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Instant ticket unloads $52K annual prize for Atlanta grandfather

ATLANTA — Supplied with a plentiful prize from the Georgia Lottery, an Atlanta grandfather plans to celebrate in style. Willie Stanley Sr. has won $52,000 a year playing the new instant game $1,000 A Week For Life.

Stanley, 76, has selected the cash option, totaling $781,024 before taxes.

“I want to get a new car,” he shared.

The grandfather of seven claimed his prize March 10 at Georgia Lottery headquarters in Atlanta but he held his ticket for a while before cashing in.

“I had to think things over,” he said.

Shannon Beverage Outlet, 6900 Londonderry Way in Union City, sold the winning ticket.

After scratching the ticket at home, Stanley went back to the store where he purchased the ticket to confirm that he’d won.

In addition to seven grandchildren, Stanley has two adult daughters and an adult son.

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.