Father of 2 wins $2.5 million in Columbus

ATLANTA – One man has won a $2.5 million prize in Columbus. John Tull won a top prize playing the Georgia Lottery instant game Millionaire Jumbo Bucks. "I wasn't going to go to the store at first," the father of two said. "I went, and I decided to try this game."

Tull, 53, was in the store when he scratched the lucky winner.

"When you see that amount you have to look a couple of times," he said.

A resident of Phenix City, Ala., Tull anticipates paying off his home mortgage and purchasing a new truck.

Vacationing – for now – will remain at bay.

"I've got things to do first," he shared.

Villa Nova Beverages, 119 Fourth St. in Columbus, sold the winning ticket

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned more than $11 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 1.1 million students have received HOPE, and more than 940,000 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.