BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô This afternoon the Idaho Lottery will officially cross the 50% mark of sales for their holiday Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle game meaning there are now less than 125,000 tickets remaining for a chance at the game's one million dollar top prize. The Lottery will not issue any additional tickets once all 250,000 are sold.

"We've reached the half-way point in this year's raffle in just 25 days," said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director. "At the current pace, we anticipate selling out the Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle before Christmas. When the tickets are gone, they're gone."

Last year's winners, Greg and Cathie Owen of Buhl, bought their million dollar ticket the day before Thanksgiving. Cathie put buying a raffle ticket on Greg's shopping list for their Thanksgiving Day feast.

"At the bottom of the list it said 2 Raffle tickets," said Owen last year when they claimed their prize. "She gave me the $20 to get two tickets, so I stopped and picked them up. It was the best $20 we've decided to spend."

As an Idaho-only game, Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle tickets are only available for sale through any Idaho Lottery retail location. This game is not sold in any other state, however, players do not need to be Idaho residents to play or win. The odds of winning $1,000,000 remains the same at one in 250,000, the best ever offered by the Idaho Lottery for a seven-figure prize. Presently, the Idaho Lottery is averaging a little over 5,100 tickets sold per day.

"History tells us that as we get closer to the December holidays, the pace of ticket sales will increase," added Anderson. "In addition to fewer available tickets and players wanting to have a chance to win a million dollars, many people will purchase raffle tickets to give as stocking stuffers."

This year's winning numbers announcement will take place at 9:59 p.m. Mountain Time on December 30, 2009. Lottery officials continue to remind players to play the Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle responsibly. Anderson also encouraged players to sign the back of their ticket once it has been purchased and to keep it in a safe place until the Lottery announces the winning numbers on December 30, 2009.

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