Bobbie Ware didn't intend to play the $300,000 Taxes Paid game, but that was what she selected while standing in front of the Georgia Lottery vending machine at an Atlanta Kroger.

Her accidental selection proved to be the right one as Ware, 84, ended up buying the winning ticket.

"I can't believe this," she said. "It still hasn't sunk in."

Ware, a mother of four and grandmother of 10, said she will share her winnings of $300,000 after taxes with her family. She is a former social worker who retired after spending 35 years with the state's human resources department.

Ware bought her ticket at the Kroger on Caroline Street, in the Edgewood Retail District.

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Jo'wan Bellamy taught in the GNETS program for 17 years and recently transferred to Atlanta’s new behavioral program at Crawford Long Middle School. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com