$30B Raised For GA Pre-K, HOPE Scholarships Through Lottery

ATLANTA, GA — More than $30 billion has been raised for education in the last three decades of the Georgia Lottery, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday.

While players hope to win millions of dollars, lottery funding contributes to Georgia's pre-K program, the HOPE scholarship and educational grant programs.

The Georgia Lottery Corporation was established in November 1992 and has since provided HOPE scholarships for at least 2.25 million students and has paid for 2.2 million 4-year-old students to attend pre-K through its games.

Most recently, $414.8 million was transferred to the State Treasury’s Lottery for Education account, bringing the full total raised for education to $30.2 billion, the GLC said.

"Reaching the $30 billion mark is a testament to the continued support from our players, retailers, vendor partners and stakeholders throughout the state," Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin said in a news release. "Thanks to Governor Kemp, members of the Georgia General Assembly and our Board of Directors for their leadership in our mission to maximize revenues for education.”

The state lottery offers at least 60 instant games and 11 computerized (draw) games. Hopeful players can purchase tickets through the GLC app or from one of the estimated 8,400 authorized retailers in Georgia.

Popular lottery games include Fantasy 5, Powerball, Mega Millions and Cash 4 Life. Scratch-offs and digital games through the GLC's app are also available.

“On behalf of generations of Georgians, Marty and I are proud to congratulate the Georgia Lottery on this historic milestone and celebrate its impact on so many students, some of them twice as former pre-K students and HOPE recipients,” Kemp said in the release. “... Georgia students from pre-K to college have been set up for success through the programs funded by the lottery, expanding access to high-quality education in our state. We look forward to seeing that legacy of impact continue for years to come."

The GLC said last week, winners claimed $41,330,274 in scratch-off prizes.

There were a couple of million-dollar winners in Georgia recently. On Thursday, the GLC said an Americus resident on Monday secured a $1-million prize through the Millionaire Maker scratcher.

Also, on Monday, an Atlanta player matched the Powerball's five white-ball numbers for $1 million.

Other recent winners were as follows:

• A player in Warner Robins won $445,728 playing Santa Claws on Monday.
• An Augusta player won $50,000 playing Twice As Spice on Nov. 27
• A resident of Cumming won $27,118 playing Bison Stampede on Nov. 28
• A Guyton resident won $20,000 playing Lucky Coins on Monday.
• An Augusta player won $16,998 playing Elephant King Jackpots on Tuesday.
• A St. Marys resident won $15,000 playing Elephant King Jackpots on Nov. 27.
• Two players in Alpharetta won $50,000 in the Nov. 29 drawing of the Powerball.
• Two people in Leesburg and Morrow won $50,000 in the Nov. 26 drawing of the Powerball.
• A Fairburn player hit the jackpot for $194,069 in the Nov. 28 Fantasy 5 drawing.
• A Cumming player hit the jackpot for $150,000 in the Nov. 30 drawing of the Fantasy 5.
• A Quick Win player in Valdosta hit the jackpot for $34,275 playing Double W!N Quick Win on Wednesday.

On Friday, the estimated jackpot for the Powerball's Saturday drawing was $820 million, the eighth-highest in game history.