Lottery officials okay 2nd multi-state game

Posted at: 10/27/2009 12:07 PM | Updated at: 10/27/2009 2:18 PM
By: Austin Reed, Eyewitness News 4, and Reed Upton, KOB.com

The New Mexico Lottery Commission has approved adding a second multi-state lottery game to its offerings in order to boost revenue.

Currently, the only multi-state game offered in New Mexico is the 31-state Powerball. Officials voted Tuesday to add Mega Millions, which is played in 12 states and some of the biggest cities in the nation.

“I moved here from Massachusetts and they had Mega millions there,” said Matthew Christian, who regularly plays the lottery. He says he buys Powerball and Hot Lotto tickets, but If Mega Millions is added he’ll play that game too.

Lottery officials say they see a lot of people crossing the border to buy Mega Million lottery tickets in Texas. They say that revenue has been down for two years and they’ve had to cut back on personnel, advertising and marketing.

While lottery officials have agreed to offer Mega Millions, a final approval would have to come from a national lottery commission.

Print Story