BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô It's autumn across Idaho, and as the leaves turn fiery gold and frost accumulates upon the pumpkins, it's the tell-tale sign that the holidays, winter, and another guaranteed million dollar winner from the Idaho Lottery will soon be here. The Idaho Lottery is celebrating Halloween with a treat for its players by kicking off the seventh annual Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle. The $10 tickets go on sale Thursday morning at 4 a.m. Mountain Time.

"The Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle continues to be one of the most anticipated games of the year by our players and holiday shoppers," said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director. "This game is a gift-giving tradition. With a lot of prizes and the best odds offered to win a guaranteed million dollars, we look forward to selling this game out before Christmas."

Only 250,000 of the $10 tickets for the game will be sold. The Idaho Lottery anticipates tickets will sell quickly, and once they're gone, they're gone. No additional tickets will be issued once the last ticket is sold. Tickets will remain on sale until 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2013 or until the last ticket is sold, whichever occurs first. The Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle has sold out three times before Christmas and five of the first six years.

The Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle offers the best odds to win any of the 4,455 prizes in this year's game. In addition to the top prize of $1,000,000, there are four prizes of $10,000 and 4,450 other prizes ranging from $25 to $1,000:

Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle Prize Table
(1) $1,000,000
Four (4) $10,000
Fifty (50) $1,000
One thousand (1,000) $100
One thousand (1,000) $50
Two thousand four hundred (2,400) $25

The $1,000,000 top prize, the four $10,000 prizes, and the fifty $1,000 prizes must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters in Boise. All other prizes in the game may be claimed at any Idaho Lottery retail location.

"Over the years, many of our big winners have had Raffle tickets purchased throughout the entire run of the game, beginning as early as buying them on the first few days," added Anderson.

Each day, for the first 27 days Raffle tickets are on sale in 2013, one player each day will have the chance to win $100 extra cash. Players who purchase a raffle ticket during the first 27 days of sales will receive a voucher they can enter online at idaholottery.com for their chance to win $100. Entries are only valid for the day entered. New entries must be submitted to be eligible to win on subsequent days. And, the regular Raffle ticket will still be good for all the prizes including the $1,000,000 jackpot prize.

Tickets will be available for sale on the Idaho Lottery's big red vending machines found at most grocery stores and busier retail locations. Players need to put at least $10 into the machine then scan the Raffle QR code on the machine with a smart phone. This will create a bar code on their phone. The player then uses the vending machine's reader to scan the bar code on their phone and it will automatically produce a raffle ticket. Players can also create Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle bar codes using the myPLAYSLIP app.

"As with all of our games, we encourage everyone to sign their tickets as soon as possible," said Anderson. "Tickets are bearer instruments and we pay whoever presents them. If you are giving the ticket as a gift, we suggest you print that person's name on the back of the ticket."

Players will need to keep their tickets in a safe place until just after the holidays. The winning numbers announcement for this year's Idaho $1,000,000 Raffle will take place on January 2, 2014 at 6 p.m. Mountain Time.

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