Douglas County flood victim scores $250,000 lottery win

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A $250,000 win in a Georgia Lottery scratch-off game couldn’t have come at a better time, the couple says.

“It is a blessing for us,” Cassie Sussman said Thursday.

Michael Sussmann, 38, won the quarter-million dollars playing the instant game Millionaire Jumbo Bucks – a $20 ticket.

When the historic flood hit their Mount Vernon Road home in Douglas County, the family made it out of the home with as much of their belongings as possible.

Homes all along the street, which is still closed, show varying degrees of damage from the flood. Fallen trees line the road, and nearby Woodrow Wilson Park is still unusable. Fences and light posts have been knocked down.

There was a chance the home could be rebuilt, and the family could move back in.

But now, the couple, who has three children, is hoping to buy a home of their own with the winnings.

"Before we won, we were trying to figure out what to do," said Michael Sussmann, who purchased the winning scratch-off ticket at a newsstand in Cumberland Mall.

"After the flood, all you could see was the roof," he said. "It was devastating. We salvaged what we could."