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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Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — pictured at an August rally in Peachtree City that also featured Vice President JD Vance — appears to have scored another legal victory over gubernatorial rival Attorney General Chris Carr in their battle over campaign finance issues. (Arvin Temkar/AJC 2025)

Credit: Arvin Temkar / AJC