Stephens Co. Man Wins Ga. Lottery

A Stephens County man gets a pretty big surprise for his 65th birthday.

According to the Georgia Lottery, Thomas Herron of Toccoa recently won a prize of $500,000 playing the $500,000 Bonus instant ticket game.

The Georgia Lottery said that the Royal Food Store at 2668 Mize Road in Toccoa sold the winning ticket.

Herron said that he had stopped to refuel on gas when he decided to purchase the ticket.

He said he had a lucky feeling and his birthday was the next day, so he bought tickets.

After realizing that he had won, the lucky winner said he rushed home to share his excitement.

The 65-year-old store manager said that he plans to use his winnings to save for retirement.

Herron claimed his prize at the Georgia Lottery Duluth District Office last week.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $17.6 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 1.4 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten program.