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Marietta mechanic plows $400K windfall into new home

ATLANTA — A mechanic in Marietta has won a generous top prize from the Georgia Lottery. Jerry Ward, 47, won a $400,000 top prize playing the instant game $400,000 Grant.

Ward claimed his prize Feb. 25 at the Georgia Lottery District Office in Duluth.

With his windfall, Ward intends to purchase a new home.

“I’m loving it,” he exclaimed. “I was stopping to get a Pepsi, and I had a few dollars left over.”

Ward purchased his winning ticket Circle K Stores #4721, 280 Rucker Road in Alpharetta.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $15 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs, including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Pre-K Program. More than 1.6 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1.3 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.