ATLANTA --
A retired Atlanta fire chief has collected a load in lottery winnings on Tax Day. Marquis Mitchell, who retired in 1998 as city of Atlanta fire chief, won a $231,812 jackpot prize from matching all five winning numbers in the April 15 Fantasy 5 drawing.
“I feel good,” said Mitchell, 59.
Winning numbers from the April 15 drawing were: 5-7-11-15-39. SS Food Mart, 4511 Campbellton Road S.W. in Atlanta, sold the winning Quik Pik ticket.
Mitchell said he called the Georgia Lottery’s Player Information hot line and visited the lottery’s Web site to double check the winning numbers.
“I was so happy, I woke my wife up,” he said. “She jumped out of bed and started running around. I had to calm her down.”
With his wife, Ida, the couple have three adult children and six grandchildren. Mitchell worked for Atlanta Fire Rescue for 30 years, serving as chief from 1994 until he retired in 1998, he said.
He plans to pay off bills and buy a new fishing boat with his windfall.
Georgia Lottery retailers selling winning Fantasy 5 jackpot tickets receive a retailer incentive bonus of $2,000. The retailer incentive bonus increases by $2,000 each time Fantasy 5 rolls. If more than one winning jackpot ticket is sold, the retailers selling the winning jackpot tickets will share the bonus. SS Food Mart will receive a $6,000 retailer incentive bonus.
Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned more than $11.4 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 1.2 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.
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