Clayton News Daily

Special Photo: Jonesboro resident, Bessie Irene Rawls, recently purchased a winning lottery ticket worth $277,000, at a Stockbridge convenience store.

A breast cancer survivor feels especially lucky to have won the lottery while celebrating National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Jonesboro resident, Bessie Irene Rawls, has won in the Fantasy 5 Georgia Lottery game. The 54-year-old learned recently that her winning ticket was worth $277,844.

“I’ll never forget this month,” said Rawls, who also celebrates her birthday, and wedding anniversary, in October.

Rawls said she is a proud breast cancer survivor.

“I love to tell the world that,” she said. “I’ve gone through a lot of things.” For her newfound fortune, she declared, “I just can’t believe it.”

Rawls played the Fantasy 5 game for Oct. 14. She purchased her Quik Pik top prize ticket for the drawing at Sonoco Food Mart, at 900 Ga. Highway 138 West, in Stockbridge.

A second top prize ticket was sold in Valdosta, Ga.

A drug store shift supervisor, Rawls plans to use her winnings to pay bills, and help her children.

“We might take a cruise,” she added.

Rawls is the second area resident to win big on the Georgia Lottery in the past six months at a Stockbridge convenience store.

Lithonia resident, Donald Colbert, purchased a winning scratch-off ticket on May 17. The 46-year-old father purchased a $10 instant game ticket at the Chevron Party Store, 6105 Ga. Highway 155 North, in Stockbridge.

The long-time heating and air conditioning contractor won $1 million from the lottery’s $100 Million Cash Blast game.

“I feel pretty lucky,” said Colbert, who like Rawls, said he planned to take his family on a cruise.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp., has returned more than $12.9 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.

Georgia Lottery officials point out that more than 1.3 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1.1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten program.

For more information on the Georgia Lottery Corp., visit www.galottery.com.