By Todd Northrop
A Georgia man was tidying his room and came across a month-old lottery ticket that was gathering dust — and turned out to be worth $1 million.
Gregory Jarrett, 26, of the Atlanta suburb of Decatur, had matched five numbers in the Powerball drawing of Jan. 15, but had apparently forgotten about it.
After he checked the numbers, "I called for my mom, and I walked toward her, shaking," he said in a statement released by the Georgia Lottery. "She verified it, and at that point we hugged."
Jarrett claimed the prize last week. Georgia Lottery officials said Friday that they hadn't been able to reach him since then.
Jarrett said in the statement that he picked the numbers — 7, 8, 9, 24 and 29 — based on his siblings' birthdays. He said he plans to use the money to pay bills.
Under Georgia lottery rules, he had six months to claim the prize.
Madison couple claims another $1M Powerball prize in Georgia
A Madison, Georgia, couple is also celebrating a $1 million Powerball prize from the Georgia Lottery.
Robert and Dana Fisher matched the first five numbers from the Feb. 15 Powerball drawing, winning a $1 million prize.
Short Stop, 228 N. Broad St. in Winder, sold the winning Quik Pik ticket.
Winning numbers from the Feb. 15 Powerball drawing were: 2, 9, 14, 21, and 23, with Powerball number 3.
Robert, an electrician; and Dana, a secretary, discovered their good fortune the following day during a trip to a fast food restaurant.
"We're excited, but we want to be prepared," said Robert Fisher, 44.
With two children, the Fishers intend to pay off bills, make home renovations and work on their retirement.
Decator, GA must be bigger than most communities named Decator or else everyone in Decator would have been checking their tickets immediately after hearing a million dollars PB winner was sold locally.
Hmmm.....maybe a good reason to clean your house or apartment, or even trailer "house" or room daily, besides the obvious. Congrats!!!.
Decatur, is a decent sized area of GA located in Dekalb County. Congrats to the lucky winner!
Kudo to both winners and a pretty good reminder to check the tickets as soon as reasonably possible
Congrats!!! Wasn't there a similar story several years ago...some guy found a ticket while cleaning his room?
These stories give players some hope. One ticket was self selected numbers and one was a QP . I wish they both had power played their tickets.
"Winning ticket collecting dust"..Glad it was discovered in time.
I have a feeling Gregs mom is going to raise his rent.
I'd clean my room, but I've misplaced my scoop shovel.
Dont believe i'd told that story, I'd rather said I'd left it in a jacket I rarely wear, rather than admit I was a bum who left trash around long enough to get dust on it
LOL!!!!!!
Congratulation to all the winners
Good luck with your win
Morale of the story, always clean your room.
, dognabit! Then it's a win, even if there is no lottery ticket uncovered!
Congrats to the winners, nice job.
This guy is 26 and lives with mommy and yet rarely finds time to clean his room. Sounds like quite a catch!
And ... California bought Powerball tickets won jackpot 3 times during the past 4.5 months!!! Is anybody who purchases tickets from an outside state upset/noticing their "hope & trust" levels diminish?
Unless he doesn't care to be caught. Perhaps, mainly, the sole captain of his ship.
True.
keep on cleaning bro.