mexico Lottery Prize

“It’s very exciting,” he told lottery officials in Albuquerque, “but I’ll probably get emotional later.”

After making a donation to his church, Henderson, age 50, plans to give cash gifts to his son and two daughters with one condition.

“I’m going to give my kids money so that they can make their own investments,” he said. “They can spend half, but then they have to invest half.”

Henderson purchased his lucky ticket at Valero Corner Store No. 12 located at 7940 Ladera Drive NW in Albuquerque. Previously, the store has sold 19 large prize-winning tickets paying between $1,000 and $50,000.

Other recent winners from Albuquerque include Scratcher players Steven Herrera who won $50,000 and Karen Soto, $10,000. Also from Albuquerque, Gilbert Sanchez won a $10,000 Mega Millions prize. Gerald Knuckles of Rio Rancho won a $10,000 Hot Lotto prize.

College Scholarships

Since 1996, the lottery has raised $456 million for education and more than 61,000 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships.

As of the Spring 2009 semester, 21,700 students from Bernalillo and Sandoval counties have received $121.7 million in Legislative Lottery Scholarships.