Army sergeant in Savannah wins $500,000 lottery prize

Monday, July 19, 2010

dustin_johnston

ATLANTA – A 25-year-old Hunter Army Airfield sergeant has won a half-million dollar prize. Sgt. Dustin Johnston won a $500,000 top prize playing the Georgia Lottery instant game World Poker Tour.

Johnston scratched a royal flush at Abercorn BP, 10401 Abercorn St. in Savannah, where he purchased the ticket.

“I scratched off the prize, and I checked it and rechecked it,” he said. “I was really excited.”

Sharing the good news with his girlfriend, Johnston said she didn’t believe him.

“We went back to the gas station to verify, and the clerk shouted, ‘You won,’ ” he exclaimed.

Serving two-and-a-half years in the Army, Johnston has completed four brief tours in Afghanistan and is crew chief for a two-blade helicopter.

He plans to invest his winnings while in the military and later enroll in college to study aviation or computer design.

“I’m going to get a car for my mother,” added the lucky lottery winner whose mother is out of state. “She’s pretty happy.”

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $11.9 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 1.2 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.

For more information on the Georgia Lottery Corp., please visit:
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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