DEL.ICIO.USLawrenceville mayor wins $250,000 in lottery
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/04/08
Call him the mayor of Easy Street.
Rex Millsaps, mayor of Lawrenceville, hit the lottery Friday for a quarter million dollars.
 Georgia Lottery Commisson | ||
| Lawrenceville Mayor Rex Millsaps matched the first five numbers of the Mega Millions drawing Friday. | ||
|
"I wasn't playing the lottery," Millsaps joked Wednesday. "I was supporting the HOPE scholarship."
Millsaps, 57, plans to give the winnings to his children and grandchildren after paying for his youngest daughter Karla's wedding — and getting his pickup truck detailed.
Millsaps' day job is accounting. Though he's often called to handle city affairs, work as mayor is technically part time and pays $800 a month.
He's not quitting either job. In fact, he plans to run for re-election in November — with a huge campaign war chest, he said.
The mayor bought a Mega Millions ticket a few weeks ago when the grand prize momentarily soared over $100 million. He matched only one of six numbers, but it was the Mega Ball number and brought $2 in winnings. Millsaps parlayed the small win into two more tickets.
Last Saturday morning, Millsaps was on the phone at work with his wife, Sheila, when he checked the numbers online and noticed he had matched the first four digits of the Mega Millions drawing. Then he saw it was actually the first five numbers.
"She didn't believe me," he said. "I ended up taking it back to the store, and the computer said to go immediately to the lottery office."
The winning numbers were 39-40-47-53-55 and the Mega Ball was 32. Millsaps' Mega Ball number was 34. Nobody hit all six numbers, which would have been worth $16 million.
"If it was 32," he said of his Mega Ball pick, "I really would have quit."
Millsaps served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1983 to 1984 and the Gwinnett County Merit System Board from 1995 to 2006. He was elected mayor in 2006.
Millsaps said he has only shared the news with close friends and family for the past few days. Lawrenceville City Council member Bob Clark first learned of the mayor's good fortune Wednesday afternoon.
"Well good for him," Clark said. "That's great. Somebody I know finally won."
Millsaps is not the first elected official to win the lottery in Georgia.
On June 29, 2004, Fayette County Sheriff Randall Johnson picked five of six numbers in the Mega Millions drawing of the Georgia Lottery. He won $175,000. The next day, Johnson went back to the same convenience store where he purchased the Mega Millions tickets, bought two Cash 4 tickets and won $5,400.
Vote for this story!
Services »
