Retired Cobb Fire Inspector Hits the Jackpot

From the Georgia Lottery

A retired Cobb County fire inspector has unwrapped a substantial Georgia Lottery prize to brighten the holidays. Pierce Webster of Acworth is one of two jackpot winners who each won $322,400 from matching all five numbers from the Dec. 8 Fantasy 5 drawing.

Webster, 79, was on his way to an American Legion post when he stopped at Airport Grocery, 19 Sunlight Road in Ellijay, to purchase a ticket.

“I use a combination of birthdays, anniversaries and a Quik Pik number when I play,” he explained. “I feel good and am lucky.”

Retired for 19 years, Webster and his wife, Sue, have two adult children, three adult granddaughters and three great-grandchildren.

Webster plans to celebrate the holidays and purchase a new truck with his winnings.

Winning numbers from the Dec. 8 Fantasy 5 drawing were: 3-16-20-26-31.

The second jackpot-winning ticket was purchased in Columbus.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $16.7 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 prekindergarten program.