Georgia’s lottery program just hit the big one, transferring more than $1 billion to public education for the first time in its 23-year history.

The announcement from Gov. Nathan Deal’s office Wednesday says $1.09 billion in fiscal year 2016 profits that have been delivered to the state treasury for education by Georgia Lottery Corp. surpassed last year’s record-setting amount by $117 million.

The proceeds fund the HOPE Scholarship, the Georgia Pre-K Program and capital outlay projects including technological upgrades for schools and universities.

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Students walk toward the Tate Student Center on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. State data released Tuesday shows that the rate of international students enrolling in Georgia’s public universities dropped dramatically this semester. (Jason Getz/AJC 2024)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins' Senate campaign used Sen. Jon Ossoff's Senate portrait (center) to create an AI-generated video of Ossoff talking about his vote not to end the government shutdown.  The video was reposted to Collins' campaign account on X (left). (Screenshot)

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