Richard Cohen, of New Bedford, walks away with what he hopes is the winning ticket, below, at Stateline Tobacco, in Tiverton. The drawing will be made at Twin River at 10:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

>

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

Excitement is growing for Rhode Island’s first Million Dollar Raffle.

With only 120,000 tickets being sold, the state Lottery Commission is promoting the New Year’s Eve drawing as having the best odds among New England lotteries to win $1 million.

There’s a 1 in 120,000 chance; 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.

“I got mine this morning,” Matthew Barber, 19, of Westport, Mass., said yesterday. He works at Stateline Tobacco, on Stafford Road in Tiverton. The small store had sold close to 1,000 raffle tickets from Oct. 6, when they went on sale, through Christmas Day. “I figured, why not.”

When he mentioned it to lottery regular Richard Cohen, of New Bedford, Cohen didn’t hesitate to purchase one in addition to his Powerball quick picks, Wild Money numbers and a few $5 scratch tickets. Cohen admitted he didn’t even know all the particulars or rules, but simply liked his chances.

“Well if I don’t win, I don’t win,” Cohen said. He plays the lotteries often and says he won $1,400 playing Keno once. When asked how much he spends daily on the lottery, Cohen said, “If I were to keep count, I would slap myself.”

The tickets are $20 each and issued in sequence. If no one else bought a ticket after Cohen, he would have a chance of 1 in about 115,000 to win the top prize because his ticket number is close to 115,000.

In addition to the top prize, there are 10 drawings for $10,000, 100 chances to win $500 and 500 chances to win $100. The overall odds — chances of winning one of the 611 prizes — are 1 in 196.

The drawing will take place at 10:59 p.m. in Twin River’s Lighthouse Bar. It will be aired live on WPRI-TV, Channel 12, and winners do not have to be present. Winning tickets must be redeemed within 365 days of the drawing and players must have their original raffle ticket to claim their prize.

The tickets are only sold in Rhode Island. Powerball tickets, on the other hand, are sold by retailers in 29 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands and there’s no limit to the number of tickets issued.

“Other states have held similar contests,” commission spokeswoman Melissa Ferriola said. The states include Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Delaware, New Jersey, Minnesota and Indiana. “Rhode Island is small, so there was concern [about its success]. We had to figure how many prizes and what amount of tickets to sell to get everyone on board…. We are on track to sell out.”

As of 10:25 last night, 2,553 tickets remained.

Ticket sales spiked as the holidays neared, with 14,273 being sold on Christmas Eve. Retailers say many bought multiple ones for stocking stuffers and Christmas gifts and some attached a note: “Remember who bought this for you if you win.”

Matthew Barber’s number: 114,006.

“I honestly wouldn’t quit my job if I won,” he said. “I’d put it in the bank.”

After further reflection, he grinned and said, “I would take out a $100,000 to buy a Lamborghini or Ferrari though.”

Others in line for cigarettes and scratch tickets said $20 for one ticket was “too rich” for them and “grocery money.” One woman getting Powerball numbers said the Million Dollar Raffle was out of her league.

Danny Hachem, originally from Lebanon and now living in Tiverton, said he and his wife bought $200 worth, or 10 raffle tickets, over the last couple of months.

“It’s all luck, so you never know,” Hachem said. When asked what he would do with the money, he said, “Let’s win first and then talk about it. I don’t want to get a headache before I don’t have to.”

But, he says he suspects his wife already has plans for the top prize money.At a glance

•The odds of winning the million is 1 in 120,000. The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 196.

•The drawing will take place at Twin River’s Lighthouse Bar at 10:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

•As of 10:25 last night, 2,553 tickets remained unsold. Tickets are $20 each.

•The state’s take will be $881,000 before expenses.

apina@projo.com