ATLANTA — A Rockdale County locksmith has unlocked more than keys playing the Georgia Lottery. Marcus Wilhite of Conyers unlocked a $500,000 top prize playing The Big $5 Ticket instant game.
The winner purchased three tickets June 30 that all were rewarding. His first ticket was worth $3, the second ticket was worth $40, and the third ticket was worth $500,000.
Conyers Food Mart, 1695 Highway 20 N.E. in Conyers, sold the lucky ticket.
“My dad was looking over my shoulder. He told me I’d won $500,000,” Wilhite said.
Although his father told him he was a winner, the 22-year-old was in complete shock over his top prize.
“Never in one million years did I think I’d hit that much money,” he said.
The winner has big plans for his winnings.
“I’m going to buy a truck, and I’m going to put the rest up,” Wilhite said. “I’ll go to Jamaica for a week.”
He claimed his prize July 1 at the Georgia Lottery District Office in Duluth.
Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $16.5 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 1.7 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1.3 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.