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:
- A Mega Millions Quik Pik ticket purchased at Publix #1816, located at 4000 N. Highway 29 in Newnan, created the biggest Georgian lottery win of all time. The jackpot was up to $980 million (cash value of $452.2 million) after 39 drawings without a winner, also making it the eighth-largest in Mega Millions history at the time. The winner stayed anonymous when they claimed the money but a few details were released about their story. They said they wanted the prize to be generational and said they were thankful to be able to give back to good causes. The lucky player opted for the cash lump sum of $453.6 million.
- 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.