FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

 

CONTACT: David Workman         

 (208) 334-2600

                                

Lottery to Announce $1,000,000 Raffle Winning Numbers Tonight

 

Boise – At 9:59 PM Mountain Time tonight, the Idaho Lottery will announce the winning numbers for this year’s sold out Idaho$1,000,000 Raffle.  Only 250,000 tickets were issued by the Lottery for tonight’s announcement and only one lucky player will be holding a ticket worth one million dollars.  

 

In addition to the top prize of $1,000,000, the Lottery will also announce the winning numbers for the four $15,000 prizes.  The winning numbers for the five-hundred $300 winners and one-hundred-fifty $100 winners will posted on the Idaho Lottery’s website. The Lottery has already paid out $75,000 in prize monies for the 1,500 $50 instant wins that were awarded during ticket sales.

 

“There’s a lot of excitement and enthusiasm right now around Idaho to find out who will be the big winner,” said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director. “We’ve already received numerous calls and emails from players anxious to know when the winning numbers will be announced.”

 

Shortly after 10 PM Mountain Time tonight, players will be able to check their tickets by visiting the Idaho Lottery’s website at idaholottery.com or idahoraffle.com.  The winning numbers for the million dollar prize and the $15,000 prizes will be posted on the main page.  Players will have several options for checking their tickets on these websites for the additional prizes.  There is a check-a-ticket function where players enter their raffle ticket number to see if it has won a prize.  The Lottery will also post all of the winning numbers by prize category, both sequentially and in the order they were drawn on the websites.

 

Players can also call the Idaho Lottery’s winning numbers hot-line at 208-334-4656. Players will be able to use the telephone’s check-a-ticket function to see if they’ve won.  Players can also check their tickets at any Idaho Lottery retail location.

 

“We are strongly encouraging all our players to sign the back of their raffle ticket prior to tonight’s draw,” added Anderson. “These tickets are bearer instruments and we want to ensure each player protects their play. The $1,000,000 prize and the four $15,000 prizes must be claimed at the Lottery offices in Boise. The $300 and $100 prizes can be claimed at any Idaho Lottery retail location.”

 

To select the winning numbers, the Idaho Lottery will use their state-of-the-art Random Number Generator. The randomness is certified by Gaming Laboratories Inc., a global independent gaming equipment testing corporation.

 

“Using the Random Number Generator is the most efficient and truly random method of selecting our 655 total winners for the raffle draw,” explained Anderson.

 

Players wishing to claim their prizes at Lottery Headquarters in Boise should note that Idaho Lottery offices will be open during regular business hours on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 and January 2, 2009 from 8 AM to 5 PM Mountain time.  The Lottery will be closed on January 1, 2009 for New Year’s Day.

 

This year’s Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle game began sales on November 7, 2008 and sold all 250,000 tickets in less than 7 ½ weeks.  The game sold an average of 4,700 tickets per day with the largest selling days being Saturday, November 8 and Christmas Eve.  With the game being a sell-out, the Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle game will generate about $700,000 in dividend revenue to benefit public schools and buildings.

 

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ABOUT THE IDAHO LOTTERY

The Idaho Lottery responsibly provides a variety of entertaining games featuring Powerball, Scratch™ tickets, and PullTabs with a high degree of integrity to maximize the dividend for Idaho public schools and buildings. Since it’s inception in 1989, the Idaho Lottery has sold more than $1.7 billion in sales, awarded over $1 billion in prizes to players, returned more than $100 million in retail commissions, and distributed more than $402 million in Lottery dividends to state public schools and buildings. To learn more, please visit www.idaholottery.com.