Rhode Island news
Someone will start the new year a lot richer
07:09 AM EST on Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Right before the Boston Top-40 cover band Downtown Fever begins its final New Year’s Eve set, the winning number in Rhode Island’s first Million Dollar Raffle will be announced on the Lighthouse Bar stage at Twin River, in Lincoln.
Tonight’s drawing, at 10:59, will be aired live on WPRI-TV, Channel 12. Unlike the daily lottery numbers and PowerBall, it will not rely on numbered Ping-Pong balls jettisoned from a drum.
Instead, “We have a random number generator, so as soon as you bought your ticket, it was entered into a certified system,” Rhode Island Lottery spokeswoman Melissa Ferriola said. “It’s similar to Keno.”
Only 120,000 tickets were offered for sale for the Million Dollar Raffle, at $20 apiece. The last one was purchased at 10:07 a.m. Sunday from Bill’s Place, on Main Street in West Warwick.
The commission promoted the drawing as offering the best odds — 1 in 120,000 — among New England lotteries for $1 million. (The odds of winning PowerBall’s grand prize are 1 in 146,107,962 — and it’s one of the most popular lottery games in the United States.)
The lucky person, or people, will receive a lump sum of $680,000 after federal and state taxes are withheld.
In addition to the top prize, there will be 10 $10,000 winners, 100 $500 winners and 500 $100 winners. The overall odds for winning something are 1 in 196.
The numbers generator will pick all the winning numbers simultaneously. The first on the list will correspond with the $1-million prize and the next 10 will be for $10,000. The last 600 numbers are for the $500 and $100 prizes.
Only the ticket number for the grand prize will be announced on stage. The rest will be posted on the Lottery’s Web site, www.rilot.com. Ticket holders can also check with ticket sellers.
The winners will have 365 days to cash in their tickets. The $500 and $100 winners can do so at Lottery agents’ stores; the $10,000 and $1-million winners will have to go to the Lottery headquarters, at 1425 Pontiac Ave. in Cranston. (It’s closed on New Year’s Day.)
Ticket holders don’t have to be at Twin River tonight to claim state winnings. But their presence is required to take part in linked “bonus play” raffles, for prizes totaling $10,000, sponsored by the slot parlor.
Buyers of Million Dollar Raffle tickets also received a voucher for three drawings tonight, for $2,000, $3,000 and $5,000. The vouchers must be filled in and presented to Twin River staff before those drawings, at 8, 9 and 10 p.m.
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