Man lands at Atlanta airport, bags $40,000 lottery win

Thursday, October 1, 2009

ATLANTA – After landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, an Acworth man was on cloud nine from winning the lottery. John Birg had just returned from the West Coast when he won a $40,000 prize playing the Georgia Lottery instant game $400,000 Fast Play.

"I was waiting for my daughter to pick me up," the father of two said. "I never really played before. I was just killing time."

Birg purchased the ticket at the Georgia Lottery Corporation's Airport North Terminal near baggage claim at the airport. He purchased the ticket from one of the lottery's vending machines.

"I was shocked," he said. "It felt great."

A manufacturing management consultant, Birg intends to make home improvements and save the remainder of his prize.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned more than $11 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs including Georgia's HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia's Pre-K Program. More than 1.1 million students have received HOPE, and more than 940,000 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.

For more information, please visit the Media Center on the Georgia Lottery Web site at:
www.galottery.com

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Tandi Reddick
Media Relations Manager

P 404.215.5062
F 404.215.8983
media [at] galottery [dot] org

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