South Valley janitor and wife win Monopoly grand prize at Los Lunas grocery store on Friday.

The couple lives in the South Valley, traveling to the Albertson's in Los Lunas and the chain's store in the valley to do their shopping, the News-Bulletin said.

"I just want to thank all the Albertson's and especially the Los Lunas branch and the branch at Isleta and Rio Bravo," Patricio Sanchez told a crowd of shoppers in Los Lunas Friday. "I especially want to thank God."

Sanchez, who works as a janitor, said he and his wife started playing the Monopoly game and collecting pieces when the game started about nine weeks ago, the News-Bulletin said.

He said he realized he had collected all the pieces necessary to win the grand prize and took it to the Los Lunas store to make sure he was correct, the paper reported.

"It was amazing to be able to present the winners with a prize like this, a prize that you know is going to change their lives," Los Lunas store director Lisa Goodman told the News-Bulletin.

This is one of two $500,000 grand prizes offered in the game nationwide, and there's still a chance of another winner, the paper reported.

Albertson's LLC is a chain of grocery stores all over Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and district manager Tom Houston said there are about 220 stores in the four states participating in the Monopoly game.

In addition to this grand prize, Albertson's stores in New Mexico have recently given away several LCD-HD televisions, seven-day cruises, a $5,000 gas card, Apple iPods, and a Chrysler 300 valued at $25,000, another district manager, Chris Bengston, told the News-Bulletin.

During the celebration Friday afternoon, Patricio Sanchez said the prize couldn't have come at a better time.

"It came at a time when it's really going to help us. I wish everyone could win this," Sanchez said. 

The couple has four children and eight grandchildren ranging in age from 2 to 10 who were present at the ceremony. The Sanchezes said they plan to use the money to pay bills after they take the family on a trip to Disneyland, the paper reported.