A Fairburn nurse got a
dose of $1 million. Maria Collins, who celebrated her
57th birthday April 16, played the instant
game Georgia ’s $500 Million Club.
Maria & Calvin
Collins with their $1 Million lottery
check
Chevron Food Mart,
4520 Jonesboro Road in Union
City , sold the winning
ticket. Collins was doing some late night reading at
home when she decided to scratch the ticket. When her
husband, Calvin, awoke she showed it to
him.
“When he had to put on his glasses, I knew it was
a winner,” she said. “I jumped in the bed and started
kicking my feet.”
Collins is a dialysis nurse at Southern Regional
Health System in Riverdale. The couple have four
children and eight grandchildren.
According to Collins, she and her husband will
save the money for their retirement.
“It’s exciting to win,” she said. “It feels good.
It’s a good feeling to win.”
Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery
Corporation has returned over $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
Prekindergarten Program. More than 1 million students
have received HOPE, and more than 790,000 4-year-olds
have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten
program.