A rush for Gold at Sankys

By Michele Hester

Tammy Burden doesn’t honestly expect to win the Georgia Lottery’s grand prize, but she sure has a lot of fun trying.

Burden was one of about 500 people that stopped by Sankys in Dawsonville on Feb. 16 to participate in the Georgia Lottery’s Rush To Win Second-Chance drawing for a chance to be one of 10 winners to split $300 million, the largest prize in Georgia lottery history.

Michelle Grizzle, a cashier at Sankys said the promotion could not have stopped at a better place. “Sankys tickets usually win,” she said. “We have a lot of big winners here.” On Dec. 13, 2004, Sankys sold a $500,000 scratch off ticket. They have also sold numerous scratch-off tickets yielding thousand dollar prizes.

Burden hopes one of the tickets she bought from Sankys will take her closer to fulfilling her dream to win the big prize. Although she does not depend on the lottery to fund her future, she has had good luck in the past. “I bought a scratch-off $2 million ticket and won $1,000,” she said. While she was waiting to cash in her winning ticket, she bought another ticket and won $150. Then she bought 100 more scratch off tickets and won $500. “I’ve been real lucky,” she said.

Georgia’s Rush To Win Second-Chance promotion allows players to trade in their non-winning $300 Million Gold Rush instant ticket during any of the Georgia Lottery’s 135 on-site events being held throughout the state. Entrants complete the back side of the non-winning ticket with their name, address and telephone numbers and drop the ticket off during the on-site events or mail it back to the Georgia Lottery.

On or about April 4, 2006, 10 contestants and 20 alternative contestants will be randomly chosen from among all eligible entries received to participate in the Rush To Win Million-Dollar event.

The 10 contestants will each have a chance to win $1,000,000, payable over 20 equal annual installments of $50,000 each, without interest. Any contestant not winning the Grand Prize will receive a minimum of $1,000 in the form of a consolation prize check.

Charles Free of Dawsonville started buying the $300 Million Gold Rush tickets as soon as the promotion began in January. So far he has won $500 once, $100 a couple of times and several smaller prizes. Although he wins periodically, he knows it is likely he will ever win back as much as he has spent on lottery tickets. “I don’t know how much money I’ve spent on lottery tickets,” he said with a smile. “It’s a lot, but it’s a good time.”