Gainesville man a 2-time winner, lands $750K in Georgia Lottery

By Fran Jeffries

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A lucky Gainesville man has won big for a second time in the Georgia Lottery.

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Georgia Lottery Ronald Pelissero, 65, won $750,000 playing the instant game Jingle Jumbo Bucks.

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Ronald Pelissero, 65, a remodeling contractor, recently won $750,000 playing the instant game Jingle Jumbo Bucks. He bought his ticket at QuikTrip at 20 E. Crossville Road in Roswell.

“I was at the right place at the right time,” Pelissero said.

In August 2005, Pelissero won $197,930 by matching all five winning numbers in a Fantasy 5 drawing. He bought that winning Fantasy 5 ticket at a Kroger store in Cumming.

“I invested in real estate,” he said of the 2005 prize. “It did give us an opportunity to have some fun.”

Pelissero said he scratched his latest prize while sitting in his work truck. It was raining and dark, and he initially couldn’t see that he’d won.

Pelissero and his wife, Grace, who have six children and 11 grandchildren, plan to invest his winnings.

“I want to go to Australia or New Zealand,” he said, adding that he’s grateful to win the lottery twice. “I’ll play again!”