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ATLANTA – Lady Luck has routed a Murray County truck driver to his second half-million dollar Georgia Lottery prize. Richard Chad Betterton of Chatsworth played the instant game Georgia Hold ‘Em and won a $500,000 top prize, his second big win since 2008.

Betterton, 26, won his first $500,000 prize playing another poker-style instant ticket.

“I just like playing poker,” Betterton said.

His luck with the game has paid off.

“I bought a house, I paid off a couple of bills, I bought two cars for myself and my wife, and I went fishing,” he said of his earlier winnings.

In addition to his prize, the lucky winner and his wife, Melissa, are expecting their first child later this month.

A-1 Food Mart, 1317 Highway 76 in Chatsworth, sold both of Betterton’s lucky tickets. It was the owner, Betterton said, who had a “feeling” that he’d win again.

“My wife and I scratched the ticket in the car,” he said. “I thought she was going into labor.”

With his latest win, Betterton intends to invest and “retire when I’m 40.”

“To other players, I say ‘Good Luck,’ ” he shared. “Go in, buy a ticket and hope for the best.”

Georgia Hold ‘Em is an instant game with prizes of up to $500,000. Georgia Lottery players can visit www.galottery.com to play the interactive Hold ‘Em Hand Builder.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $13.4 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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