Macon great-grandmother cheers instant $500K prize

ATLANTA — A Macon woman has selected a winning Georgia Lottery instant ticket with a half-million dollar prize. Ella Purnell, 73, played the instant game Hidden Treasure and won a $500,000 top prize.

She claimed her prize Jan. 3 at the Georgia Lottery District Office in Macon.

“I scratched it in the car. Then, I showed it to my son,” Purnell recalled. “I was stunned but grateful.”

Dixie Food Mart, 2904 Shurling Drive in Macon, sold the winning ticket.

Purnell has two adult children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

“I want to pay off my house, car and other bills,” she shared.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $14.8 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.

WSBTV