ATLANTA – A Sylvester man now knows what not to throw away: a winning Georgia Lottery ticket worth a half-million dollars. Jonathan Manriquez, a HVAC specialist, had thrown a winning Black Pearls instant ticket worth $500,000 on the floorboard of his truck.
His young son saw the ticket and handed it to his dad.
“I was about to throw it away,” Manriquez said.
That’s when he discovered his prize. The father of two couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I was surprised,” he said. “I almost hit the roof.”
Manriquez, 34, has two children, ages 6 and 2 with his wife, Jessica.
He plans to pay bills with his winnings.
County Line Grocery, 4405 Acree Ave. in Sylvester, sold the winning ticket.
Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $13.1 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 1.4 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1.1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.
For more information on the Georgia Lottery Corp., please visit:
www.galottery.com and www.lotterybenefitsgeorgians.com
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