Holiday Gifts scratchcard winner “almost passed out”

Wednesday December 8^th 2010

A South Carolina resident said he almost fainted after winning $250,000 on a Georgia Lottery scratchcard. 68-year-old Mack Johnson Jr, who works for the water department in Augusta, Georgia, was passing through the town when he decided to visit a petrol station. And while Mr Johnson might have been running low on gas, he certainly wasn’t short of luck.

After choosing to buy a $5 Holiday Gifts instant lottery game, Mr Johnson drove to his home in Ridge Spring and scratched off the card to discover he’d won the top jackpot prize of $250,000.

“I almost passed out,” he told organisers of the Georgia Lottery.

Apparently Mr Johnson did not have any plans for the holiday season before his big win, but said he will certainly be making some now. He intends to use the unexpected cash windfall to pay off his bills.

People across the world will buy lotto tickets over the coming weeks in the hope that their wildest dreams will come true this Christmas. The Spanish lottery game El Gordo is sure to be the centre of attention once more, as the prize fund for the December 22 draw stands at an incredible €2.2billion.

Written by Chris Brown