Biggest Georgia Lottery Winners

Georgia is one of the top states that loves playing the lottery. The average resident spends $515.17 per year on lottery tickets (the average U.S. adult spends about $288 per year). That makes the Peach State the fifth highest-spending state in the country. With five percent of Georgia residents saying they buy a ticket every day, the lottery had sales of more than $4.02 billion in 2017.

Here are the biggest Georgia winners who really got some bang for their buck:

• Ira Curry from Stone Mountain bought a Mega Millions ticket on the spur of the moment while on her way to work. The insurance executive won half the $648 million jackpot in the December 17, 2013 draw. She chose the cash option payout and received $173,819,742.50 before taxes. The 56-year-old grandmother said she chose her winning numbers based on family birthdays and the lucky number 7. The other winner was delivery driver Steve Tran of California.
• An $83 million Mega Millions jackpot was won on November 18, 2016 by ADirectConnection LLC.
• A $77.1 million Powerball jackpot ticket was purchased on June 29, 2011. Sadly, the prize was never claimed and eventually expired. The identity of the winner is unknown.
• Christina Ford of Dallas, Georgia won a $7.5 million Mega Millions prize on July 22, 2016. The retired 64-year-old split the $15 million jackpot with Kevin Young of Virginia.