Powerball Jackpot Climbs to $600M

The announcement was made this afternoon.

Saturday’s Powerball jackpot has reached $600 million, the highest jackpot in the game’s history. The announcement was made this afternoon, just one day after strong sales prompted lottery officials to bump Saturday’s Powerball jackpot from $475 million to $550 million. Not only is the current $600 million jackpot the largest in Powerball history, it is the second largest jackpot in U.S. history. The combined Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots now stands to $790 million, which breaks Thursday's U.S. record. Tonight’s Mega Millions jackpot is worth an estimated $190 million. The Powerball winner can opt to receive 30 graduated payments over 29 years or collect a $376 million cash payout. The Mega Millions winner can choose two payment …

• Photos (1)

$740M Jackpots a New U.S. Record

Strong sales prompted lottery officials to bump Saturday’s Powerball jackpot from $475 million to $550 million. Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is worth an estimated $190 million.

Grab some singles, and head to your nearest convenience store. Now! The combined Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots have reached $740 million, a new U.S. record. Strong sales prompted lottery officials to bump Saturday’s Powerball jackpot from $475 million to $550 million—the second largest in Powerball history and the third largest jackpot in U.S. history, Georgia Lottery spokeswoman Tandi Reddick said in news release this afternoon. Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is worth an estimated $190 million. The Powerball winner can opt to receive 30 graduated payments over 29 years or collect a $350 million cash payout. The Mega Millions winner can choose two payment options: about $7.3 million a year for 26 years with the annuity option or a …

• Photos (1)

Cartersville Woman Wins $100K Lottery Prize

Ruby Brown bought the winning 50X The Money instant game ticket at SNJ on South Erwin Street in Cartersville and plans to donate a portion to charity.

The holiday season will be a memorable one for a Georgia Lottery winner in Bartow County. Ruby Brown of Cartersville won a $100,000 prize playing the instant game 50X The Money. SNJ on South Erwin Street in Cartersville sold the ticket and Brown scratched it in her car. The lucky winner said her winning moment was sweet. "I was shocked, surprised and happy," she said. "It’s still hard to believe." Brown intends to donate a portion of her prize to charity. The Georgia Lottery instant game 50X The Money is a $10 ticket loaded with prizes of up to $1 million. Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $13.8 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Cartersville Store Sells $193K Winning Lottery Ticket

A Floyd County man won the Fantasy 5 prize and intends to save it for his grandchildren.

A Floyd County man won a fine Fantasy 5 prize from the Georgia Lottery and a local store sold the winning ticket. Willie Sutton of Lindale matched all five numbers from the Dec. 3 Fantasy 5 drawing, winning the $193,020 jackpot prize. Food Mart BP Amoco in Cartersville sold the winning ticket. Sutton, who has three grandchildren, claimed his prize recently at the Georgia Lottery District Office in Dalton. The copper mill worker heard his lucky numbers announced during the televised drawing. Winning numbers from the Dec. 3 Fantasy 5 drawing were: 4-6-9-23-25. “I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep,” Sutton said, according to the release. The lucky winner also has two adult children. Sutton, 48, intends to save the money for his grandchildren. …

• Photos (1)

$400K Ticket for 2nd Lottery Win

Scott Rouen, 51, bought the recent, lucky instant game ticket at a store in Ellijay.

In his second, big Georgia Lottery win, 51-year-old Scott Rouen of Cartersville scratched a ticket worth $400,000. “I yelled out,” said Rouen, who claimed the prize Tuesday. “It’s sweet.” He bought the $400,000 Grant instant game ticket while visiting his wife's business in Ellijay. Airport Grocery at 19 Sunlight Road in Ellijay sold him the ticket. “My wife gets half off the top,” Rouen said, adding he plans to travel with the winnings. He won $50,000 playing Georgia Lottery in 2007. Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $13.1 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…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Bartow Republitarian

Did You Pay Attention?

Georgia legislators have wrapped up this year's session. Can you guess what the hottest issue was?

Unlike the majority of Georgians who obviously have better things to do, I’ve closely followed for most of my life the shenanigans that take place under the Gold Dome during the annual general assembly of our state legislature. I track all the behind the scenes machinations and inside politics stuff that would bore most folks to tears. However, each year there are usually two or three issues that will stir up significant interest among the population at large and this year was no exception. The modification of the HOPE Scholarship and state pre-k programs funded by the Georgia Lottery generated a lot of onlookers, but at the end of the day not that much controversy as a bipartisan legislative effort pushed through the changes. An illegal …

• Photos (1)

Bartow Republitarian

A New Political Majority in the GOP?

Local legislators are having to reassess what their constituents really want these days.

These are interesting times for the political class, as what had been a gradual shift in political philosophy among a significant segment of the population has begun to pick up steam, and is putting some elected officials in a tough spot as they try to reassess exactly what their constituents want these days. We began to get a real glimpse into this change over the last two years as the Tea Party movement swept the nation, and social issues though not discarded, were placed on the backburner. From the 1980s up until just recently, social conservatives dominated Republican Party politics. Yes, free market capitalism, small government and low taxes were also part of the plan. However, social issues were always lurking around the front of the…

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)