Adding a link that gets the recent post from a CPT and putting it in a specified menu

gistfile1.php

// Filter wp_nav_menu() to add link to recent lottery
function new_nav_menu_items($items) {
// Get the most recent post
                    $the_query = new WP_Query( 'post_type=toy_lotteries' , 'posts_per_page=1' );
  // Pull the link
                    while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : $the_query->the_post();
                        $latest_link = '<li> <a href="' . get_permalink() . '">Lotteries</a></li>';
                    endwhile;
    $items = $latest_link . $items;
    return $items;
}
add_filter( 'wp_nav_menu_menu-left_items', 'new_nav_menu_items' );