Neil Cochran, a man from Albuquerque, New Mexico, made headlines recently as the first New Mexico Lottery player to win the grand prize from the popular game Lotto America. On November 4, 2023, Cochran secured the grand prize of $3.52 million after correctly guessing all five white balls (8, 11, 23, 47, 48) and the Star Ball number 4.
Cochran purchased the winning ticket at Speedway #9093 at 6570 Paradise Blvd NW in Albuquerque. As the sole winner of the jackpot from the November 4 draw, he collected the entire grand prize himself.
When Cochran discovered he won the jackpot, he initially told his mother, who thought he and his girlfriend were pulling a prank on her. However, her disbelief turned to shock when she saw her son holding the oversized check with the $3.52 million jackpot sum written on it.
Before the draw, Cochran visited Speedway where a store employee encouraged him to participate in the lottery. He was attracted to Lotto America due to its better odds and affordable $1 ticket cost. Instead of using Quick Pick, Cochran picked the numbers himself for all three games – Lotto America, Mega Millions, and Powerball – and used the same numbers for all three games.
In other lottery news, the Powerball jackpot survived the recent draw with no grand prize winner or second-tier $1 million prize winner. As the next drawing on Saturday approaches, the Powerball jackpot is expected to reach $220 million or have a cash value of $101.2 million.
Overall, Neil Cochran’s big win has sparked excitement and anticipation within the New Mexico Lottery, proving that luck can strike at any time for those who take a chance on the game.