ATLANTA — Estefania Rodriguez was surprised to have selected an instant Georgia Lottery ticket with a cool top prize. Rodriguez, a Stockbridge resident, won a $400,000 top prize playing the instant game 20X The Money.
She claimed her prize May 29 at Georgia Lottery headquarters in Atlanta.
The 22-year-old purchased her ticket at Shell Travel Plaza, 5160 Cowan Road in Acworth, and scratched it while in her car.
“It’s a dream come true. I couldn’t believe it,” she said, adding that her husband, Eduardo, was with her. “We cried. This will change our lives completely.”
The couple intend to throw their 3-year-old daughter a birthday party. They also plan to pay off bills with the windfall.
Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $16.2 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.
WSBTV
