THE LOTTERYSince its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $12.3 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs, including Georgia's HOPE Scholarship and Georgia's Pre-K. More than 1.25 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.Source: Georgia Lottery Corp.
Kathleen Kincaid is $123,000 richer after her father recently tossed her a winning lottery ticket.
"He gave me the ticket and said, 'This is worth some money,'" said Kincaid, a 54-year-old grandmother of six. "When we found out the amount, I was like, 'Wow.'"
The father was one of two winners of the Georgia Lottery Fantasy Five drawing on Jan. 1, according to Georgia Lottery staff. Kincaid claimed the loot on Jan. 19.
She told lottery officials that her father bought the ticket at the Favorite Market on Cleveland Road in Dalton, Ga., and gave it to her.
The father's name was not released.
Kincaid, a sales agent with two children of her own, said she and her husband, Barry, have no immediate plans for the money.
"I hope this sets the course for the year," she told lottery officials.
Meanwhile, the Georgia Lottery has introduced a new regional game with a top prize of $250,000 a year for 30 years or a $4 million lump-payment option, according to a news release.
The game's name is Decades of Dollars, and tickets are on sale now. The first drawing is today. The game is played in Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky.
The game is different than the normal lottery games such as PowerBall and Mega Millions because, even if the winner dies, the money keeps being paid to a beneficiary.
Tickets are $2 each. To play, ticket buyers pick six of 47 numbers.
Overall odds of winning any prize are about 1 in 6.2, lottery officials said, while odds of winning the top prize are about 1 in 10.7 million.
The game offers a $10,000 second prize. Other prizes include $100, $10 and $2.
Drawings are every Monday and Thursday at 11 p.m. EST.