ALBUQUERQUE – A woman from Carlsbad claimed a $1 million Powerball® prize from the New Mexico Lottery yesterday.
In Saturday’s drawing, Kathy Gregory matched the winning white balls numbers of 3, 12, 31, 34 and 51, beating odds of 1 in approximately 5.1 million Her quick-pick ticket missed the red Powerball of 24 to land the night’s jackpot of $90 million.
Gregory discovered her good fortune Sunday morning when she checked the two plays on her ticket with the winning numbers posted at the lottery’s website.
“I just kept looking at the computer screen and then back to my ticket,” Gregory recalled for New Mexico Lottery officials in Albuquerque Monday. “I was just numb. I could not believe it.”
Gregory, who generally prefers to play Scratchers, said she has already put plans in place to make donations to her favorite charities and financial gifts to her large family. Anything that might be left from the prize will be invested.
Gregory purchased her lucky ticket at Brewer Oil Northgate Chevron located at 1311 W. Pierce St. in Carlsbad. Previously, the store has sold 28 large prize-winning tickets paying between $1,000 and $100,000. For selling the $1 million-winning ticket, the store is eligible for a $2,500 lottery bonus.
Carlsbad Man Wins $200,000
Above: Andrew Jones, winner of the “$200,000 Cash Bonanza” prize
Another Carlsbad resident won a $200,000 Scratcher prize last week. Andrew Jones won the top prize playing the “$200,000 Cash Bonanza” game. Jones, who said he plans to save his prize, bought his ticket at Stripes located at 2005 West Pierce Street in Carlsbad. The store has sold five other large prize-winning lottery tickets ranging between $1,000 and $159,000.
Legislative Lottery Scholarships
Since its inception in 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 than 2,600 students from Eddy County have received $11.4 million in Legislative Lottery Scholarships.
More information about Legislative Lottery Scholarships is available at www.nmlottery.com.