College Park woman wins $72 million Mega Millions jackpot; takes cash option of $52 million

By Marcus K. Garner

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Marcia Adams just wanted to get some chocolate for her boyfriend. Instead, she wound up with a Georgia Lottery ticket worth more than $50 million.

The 33-year-old College Park accountant was the winner of the $72 million Mega Millions jackpot. She opted to take the lump-sum amount of $52 million.

What is she doing first?

“I’m hiring a financial planner,” Adams said.

Adams and her boyfriend went to the Chevron Food Mart on Buffington Road around 10 p.m. Tuesday to buy a Hershey’s candy bar, Adams told reporters Thursday at Georgia Lottery headquarters.

“I told him to buy me a Quik Pik,” she said. “He picked up one for himself and left the candy.”

That was less than an hour before the drawing.

“I knew somebody won,” Adams said. “But I didn’t think for a moment that is was that ticket.

Thursday morning, as they were driving to work, they saw a lottery billboard and remembered the tickets they bought two days earlier that were left in the center console of the car.

“He checked the number on his phone, and screamed my name,” Adams said. “We pulled over to the side of the highway so I could check the number again. Then I said, ‘We’ve got to get to the nearest store so I could check the numbers again.”

The winning numbers matched her ticket : 10-22-24-36-49 and 33 for the Mega Ball.

But Adams said she needed even more verification.

“I emailed my job to tell them I wouldn’t be in today, found directions to the lottery office, and came straight here,” she said.

Even after official confirmation from lottery officials that she’d won, Adams said the truth was difficult to grasp.

“It still hasn’t set in,” she said. “It seems like it’s somebody else besides me.”

By taking the cash option, Adams leaves $20 million on the table and takes a gross win of $52 million. After state and federal taxes take another 35 percent, she still will pocket about $33.8 million.

"That's plenty," Adams joked.

Still, don’t look for the 12-year corporate accountant to leave her job.

“I love what I do,” she said. “I have a purpose.”

And hiring a financial planner will help her put her money where it will do her and her family the most good.

“I want this money to last so I can retire early, not retire now,” Adams said, “and be comfortable and make sure that my family is comfortable.”

She said she wants to be certain the investments she makes are smart.

“I want to make sure every investment is done with a sound mind, not just personal feelings,” Adams said.

On her short list of things to do with her new-found wealth: “My boyfriend [of seven years] and I are going to plan our wedding,” Adams said.

“Take a family trip. I don’t know where, but just as long as we’re together.”

She does intend to share with her family – parents who are retired in south Georgia and two sisters.

“We’re going to sit down with my parents, who have had some medical issues lately, and make sure their affairs are in order,” Adams said.

But she hasn’t pinpointed any particular “must-have” extravagances to spoil herself with, so far.

Except maybe one, that Adams noted might be a necessity after all the media attention her windfall could bring.

“I’ll probably get another house, only because now, my name is out,” she said.