Three Georgia residents are the lucky winners of top prizes in the Georgia Lottery.
Georgia Lottery announced on Monday that Maurice Matthews, 64, of Douglasville, won $3 million; Regina Williams, 49, of McDonough, won $1.5 million; and Eddie Beard, 71, of Buford, $1 million.
Matthews is retired from the U.S. Air Force and won his prize playing the instant game 100X The Money. He claimed his prize on Feb. 24 and believes his big win is the result of his activism.
“You give respect, and you get it back,” he said.
He plans to pay off his mortgage with the money and save the rest, according to Georgia Lottery.
Meanwhile, Williams, a human resources manager, said her daughter attends college on a HOPE scholarship. Georgia Lottery helps fund the scholarship, which is why Williams buys lottery tickets in the first place.
“My daughter went to college on HOPE, so I think it’s a wonderful thing,” she said.
Williams also plans on taking a vacation on a Disney Cruise Line with her family, she said.
“I scratched it in my trunk and almost had a heart attack,” said Williams, who won playing the game Jumbo Jumbo Bucks, Anniversary Edition.
And the $1 million winner Beard – a retired postman who won playing Georgia Lottery’s 20th Anniversary Extravaganza – isn’t sure how exactly he will spend is money.
“I was shocked,” Beard said of his big win. “I wanted to go to sleep, but I was excited, of course.”
The winning tickets were bought at Wee Willy’s on 1875 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. in Buford; CITGO Convenience Store in Stockbridge; and CITGO Food Mart in Lithia Springs.
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