Q: No one has hit the Decades of Dollars jackpot the past 18 months. How can it go so long without anyone hitting it? It seems Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots are hit more often.
—David Fromme, Norcross
A: The Georgia Lottery is "serious about the security and integrity" of all its games, including Decades of Dollars, which also is played in Arkansas, Kentucky and Virginia.
Seven people, including three in Georgia, have won Decades of Dollars’ top prize — $250,000 a year for life – since its inception in 2011. “We go to great lengths to ensure that all of our games are fair and that each ticket has an equal chance of winning a prize,” a Georgia Lottery spokeswoman told Q&A on the News in an email. All drawings are random and certified by independent outside auditors. Decades of Dollars will end in October.
Q: Who hired Pat Reid? Why wasn’t that person prosecuted?
—Robert W. Peppel, Tucker
A: Former DeKalb County school superintendent Crawford Lewis hired Reid, the school district's former chief operating officer. Lewis was sentenced to 12 months in jail by Judge Cynthia Becker in December after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction to avoid risking racketeering and theft convictions and a possible 65 years in prison, the AJC has reported.
Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Lenora Grant and Lewis’ attorney Mike Brown both had agreed on probation for Lewis, but Becker overruled them. Lewis, who is out on bond, has appealed his sentence to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which has until Dec. 1 to make a decision.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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