ATLANTA – A Georgia Lottery-funded HOPE dad will usher in a lottery win in time for New Year’s. Donald Smith Jr. of McIntyre won a $50,000 top prize playing the popular Jumbo Bucks Classic instant game.
Smith’s son, 23; and daughter, 21, are lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship recipients who both are currently enrolled in college. Smith’s wife, Mary Ann, intends to purchase a new car with the windfall and give their existing car to their daughter, he said.
“It couldn’t have worked out more perfectly,” he exclaimed.
Smith was holiday shopping with his wife when the couple stopped at BP Shop #2, 155 Roberson Mill Road in Milledgeville, to purchase a ticket
He stayed behind in the car to scratch the ticket while his wife continued shopping at another store.
“I started hyperventilating,” he said. “It’s an unreal feeling.”
Smith, 47, is a Department of Corrections officer who has worked for 26 years.
Winning a prize has made the holidays even brighter, Smith said.
Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $12.1 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 1.25 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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