Clovis couple wins $200K lottery

Staff report

Melba and Sesario Ramos may have won $200,000 from the Roadrunner Cash lottery game, but he's still driving around Clovis in his 1984 El Camino.

“It doesn't take long for this money to get wiped out, you know?” Ramos said. “(We're going to) spend it wisely.”

He and his wife have a daughter and two granddaughters, who he wants to help get through college financially if they need it. Ramos said the winnings also helped them pay off bills they had.

“We're both retired, and when you're retired, you don't have any money coming in other than social security and retirement checks. It's a blessing,” Ramos said. “Everyone that I've met that knows about it congratulates me, and they've all been very nice.”

His winning ticket “was one of those lucky things,” he said, and decided to buy his $10 Roadrunner Cash ticket at the 9th and Prince Chevron — which is a “Lucky Landmark” according to the New Mexico Lottery.

“I just went out there one day and said, 'Give me $10 Roadrunner Cash,” Ramos said. “That particular Sunday I like to eat donuts, so this time I decided to get a six pack of donuts and check the lotto ticket. And the young lady behind the counter there said, 'Mr. Ramos, put your name on the back of this thing, you've won $200,000!' I said, 'I did what?' So I went home and told my wife about it.”

Ramos said he and his wife drove immediately to Albuquerque to claim their prize.

“They tell me it couldn't have happened to a nicer person, and I happen to agree with them,” Ramos said.

According to Wendy Ahlm, director of advertising and marketing for the New Mexico Lottery, the chances of winning Roadrunner Cash are 1 in 435,897. It starts out at $25,000, and every day there isn't a winner, the jackpot grows.

“It's a rolling jackpot, and it's played Monday through Saturday,” Ahlm said. “That's how it grows so fast. The record was quite a bit — $890,000. That was in October of 2013.”

Ahlm said two players hit the jackpot that night, and ended up splitting it.

In Ramos's case, there hadn't been a winner in 25 days, according to Nadien Guillen at the New Mexico Lottery.

“They were very excited,” Guillen said. “They came with a daughter of theirs, so it was an exciting experience for the family.”